Internet of Things (IoT), in simple terms, refers to an ongoing trend of connecting all kinds of physical objects to the internet. These devices can be anything from common household objects like refrigerators and light bulbs, to automobiles and traffic lamps. More specifically, IoT refers to any system of physical devices that receive and transfer data over wireless networks. In the Internet of Things approach objects are integrated with sensors to collect data from their environment and transfer this data to other objects over the network. For example, the collection of health related data from a smart watch and transferring it to the smart phone over the network is an Internet of Things approach. The watch and the phone are the objects in this instance and these two objects are connected. Devices equipped with sensors and that can communicate over the network are called smart devices. Nowadays Internet of Things is used in many areas from healthcare to agriculture, manufacturing and education.

A Brief History of the Internet of Things

Machines have been providing direct communications from the time of the telegraph, which was developed in the 1830s. Described as “wireless telegraphy,” the first radio voice broadcast took place on 3rd June 1900, providing another necessary element for developing the Internet of Things. The development of computers began in the 1950s.

The Internet, itself a significant component of the IoT, started out as part of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1962 and evolved into ARPANET in 1969. In the 1980s, commercial service providers started supporting public use of ARPANET, enabling it to develop into our modern Internet. Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) became a reality in the year 1993, with the Department of Defense providing a solid, highly functional system of 24 satellites. This was quickly replaced by privately owned, commercial satellites being placed in earth’s orbit. Satellites and landlines provide basic communications for much of the IoT.

One of the very first examples of an Internet of Things is from the early 1980s that was a Coca Cola machine, located at Carnegie Mellon University. Local programmers would connect through the internet to the refrigerated appliance and check to see if there was a drink available and if it was cold.

The concept of Internet of Things was not named until 1999. Kevin Ashton, the Executive Director of Auto-ID Labs at MIT, was the very first to describe the Internet of Things while preparing a presentation for Procter & Gamble. He named his 1999 presentation the Internet of Things after the trending technology of the day, the internet. Kevin Ashton thought Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) was a requirement for the Internet of Things. He decided that if all devices were “tagged,” computers could manage, track, and check them. Although Kevin’s presentation attracted the attention of some P&G executives, the term Internet of Things was not a matter of interest for the next 10 years.

In 2010, Chinese government declared Internet of Things a strategic priority in its five year plan.

By the year 2013, the Internet of Things had evolved into a system using multiple technologies. The casual fields of automation (including the automation of buildings); wireless detector networks, GPS, control systems, and others, all support the IoT.

Advantages of the Internet of Things

The internet of things helps people live and work smarter. IoT provides businesses with a real time look into how their companies’ systems really work. IoT enables companies to automate processes and reduce labor costs. It also cuts down on waste and improves service delivery, making it less expensive to manufacture and deliver goods as well as offering transparency into customer transactions. IoT touches every industry, including healthcare, finance, retail and manufacturing. For example, smart cities help citizens reduce waste and energy consumption and connected sensors are even used in farming to help monitor crop and cattle yields and predict growth patterns. As such, IoT is one of the most important technologies of everyday life. IoT, by providing advantages through integration with other technologies of the day such as artificial intelligence, robotics and augmented reality, becomes even more popular with each passing day.