What is Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT)....

Though the buzzword of today is Artificial intelligence or AI, the devices that power our homes is taking on a new avatar. They are transitioning to a smart device which directly communicates with the internet or between themselves, working autonomously or in a group. Other features include AI integration, power saving and more control over the output. Well known examples include digital assistants such as Amazon Alexa or Google Nest. Then there are smart bulbs, thermostats, Doorbells or smart CCTV cameras.

Core Working

At the heart of a IoT device is an embedded system complete with sensors which measures touch, thermal and even bodily parameters of an individual. There is also a Bluetooth or WiFi adapter inbuilt for communication.  Other connection protocols like Zigbee or Matter also exist. More on that later.  IoT devices usually operate at low voltage around 50 Volt max. There are exceptions though to that rule, considering smart TV or refrigerator.

Origin

Considered a new era technology, in reality the concept of IoT has been around since the eighties. The first device was a vending machine installed at Carnegie Mellon University, 1982, connected to the intranet. This allowed for remote assessment of inventories and shelf life of the system. Then came the refrigerator from LG also known as smart fridge. This was followed by the smartphone which acted as a network hub ultimately paving the way for wearable. This included smart watch, smart glasses, fitness tracker etc.    

Communication Protocol

As stated earlier, WiFi and Bluetooth are widely used. But in recent years more communication standards have come up

ZigBee: Its widely used in commercial and industrial devices. The frequency range is 2.4Ghz. Coverage area is 10-100 meters. Mesh and star connection pattern are used.

Zwave: Is mainly used in consumer devices. Operating frequency is 900Mhz. Coverage area is 98 to 328 feet. Uses mainly mesh network. 

NFC: Also known as Near Field Communication, uses low power short range wireless signals. Its based on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology and operates on 13.56Mhz. 

Ethernet: Connection to Local Area Network (LAN) based on 802.3 IEEE standard. Data transfer is 100 Mbps. However the overall setup cost is little high and complex.

Final Note..

Internet of things (IoT) devices are here to stay and will evolve as time passes. New technologies will get integrated and pricing of these smart devices will become more affordable.