Internet of Things: examples, application and advantages

The Internet of Things is celebrated annually on April 9, in what was chosen as the “IoT Day” – Internet of Things Day.

IoT Day

This Internet of Things Day is an open invitation to the world community to attend an event, to organize a hackathon, or to simply have a coffee with someone sharing a link and discussing the Internet of Things and its implications.

This international initiative was created in 2010 by the IoT Council to promote the concept in a global and collaborative environment.

The theme of the Internet of Things Day 2018 is IOT & Social Good.

Find an event near you on the official date website.

Internet of Things: what is it?

IoT (Internet of Things) is an extension of the Internet, which allows everyday objects (with computational and communicative abilities) to connect to the Internet.

“Things” exchange data between themselves and with the Internet, making decisions automatically, without human interaction, according to their programming.

This connection enables, for example, remote control of common objects and that these objects are used as service providers.

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Internet of Things: Examples

IoT can have many applications, more or less of everyday use.

Some examples of IoT are:

  • sensors for irrigation;
  • parking sensors;
  • automatic thermostats;
  • connected cars;
  • connected coffee machines;
  • lamps with a Wi-Fi connection;
  • smart bells;
  • smart traffic lights;
  • smart locks;
  • smart houses;
  • smartwatches with geographic positioning and measurement of heart rate;
  • appliances that measure urban noise;
  • virtual assistants who react to voice commands, etc.

The Internet of Things’ revolution is not only about domestic devices, but also about the industry, smart cities, or self-employed cars, to name a few.

IoT’s focus is on networking and in business development in five verticals: homes, automobiles, cities, retail, and wearables. However, the possibilities that arise are immense, generating different scenarios: advantages and disadvantages, opportunities, risks, and challenges.

Advantages and application of IoT

At the level of advantages, in addition to increasing the comfort and security of the person, IoT allows to identify problems, to improve the use of resources, to improve infrastructures and to reduce costs.

Technology can leverage micro-entrepreneurship in developing countries, similar to what happened with the MOSAIC 2B – Mobile Empowerment for the Socio-Economic Development in South Africa project, in which the CCG worked.

Greater efficiency and new business models will bring economic benefits, but the most important thing will be the advantages that IoT brings in the human chapter.

IoT can, for example, improve the quality of life of the elderly. Imagine a device that detects the vital signs of an elderly person living alone and sends a warning to health professionals when they reach a certain limit or if you notice that this elderly person has fallen and cannot get up. Or an application that helps identify the medication you need to take. These are examples of projects in which the CCG is working in Portugal, such as the ALERTFALLS project and the Senior Inclusive.

More than changing the world around us, IoT has the ability to change ourselves, the actors on the world stage…

Did you know that?

  • IoT’s B2B spending has reached almost $ 3 billion by 2017, according to the Internet of Things Consortium, but the market is only just starting.
  • IoT already has an installed base of 20.35 billion devices, according to Statist data for 2017.
  • The IoT market is expected to grow from 170.57 billion dollars in 2017 to 561.04 billion in 2025, according to research and market research firm. (26.9% per year).
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