The Internet of Things: A new way of smart living?
Of all the emergent innovations, the Internet of Things (IoT) is arguably the most exciting and transformative of technologies. The concept of IoT is a highly connected network, harvesting data from sensors in an environment and linked to devices, where information is collected in the cloud and analysed to make smart decisions or solutions. It has the potential to save time, save effort and even save lives. By Richard Forsyth
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t is projected there will be 16.4 billion IoT connected devices by 2025.This is a rapid escalation of this sector when you consider IoT was not so long ago just an idea, a sci-fi-like concept to connect things, processes and people wirelessly and seamlessly through the internet, to make good decisions. By 2025 it is estimated that the Consumer Sector will generate over 40% of IoT Revenues. This demonstrates a goal by industry for IoT, where your home devices, your car, your house, your clothes all monitor your movement, where you are in your environment, decipher your needs and make everything you come near intuitively helpful before you even make your next move. Today, the IoT has arrived – or more accurately, begun. You may not have noticed but it is seeping into the world around you. There are
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many examples of IoT applications today. Here, we look at some of those examples which mark the beginnings of an IoT networked world, which will evolve in a relatively short amount of time.
Home comforts Anyone with a home-hub device such as an Amazon Echo has the possibility to connect it to the infrastructure of their home to automatically switch on lights via smart lightbulbs, or remotely warm the room when you sit down in a chair, or dim the lights to watch a film ‘without lifting a finger… or even raising your voice’, as the promotional blurb goes. But this is a just the start. Whilst we have the concept of a hub at home, the sheer range of devices that are now invented or can
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