Connecting the Dots: How IoT Devices are Changing Industries
A few years ago, the concept of IoT was a dream to be manifested in a very distant future. Today, that distant future is upon us. IoT has taken over many industries in developed countries, and many other industries are following suit. Cargo was the first industry to think of this idea when it introduced RFID tags for parcels and vehicles carrying those parcels. The next industries to benefit from this ease were home appliances and health and fitness. Nowadays, these devices affect every aspect of our lives. Here is what you need to know about IoT and its impact on our lives. A Brief History of IoT The term Internet of Things (IoT) was first coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999, who wanted to use RFID technology to smooth the logistics of the company he worked for, Procter & Gamble. But RFID wasn’t the first technology that could be summed up under this umbrella term. Instead, the first example of an IoT device was a refrigerator that communicated the status of drinks present in it to its users. This refrigerator belonged to Coca-Cola. The technology industry responded to Kevin’s term by creating robust systems that could relay information across different devices using the infant technology of Wi-Fi. They also researched and developed sensors that could collect these pieces of information for sharing. Wearable joined the chase soon, and in no time, the whole ecosystem of IoT was up and running. What is IoT? Nowadays, these technologies are no secret. Everyone is using one or more devices that keep sending their information to other parties or letting them access information from their devices. Still, information about its scope and functioning is known to only a few. The literal meaning of the IoT is a network of sensing and communicating devices. These devices can collect information from their environment using smart sensors and use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology to communicate this information to another device. This second device is usually within the reach of a decision-maker who either acts upon this information himself or sends commands to the device to respond. Here are some industries that are benefiting a lot from IoT these days. Transportation We know that cargo was the first area to deploy IoT technology with RFID tags. These tags allowed the senders and receivers to track the location of their deliveries. The tags could be attached to the vehicles carrying the goods, or they could be with the packages. These tags had tracking IDs that could be accessed from all over the world. Later, these tags were employed to let car owners locate their vehicles. The same tags are now being used to track the whole fleet, helping with scheduling the vehicles’ departure and maintenance tasks. Road sensors also help this industry check available parking spaces. Plus, the shipping industry as a whole will benefit from the real-time information transparency of available fleets moving to and from an area, making shipping decisions easier. One well-anticipated development is the autonomy of vehicles. Different countries around the world are constructing dedicated corridors for autonomous trucks. Currently, the error rate of these trucks is higher than acceptable, but it is expected that the sensors’ efficiency will circumvent this issue. Simultaneously, autonomous cars are also expected to add ease to daily commutes. Upcoming years will also see train schedules decided by the IoT. Engineers are busy testing sensors for environment scanning, train lengths, and passenger numbers to calculate these schedules. Education The most popular development in the education industry regarding IoT was about tracking pupil’s technology use. The trackers would keep a record of their internet activity, alerting parents or teachers of risky activities. The second application came as geofencing technology that could alert the authorities if the student strayed away from their school boundaries during school time. It offered a piece of mind to the parents and teachers who knew if the student was in class during the lecture time or not. It also enhanced the safety of these students. Teachers also got help with virtual assistants. These assistants could mark the tests, take attendance based on the wearable count or check-ins, and record marks for their classes. Many institutions are using cameras and webcams as proctors instead of invigilators in remote exam settings. These devices are backed by proctoring software that uses AI to analyze a candidate’s activity to detect signs of cheating. These institutes use IoT app development services to develop sensitive programs that check every movement of candidates’ eyes to determine if their activity is suspicious or not. Teachers can use these devices on their resource packs for the class to know if they are running low on supplies. The same goes for tracking exercises and reading books that may need replenishment periodically. One commendable way IoT is helping students is by tracking their learning. Their activity on an interactive tablet or phone is aggregated in a report, prompting teachers to personalize their progress. At the same time, using AI, teachers and course creators also take the next action for a given string of actions on a course or module. These devices work closely with data science to determine students’ attitudes toward learning. They detect trends from the best games like Runescape and Pokemon to determine the learning environment that will be most engaging to these students. Later, educators use these insights to develop lesson plans that yield results. Manufacturing No doubt, IoT integration is the fastest and smoothest for those industries that require repetitive tasks, and the manufacturing industry lies at the top of the list of such industries. In the end, it gains the most benefits from the advent of the IoT. Production units employ sensors to record equipment performance and report on ad hoc maintenance needs. Predictive repair and overhauling are also recorded and processed. RFID tags ensure the security of the equipment, especially when these pieces of equipment are portable. Inventory management has become an automated process with this advancement, as sensors can
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