Devices of the IoT

The devices that contribute to the Internet of Things (IoT) span personal, household, public, business and industrial spaces, and any area that is not affected by them currently likely will be in the future. The smart gadgets that many of us see and interact with daily are our Internet-connected smartphones that have sensors including accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS and sometimes heart-rate monitors, however, those are just the tip of the iceberg. 

In the personal-item sphere, we've got wearable devices like fitness trackers and heart monitors that use our phones to send and receive information. Smartwatches, like Apple Watch and pebble, perform those tasks and many more in conjunction with our phones. Sensors and microprocessors on clothing are not way behind (and are possible to create now with sewable boards and sensors from Arduino and other companies). Even pets will be added to the list of "things" we can add sensors to for tracking functions. We also have already got cameras that send photos to the internet, scales that can share our weight on social media, toothbrushes that monitor our brushing habits and gaming systems that listen for verbal commands. 

A lot of household appliances, including thermostats, water heaters, security cameras and lights, will gather information, be accessed remotely and communicate via the internet once there is a problem. Some even learn your patterns over time to change their settings or warn you when something suspicious happens. Connected garage doors and digital door locks will let you into your home with information from your phone instead of a conventional key. WiFi-enabled stoves and ovens will be monitored or turned off or on remotely. One theoretical appliance that people bring up a lot is a refrigerator which will track its contents and let you know what you are out of or what you'll make for dinner along with your current ingredients. Be assured, someone is working on it. 

We're in the early stages of smart cities, where entire metros are being covered in sensors and other techs. Devices which will take sensor readings and transmit them are ideal for things like utility usage monitoring; in most areas this still needs workers taking meter readings from individual homes. Smart devices might enable monitoring for hazardous road conditions, pollution levels, and water and energy consumption. Roads can (and in some cases do) have sensors to observe potential headaches like traffic and road conditions. Smart cars or smartphones within the vicinity will be alerted to traffic delays. Other potential uses include adjusting traffic lights to suit real-time conditions, monitoring garbage cans to understand when they need a pickup and providing info on available parking. Scientists are working on tiny sensors to put in cement and other materials to the physical condition of the infrastructure itself will be detected before structural problems result in disasters such as bridge collapses. 

Cars are becoming smarter, too. GPS in cars has been a thing for years, and we've had attachable toll tags that pay automatically as we pass through toll stations, however, we're starting to add more sensors and computing functions to vehicles. Smart cars will act as entertainment and information hubs, provide Wi-Fi to other devices and track driving metrics (including speed and fuel efficiency). And one day soon, we'll likely have self-driving cars that enable hands- and eyes-free driving, all the whereas monitoring the road and nearby vehicles to prevent accidents. Already there are cars and services that allow you to start or locate your car and unlock doors remotely, as well as contact emergency services and roadside assistance. 

There are already a lot of connected devices in use in the healthcare business, and many additional are in the works. Doctors and other caregivers are able to monitor patients' vital signs, activity and other important metrics remotely, saving lives and maybe allowing old people to live independently longer. Embedded sensors in hospital beds and clothes also can gather important information regarding patients, and researchers are working on things like carpets which will detect falls and tiny computing instrumentation which will be injected into the human body. 

There are even more smart devices in manufacturing and other businesses wherever unmanned monitoring can save a great deal of your time and money. GE experimented with varied sensors within the ceramic mixing process for battery manufacturing. The researchers analyzed the info to determine what they required to monitor to understand when the ceramic mix was just right, which has allowed them to induce predictably even consistency and greatly reduced defect rates [source: Wasik]. The status and condition of products can be monitored from initial materials all the way to the end of production. Similar monitoring will apply to just about any business. In retail, inventory can be tracked and alerts will be sent once items need restocking. In agriculture, soil and crops can be monitored for irrigation and other needs, and livestock can be tagged and located. In office buildings, environmental controls will be machine-controlled to reduce energy waste and cut costs. The chances are endless.

More Details at: Sensitek









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