What is the Internet of Things? What Relationship does it have with Mobile Applications?
Brendan O’Brien, the co-founder of Aria Systems says “If you think that the internet has changed your life, think again. The IoT is about to change it all over again!” This quote explains the narrative of the future and truly reveals the real fuss around the Internet of Things.
Imagine... An alarm on your smartphone that will automatically set according to your daily schedule and to the existing traffic on your morning route. A coffee machine that without your intervention will prepare a delicious espresso to the sound of the alarm clock in your smartphone.
A car that will receive your current position from your smartphone comes to you when you're coming down the stairs from your office or a car that constantly communicates with other smartphone car owners and even traffic lights to calculate the fastest route.
It's all true. Everything is possible and everything already exists. It's called the Internet of Things.
Now What exactly is the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things is a neologism coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999 symbolizing the ability of real objects (other than a PC or a smartphone) to connect to the network, transmitting and receiving the real-time information they can help automate the processes of our daily life.
To make this communication happen it is necessary that the object is equipped with an IP address and the ability to receive and send information without human intervention. The sending and receiving of information will not only have to be automatic but will have to take place with other real objects creating an automated context that is ideal for simplifying human actions, with the aim of guiding people in their daily activities.
With the growth of IoT, everything will be connected. A study shows that by the year 2025, with the internet of thing number of connected devices is expected to reach 75.44 billion. The same study shows that IoT business is predicted to be $1 billion in revenue annually from 2017 onwards.
The Evolution of the Internet of Things in Mobile Applications
If we think of the prehistory of the Internet of Things we can certainly mention the world of mobile applications that manage and program the actions of some objects at a distance such as a washing machine or dishwasher, lights, and curtains of a house or heating.
From static websites to mobile and social digital environments, being connected to the internet and managing life from a smartphone or tablet was unthinkable for ordinary mortals less than a decade ago.
"It is in this scenario that the concept of" Internet of Things "(IoT) becomes increasingly relevant, a term used to define the integration in our daily lives of technological devices that connect everyday objects to the Internet through networks fixed wireless and that provide data for its monitoring and control.
Thanks to the IoT, brands can know what the problems of their consumers are at the same time as them or even before. The circumstance that will not only facilitate the creation of more personalized and predictive products and services but will also modify the business processes and work structure: many jobs will disappear and others will arise due to the need to have experts.
The huge proliferation of mobile devices ensures a broad database of customers, new products, and services, knowing what information needs to be linked and what not but which sectors can benefit from these innovation opportunities?
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Infrastructure: Monitoring and control of traffic lights, bridges or roads (both urban and rural), detection of changes in structural conditions, immediate response in emergencies, improvement of quality, etc.
- Environment: Optimization of resources when it comes to preventing and improving efficiency. For example, establishing quality control of air or water, atmospheric conditions or soil.
- Industry and Mass Production: Programming repair and maintenance activities, centralized control and management of processes, optimization of the production chain or rapid response to production demands.
- Energy: Remote monitoring of energy consumption, intelligent storage, detection and action systems, optimization of energy consumption, etc.
- Medicine and Healthcare: In this case, devices can be used to provide operational data in real time, enable emergency notification systems and remote surveillance or monitor and ensure the general welfare of the elderly or chronically ill.
- Logistics and Transportation: Monitoring of transport systems that include the vehicle driver and infrastructure, intelligent traffic control, parking choice, implementation of electronic toll collection systems, logistics and fleet management or road assistance and security.
- Entertainment: Improvement and creation of sensors in mobile devices, virtual reality technologies or consoles with motion sensors that serve to improve the user experience.
Obviously, these objects cannot be considered purely "smart" because they do not have automatic management capabilities, requiring human intervention.
However, an innovation in this sense we have in the so-called "Proximity Marketing" in which Bluetooth or WiFi devices send push notifications to all connected devices near a geographical location (for example, the sending notification of a product catalogue in the event that you were in the vicinity of a physical store).
Final Thoughts: Although it seems easy, the Internet of Things requires a tremendously complex structure in addition to a special attention to the security of all those stored data. However, its advantages and opportunities make it worthwhile: they add efficiency to our life, its application is not excessively expensive, it opens up new business opportunities and improves the existing work processes.