Internet of Things (IoT) is the subsequent & most promising chapter of the industrial revolution. Technology has brought physical devices into the digital sphere. IoT is the amalgamation of the “real world” with the “digital world,” enabling easy communication between people, things, & processes. We have recently seen many of the Best IoT Applications around us.
Some Best IoT Applications in Our Lives
1. IoT In Smart City
A smart city is a popular one of the Best IoT Applications ideas that hold technology accountable for developing metropolitan infrastructure to make metropolitan cities more resourceful, cheaper, & better to inhabit. It also tries to endorse economic growth & help to preserve the environment with the use of technology.
The idea of a “Smart City” deals with arrangement & public supervision through computerizing services in a resourceful & viable way. Smart cities can develop & update many sectors, counting government services, transportation & traffic management, energy, water, waste management & many more vital aspects to improve life.
2. IoT In Smart Homes
The most noticeable Real-World IoT Applications of the IoT are smart homes. A smart home uses sensors to run & maintain lighting, temperature, entertainment & security systems. A smart home is a minor, autonomous version of a smart city.
Mark Zuckerberg’s (CEO of Meta) Jarvis is an example of an IoT-based smart home system. If you are thinking about Jarvis of Tony Stark, you are also right. Mark’s smart home system uses natural language to process voice commands.
He has internet switches all over the house to run the appliances. The system takes care of lighting based on the number of people there & even can play personalized music based on the choice of person in the room. His security system uses facial recognition features to detect any security threat or unauthorized intruder.
3. IoT Applications in Healthcare
Wearable IoT smart devices enable hospitals to observe their patients’ condition at home, thus reducing the need for hospital stays while still offering essential real-time information that can save lives. In many hospitals, smart beds keep the employees informed of the availability, thereby reducing wait time for free space.
Putting IoT sensors on vital care equipment ensures fewer malfunctions & enhanced dependability, which can be a vital factor in saving someone’s life. Elderly care is becoming considerably more comfortable with the applications of IoT. Sensors installed in beds or wearable devices can detect if a patient feels unwell or has a heart attack.
4. IoT In Manufacturing
The manufacturing & industrial automation sector is another big gainer in the IoT execution. RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) & GPS (Global Positioning System) technology can help manufacturers follow a product from the factory premise to its position in the store, the entire supply chain from beginning to end. These sensors can collect vital information on travel time, product state, & environmental situations that can affect the product.
Sensors planted to factory gears can help to recognize instances of bottlenecks in the production line, thereby curtailing time & resource waste. Other sensors attached to machines can also monitor the machine’s performance, predicting the required maintenance & accidents, if any.
5. IoT In Insurance Sector
The insurance sector can benefit massively from the ongoing IoT revolution. Insurance providers can offer customers discounts for IoT wearables like Fitbit or Apple Watch. By executing fitness tracking, the insurer can provide personalized policies & promote healthier habits, which in the long run, benefits everyone, insurance providers, & policyholders alike.
6. IoT In Transportation
Even some years ago, the concept of self-driving cars was a matter of sci-fi movies & stories, which is a reality now. But that’s just a small part of the huge perspective on transportation. GPS is another example of IoT, which is used to help transportation organizations plan faster & more efficient routes for trucks carrying cargo, thus speeding up the delivery time.
There’s already noteworthy progress in navigation; GPS installed in our cars is referred to here. City planners can also use that information to resolve traffic patterns, parking space requirements, and road construction. There’s also research going on to make the app to prevent a car from starting if the driver is drunk.
7. IoT In Wearables
Thanks to IoT applications, we have seen a huge development in the field of fitness bands in the past few years. These fitness bands can track calorie expenditure, distance covered, blood oxygen level, blood pressure & many more. These IoT applications generally come in wristbands/watches. However, they can also come as earbuds, clip-on devices, or smartphones.
Other types of wearables are virtual glasses & GPS tracking belts. These little & energy-efficient devices have sensors & software that collect & organize data about users. Tech giants like Apple, Google, & Samsung are behind the brains that introduced the IoT.
8. IoT In Hotel Industry
Remarkable developments in service quality have been noticed with the introduction of IoT to the hotel industry. The undisturbed automation of different interactions, like electronic keys sent directly to guests’ mobile devices, has invited a transformation. It offers easy check-in & check-out processes, instant data on the availability of rooms, & quicker execution of housekeeping jobs.
Sending offers on activities of interest based on guests’ choice & location, the recognition of orders to the room, & more can easily be managed via incorporated applications using IoT technology.
9. IoT In Retail Sector
Like the industrial sector, the retail sector can achieve more savings, efficiencies, & innovation using IoT technology. Retail IoT has many possibilities, including enhanced customer experience, precise & real-time product monitoring, enhanced staff strategy, & in general resourceful account management.
Retailers can track customer shopping behaviors with IoT technology, monitoring their purchase history, choices, & location information to implement customer strategies better & introduce better products & offers.
Some Disadvantages of IoT
IoT is bringing a technological revolution with the Best IoT Applications. There are also some disadvantages developers & we should be aware of. They are:
- Risk of the data breach.
- Dependency on internet connectivity & power.
- The complexity of technology.
- Security & privacy concerns.
- Risk of increase in unemployment.
- Lack of international standards.
- Less mental & physical activity.
- Higher costs.
FAQ
Q: What is the role of AI & ML in IoT?
A: AI & ML are an indispensable part of IoT. Once a system learns how to solve a particular problem using AI & ML, it can perform more effectively.
Q: Who coined the term ‘IoT’?
A: It was first used by computer scientist Kevin Ashton in 1999.
Q: What is regarded as IIOT?
A: Means Industrial Internet of Things. It deals with industrial opportunities & challenges.