Previously, the Internet of Things was a complex to understand term and rarely being implemented. Currently, it is becoming very popular in the industrial and consumer world, and literally implemented everywhere, from private homes with robot vacuums to large manufacturing enterprises with huge systems of sensors, actuators, and devices. Every year, the demand for IoT technologies continues to grow very strongly.

What is IoT?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of computers, sensors, and actuators that communicate through the Internet Protocol (IP). In other words, IoT is a network of physical objects communicating with each other over the Internet. PCs, tablets, and smartphones that are connected to the Internet are not considered IoT, although they may be part of an IoT solution.

Where, How, and Why is IoT Used?

The Internet of Things is used in various fields: from the well-known smart home, which controls “things” within the same network of a house, to the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which automates production machines and streamline business processes. The Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to solve global problems in various industries for example:

IoT in Manufacturing

IoT in Agriculture

IoT improves product quality and boosts production in agriculture. By using sensors on drones and agricultural machinery, you can monitor soil changes and composition. These sensors can signal when the soil needs watering or fertilizing.

IoT in an Urban Environment

IoT in Healthcare

IoT in the Electric Power Industry

Latest IoT Technologies

According to the leading provider of market insights for the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, cloud, and Industry 4.0 – IoT Analytics, there are several best IoT technologies, (IoT software, IoT hardware, and IoT connectivity) that people working on IoT projects should keep an eye on.

Source: IoT Analytics Research April 2022

If we compare the results of a similar IoT study for 2019, we notice three IoT technologies that have developed most rapidly over the past three years.

1.      Wi-Fi 6

The Wi-Fi 6 standard refers to the next generation of Wi-Fi technology. Wi-Fi 6 doubles the channel width and creates a faster connection between a router and the connected devices. There are several improvements in WI-FI 6 that are designed to increase efficiency speed and reduce congestion in scenarios where heavy bandwidth usage occurs.  Sometimes Wi-Fi 6 is also called AX Wi-Fi or 802.11ax Wi-Fi.

2.      Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

The graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized processor used to accelerate graphics rendering. The latest GPUs are very powerful at processing and displaying computer graphics. This is because they have parallel processing capabilities, they are much more efficient at processing graphics information than a typical CPU. Moreover, GPUs can perform multiple computations simultaneously. It’s a very effective way to distribute training processes and speed up machine learning. That is why GPUs are actively used to train AI deep learning for IoT applications.

3.      Intelligent Sensors

The Internet of Things is a major driver of sensor technology development.

Sensors are designed to solve the problems associated with the monitoring and control of technological processes for various peripheral devices and applications, especially in conveyor production.

Modern sensors can process information closer to the device and interact with the user interface or actuators.

Intelligent sensors allow efficient control of continuous conveyor production.

Industry 4.0 and IoT Technologies Benefits

The IoT technologies listed above are part of the concept of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 also named The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a new phase of industrial development that focuses on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data.

Automation and the Internet of Things technologies provide the highest mobility, data transparency, and energy efficiency, they have had a significant positive impact on the manufacturing industry. The benefits include:

1. data collection, accumulation, and analysis from sensors, production equipment, and enterprise information systems to increase business transparency and receive full reports at any time.

2. Capacity to anticipate possible failures in the operation of equipment and minimize the consequences of emergencies.

3. Automation of food production processes using IoT technologies significantly reduces the costs associated with food spoilage.

4. Receiving immediate signals in force majeure and emergency situations.

5. Direct exchange of data between equipment and management and accounting systems, which eliminates the “human factor” and related errors and inaccuracies.

6. Simplify the business processes of production and achieve greater efficiency.

IoT: How Does It Work?

A typical IoT system includes devices with sensors, actuators, controllers, and processors, and is connected to a cloud platform via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or LAN.

The collected data is sent to the cloud for further analysis or analyzed locally. IoT applications can control connected devices, visualize data, and monitor equipment performance.

Additionally, IoT devices can exchange sensor data with each other and take further actions based on the information received.

In most cases, a well-established IoT system runs without human intervention.

In IoT systems, automation is provided by sending data to the device. Sensors and actuators in the IoT represent two endpoints of the system.

Main Elements of IoT Systems

Like any other technology, the Internet of Things has some main and vital elements. At the same time, the Internet of Things integrates a wide range of modern and complex technologies.

IoT Analytics

Analytics – all received data must be analyzed and visualized. The volume of continuously incoming data (such as from conveyor equipment) requires special IoT analytics platforms since such a volume of data cannot be handled by standard analytics tools.

IoT Cloud services

Providing services related to data storage, servers, databases, networks, and software. Cloud managed services consist of outsourcing IT/IoT infrastructure along with its support to a Cloud Service Provider.

IoT BigData

BigData refers to structured and unstructured data of enormous volumes, which are typically stored in the cloud. Moreover, there are different tools, approaches, and methods for processing them to use them for specific purposes.

IoT Connection

Connection. For the IoT infrastructure to work, it is necessary to establish a connection between IoT devices so that the devices communicate. This includes both exchanging information with each other and transferring it to the cloud. There are different types of connectivity in IoT infrastructure, it could be:

IoT Sensors

Sensors – A sensor is a device that detects changes. Data can be gathered from various sources including temperature, motion, light, and pressure. Sensors play a major role in IoT technologies since they are the source of IoT data.

A huge number of sensors exist and for a specific task, for each IoT project, the right sensor must be chosen and configured.

The most used sensors in IoT technology are:

Conclusion: IoT – How it Works and Some Examples Use Cases

The Internet of Things is becoming more and more popular in various industries. It allows you to automate business processes as much as possible, increase the profitability of the enterprise, and reduce labor costs.

Interested in learning more about IoT technologies? Contact us for a free consultation with one of our experts.