This post is part of the Tech Tuesday series brought to you by NTEC.
Forget writing grocery lists. And forget forgetting your grocery list at home. With the Internet of Things (IoT) your ‘fridge can send you an up-to-the-minute list of what you need to re-stock.
HgS Results, a Frisco-based consulting firm located in the North Texas Enterprise Center is working with clients to bring IoT to life.
There are already applications to remotely adjust the temperature in your home, check the status of your garage door, and monitor activities.
Automobiles are fast becoming a personal wireless network. But that’s only the beginning of what’s known as the Internet of Things (IoT).
What Is The Internet of Things?
If you’re like most people, you’ve heard the term, but didn’t know you’re already using IoT in your everyday life. IoT is exploding everywhere, in your home, your car, and businesses throughout the world. Even right here in Frisco.
Over the past 18 months, HgS Results noticed clients inquiring about how the IoT might affect their businesses. We knew we could help them come up with creative ideas that to get the most out of the latest technology and elevate their products and services. We recently helped construction companies in the cell tower industry develop smart applications to remotely monitor job sites. The result was a vast improvement in safety and security at those locations.
According to Gartner, Inc., there will be close to 26 billion devices on the Internet of Things by 2020. Home automation is one area making major strides when it comes to applying IoT. Now you can control the electrical devices installed in your house while you are at a soccer game. Your water will be warm as soon as you get up in the morning for the shower, and more. These smart devices connect through IoT.
Examples of IoT In Practical Applications
Environmental monitoring applications use IoT to monitor air, water, atmospheric, and soil conditions. They can even monitor the movements of wildlife and their habitats. Safety monitoring and controlling operations of urban and rural infrastructure like bridges, railway tracks, and wind-farms is a key application of IoT.
Network control and management of manufacturing equipment and process control also leads to safety and efficiency. IoT intelligent systems enable rapid manufacturing of new products, dynamic response to product demands, and real-time optimization of manufacturing production and supply chain networks, by networking machinery, sensors and control systems together.
IoT devices also enable remote health monitoring and emergency notification systems. Health monitoring devices from blood pressure and heart rate monitors to advanced devices, such as pacemakers or hearing aids, can all be connected.
The list goes on, including optimizing energy consumption and monitoring and controlling the mechanical, electrical and electronic systems used in buildings.
In transportation systems, IoT means inter and intra vehicular communication, smart traffic control, smart parking, electronic toll collection systems. And for commercial transportation, logistic and fleet management, vehicle control, safety and road assistance to name just a few.
There are several planned large-scale deployments of the IoT, to enable better management of cities and systems. For example, Songdo, South Korea, the first of its kind wired smart city, is near completion. Almost everything in this city will be connected and turned into a constant stream of data that is analyzed by computers with little, or no human intervention.
Welcome to Internet of Things.
