Concepts of Internet of Things
Introduction
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The Internet of Things (IoT) simply refers to a system of interrelated, internet-connected objects embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of collecting and transferring data over a wireless network with little or no human intervention.
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IoT is all about sharing data gathered from various devices and using these data to make decisions or take action. For example, you can tell your home automation system to automatically turn on the lights if the data gotten from the light sensor indicates its dark.
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Various fields and technologies, the likes of embedded systems, wireless sensor network, machine learning, real-time analytics, edge computing, cloud computing, and others all contribute to enabling the Internet of things.
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In the Internet of Things, a "thing" can refer to a connected smartwatch, smart television, gaming console, cars, media player, etc. the list is endless. From consumer-based applications as simple as a wearable device to more complicated ones like a driverless car. IoT is all around us and gradually influencing the way humans interact with these objects.
IoT Architecture Building Blocks
While every IoT system is different, the foundation for each architecture and the general data process flow is roughly the same. First of all we have the things: These are the physical objects connected to the internet. These objects have embedded sensors and actuators to sense their environment and send these data to the IoT gateway.
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The next stage is the data acquisition and processing stage. At this stage, the gateways collects the bulk amount of unprocessed data from the sensors, convert it into digital streams, filter and pre-process it for analysis.
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The third layer is the edge analysis. This layer is responsible for further processing, organization of data and enhanced analysis of the data. This stage is also where the data visualization and machine learning may step in.
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The fourth stage, the data is then transferred to data centers which can be either cloud-based or hosted locally. This is where the data is stored, managed and analyzed to derive in depth and actionable insights.
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Let's look at these four layers of IoT architecture in detail:
Things
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As the first layer and basis of every IoT system, the connected devices are responsible for the data which is the building block of the IoT system. To get this data from the environment or within the device itself, they need sensors embedded in them or implemented as standalone devices. For example, consider a weather station whose task is to measure the temperature, humidity, and light intensity of the environment.
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Another crucial element of this layer is the actuators. Working in collaboration with the sensors, actuators are responsible for translating the data gotten from the sensors into physical actions. For example, take smart lighting whose task is to light up when it's dark. The system is embedded with light sensors. Based on the data provided by the sensor in real-time, the system analyses the data and if when dark sends a command to a relay to turn on the light, and also tell the relay to turn off the light during the day. Obviously, all this happens without a single human intervention.
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IoT devices should have the ability to not only be able to communicate with gateways and data acquisition systems, should also be able to recognize and communicate with each other to gather and share data in real-time. Achieving this effectively requires lots of computing power, bandwidth, and enough energy. So, IoT devices should be designed with these challenges in mind and apply secure and lightweight communication protocols, such as Bluetooth Low-energy, or Lightweight M2M for reduced and efficient energy consumption.
Gateways and data acquisition
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This layer functions closely with sensors and actuators on given devices as it is responsible for collecting, filtering, and transferring data from sensors to sedge infrastructure and cloud-based platforms. Given the large amount of data generated from the multitude of connected device, the gateway is a crucial part of the system as it is the mediator between the connected devices and the analytics and storage stage.
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Sensors might emit data in form of analog or digital signal, it is the function of the gate to convert these signals into the formats that are easily transferable and usable to other components in the system. The gateway also handles the control, selection, and data to minimize the volume of data sent for analysis, thereby reducing cost of transmission and response times in the network.
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The gateway is also useful for security. Since the gateways is responsible for managing data flow, with proper encryption and security tools they can prevent data leaks as well as reduce the risk of malicious attacks on the IoT system.
Edge analytics
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With the challenge of data accessibility and transfer speed in IoT cloud platforms, edge systems can provide faster response times and flexibility in IoT data processing and analysis. Since IoT devices are expected to respond in real-time, the speed of data transfer and analysis is key. Edge computers as seen an increase in popularity among industrial IoT ecosystems.
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Since edge infrastructure can be located closer to the IoT devices and data source, acting on the given data is easier, quicker, and in real-time. The edge system is responsible for the organization and analytics of the collected data and is also responsible for providing information for actionable intelligence. With the edge system in place, only the larger chunk of data that really requires the computational power of the Cloud is processed and forwarded there. This helps with reducing data exposure and security can be enhanced. It also reduces energy and bandwidth consumption as less amount of data are transmitted.
Data center/Cloud platform
As we saw earlier, if we are dealing with not so much amount of data, we can make do with the edge system. But the Cloud-based system comes in handy where we are dealing with massive amounts of data such as in Industrial IoT architecture. The Cloud system is very effective when we need to store, process and analyze huge amounts of data for deeper insights using powerful data analytics engines and machine learning mechanisms.
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Tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon provide users and businesses with cloud infrastructure. Furnished with proper user application solutions, the cloud can provide business intelligence and proper data visualization presentation options to help with human interaction with the system. With such advanced capabilities, you can control, monitor, and make informed decisions on the basis of reports through dashboards in real-time. When working with large data, cloud computing is more efficient as it contributes to higher
production rates, reduction of downtime and energy consumption.
Communication protocol for IoT
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Wireless (Short-range)
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Bluetooth mesh networking - Provides a mesh network variant to Bluetooth low energy (BLE) with an increased number of nodes and standardized application layers (Models).
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Light-Fidelity (Li-Fi) - wireless communication technology similar to Wi-Fi standard, but using visible light communication for increased bandwidth.
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Near-field communication (NFC) - Communications protocols enabling two electronic devices to communicate within a 4cm range.
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Radio-frequency identification (RFID) - Technology using electromagnetic fields to read data stored in tags embedded in other items.
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Wi-Fi - Technology for local area networking based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, where devices communicate through a shared access point or directly between individual devices.
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ZigBee - Communication protocols for personal area networking based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standards, providing low power consumption, low data rate, low cost, and low throughput.
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Z-Wave - Wireless communications protocol used primarily for home automation and security applications.
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Wireless (Long-range)
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Low-power wide-area networking (LPWAN) - Wireless networks are designed to allow long-range communication at a low data rate, reducing power and cost for transmission. Examples include LoRaWan, Sigfox, NB-IoT, Weightless, and RPMA.
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Very small aperture terminal (VSAT) - Satellite communication technology using small dish antennas for narrowband and broadband data.
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Wired
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Ethernet - General purpose networking standard using twisted pair and fiber optic links in conjunction with hubs and switches.
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Power-line communication (PLC) - Communication technology using electrical wiring to carry power data.
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Application Layer
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ADRC defines an application layer protocol and supporting framework for implementing IoT applications.
Advantages of IoT
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Improved customer engagement
Before IoT and the absence of real-time data, businesses were operating based on assumptions. This led to significant flaws in accuracy and customer engagement remained passive. With IoT enabling real-time data collection, businesses now make informed decisions thereby achieving richer and more effective engagement with audiences.
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Technology optimization
The real data collected from devices are also used to improve the device operations and usage also aids in more potent improvements to technology.
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Enhanced data collection
Unlike the current data collection and analytics, IoT presents us with accurate and relevant data needed for to analyze our environment. It provides an accurate picture of everything. Efficient resource utilization. With the data gathered through IoT about devices, we can know how they function and know the right resources to be allocated such as energy or when to turn off the device to save energy. It also helps in reducing waste.
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Minimize human effort
The main reason for IoT is to reduce human interaction with machines. Through IoT the devices are able to communicate and carry out tasks automatically, reducing human effort. Save time With little or no interaction between humans and machines. IoT helps in saving the time previously channeled into the manual operation of tasks currently handled by IoT.
Problems and controversies around IoT
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Though IoT provides us with huge benefits, there are some downsides to it. Below are some major issues associated with the Internet of Things:
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Platform fragmentation
The IoT platform suffers from a lack of common technical standards. IoT devices having variations in hardware and software running on them makes the development of applications that work consistently between different inconsistent technology ecosystems hard. For example, wireless connectivity for IoT devices can be done using Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRa, and NB-IoT as well as completely custom proprietary radios, each with its own issues and unique support ecosystem.
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Data storage
Another challenge in IoT is the ability to clean, process, and interpret the vast amount of data that is gathered from sensors. Also, storing these vast amounts of data can be a challenge, especially when there are high data acquisition requirements, which in turn leads to high storage requirements. You can choose to self-store your data which leads to an increase in the cost of the storage facility, or you can choose to store your data in the cloud which might also lead to a decrease in the speed of data accessibility.
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Security
Security is the biggest concern in adopting internet of things technology. Most of the technical security concerns are similar to those of conventional servers, workstations and smartphones. These includes unencrypted messages sent between devices, using default credentials, SQL injections and poor handling of security updates. Many IoT devices have severe limitations on computational power. This makes them unable to directly use basic security measures such as implementing firewalls or using strong encryption system to encrypt their communications with other devices. IoT devices are mostly connected to the internet, allowing it to be exploited remotely. Poorly secured Internet-accessible IoT can also be subverted to attack others.
Safety
IoT systems are typically controlled by event-driven smart apps that take input either from the user or data from sensors, or external triggers (from the internet) and send a command to the actuator(s) towards providing different forms of authentication. Examples of sensors are motion detectors, light detectors, smoke detectors, and actuators examples include smart door controls, smart power outlets, and smart pumps. Popular IoT platforms include Samsung's SmartThings, Apple HomeKit, Google HomeKit, and Amazon Homekit, among others. Third-party developers can smart apps on these platforms as well. A problem with this is buggy and unforeseen bad app interactions, or device/communication failures. These can cause unsafe and dangerous physical states, such as unauthorized commands or actions on IoT devices.
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Design​
There are different producers of IoT products. Due to this, we have different designs and procedures available to the end user. Because of the different designs and interfaces of the various devices, the user will have to learn the different interfaces to control each device, which in turn is defeating the main purpose of IoT which is to make life easier (through little or no human interaction).
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Environmental sustainability impact
Another concern with the Internet of things technologies is the environmental impacts of manufacturing, usage, and disposal of these semiconductor-rich devices. Modern electronics are made with a wide variety of heavy and rare-earth metals, as well as highly toxic synthetic chemicals, making them extremely difficult to recycle. Another issue is energy consumption. Although IoT devices are designed to consume little energy, the impact of having billions of devices connected and consuming power from batteries and from the grid will have a huge impact on energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
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Confusing terminology
The Internet of things technology is made up of different fields, including electronics, embedded systems, communication, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cyber security, to name a few. The terminologies from these fields are also made use of in IoT, making it confusing for the end user. An end user might need to go through some form of education to be able to utilize their devices.
Applications
Smart home
Smart home is arguably the most popular application of the Internet of things. IoT devices are a part of the larger concept of home automation, which includes lighting, heating, air conditioning, media, and security systems.
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A smart home or automated home could be based on a platform or hubs that control smart devices and appliances. For example, using Google's HomeKit manufacturers can have their products and accessories controlled by an application in Android mobile devices through a dedicated app or a native application such as Google Assistant.
There are also dedicated smart home hubs that are offered as standalone platforms to connect different smart home products. A few examples include Google Home, Apple's HomePod, Amazon Echo, and Samsung SmartThings Hub. Adding to the commercial systems are many non-proprietary, open-source ecosystems; including Home Assistant, OpenHAB, and Domoticz.
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Medical and healthcare
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) also referenced as Smart Healthcare is an application of the IoT for medical and health-related purposes. This involves data collection and analysis for research and monitoring. IoT devices can be used to enable remote health monitoring and emergency notification systems. These monitoring devices range from blood pressure and heart rate monitors to advanced devices capable of monitoring specialized implants, such as peacemakers, Fitbit electronic wristbands, or advanced hearing aids.
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Specialized sensors can also be equipped within living spaces to monitor the health and general well-being of the user. These sensors create a network of intelligent sensors that are able to collect, process, transfer, and analyze valuable information in different environments such as connecting in-home monitoring devices to hospital-based systems.
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Transportation
The IoT finds vast applications in transportation. It can assist in the integration of communications, control, and information processing across various transportation systems. IoT application extends to all aspects of transportation systems such as the vehicle, the infrastructure, and the driver or user. IoT provides a dynamic interaction between these components of a transport system enabling inter and intra-vehicular communication. It also helps in smart traffic control, smart packing, electronic toll collection systems, logistics and fleet management, vehicle control, safety, and road assistance.
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Energy management
Today, significant numbers of energy-consuming devices such as lamps, household appliances, motors, pumps, etc. already integrate internet connectivity. This allows these devices to communicate with utilities not only to balance power generation but also to help optimize energy consumption as a whole. Using the smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), energy and power-related information are collected to improve the efficiency of the production and distribution of electricity. Through sensors and remote control capabilities, devices that are not in use can be turned off automatically or remotely by the use, thereby saving energy.
Agriculture
IoT also finds various applications in agriculture such as for collecting data on temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, pest infestation, and soil content. These data can be used to automate farming techniques, take informed decisions to improve quality and quantity, minimize waste, and reduce the effort to manage crops. For example, sensors can be used to monitor the water level in the soil and program a water pump to be activated automatically at a certain level of dryness.
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Manufacturing
IoT is used in manufacturing to control devices equipped with sensing, identification, processing, communication, actuation, and networking. IoT intelligent systems enable rapid manufacturing and optimization of new products and rapid response to product demands. IoT is used to automate process controls, operator tools, and service information systems to optimize safety and security. IoT can also be applied to asset management via predictive maintenance, statistical evaluation, and measurements to maximize reliability.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) vs Internet of Things (IoT)
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When it comes to connected devices, two technologies that you'll often hear about are M2M (machine-to-machine) and IoT (Internet of Things). Knowing the differences between these two is key to understanding which can better serve your business applications.
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M2M, or machine-to-machine, is the foundation of the sophistical device connectivity we see today. An M2M connection utilizes a point-to-point connection between two devices in a network allowing them to transmit information via public networking technologies such as ethernet and cellular networks.
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IoT, the Internet of Things is an evolution of M2M. It takes the basic concepts of M2M and expands them by creating large "cloud" networks of devices. IoT allows users to create fast, flexible, high-performance networks that connect a wide variety of devices.
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To understand these concepts better let's look at a simple example. Consider an automatic sprinkler system that involves a pump and a sensor unit for checking soil moisture levels. Programming the sensor to communicate with the pump to turn when the moisture level of the soil is at a certain level might be considered to be a M2M application. The communication might be wired such as Ethernet or wireless such as Bluetooth.
Adding this system to the list of other connected systems and adding remote control functionality through a mobile device to your system via a web server and storing the collected data in the cloud might be considered an IoT application as this involves an internet connection.
Making The Right Choice Between M2M and IoT
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These two concepts might be a little bit confusing when making a choice of which to use for your needs. The following tips below might be of help in choosing which makes the most sense for your business.
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You might wish to go with M2M if:
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Your application requires point-to-point communication between devices.
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Your application needs to keep operating with or without a Wi-Fi connection.
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Your device network needs to be isolated for security reasons.
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Rapid scalability is not a primary concern for your network.
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Your network consists of fewer connected devices.
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On the other hand, IoT might be the best solution if:
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Your application requires real-time syncing of different devices through a cloud network.
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Your devices are connected to a fast and reliable Wi-Fi connection.
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Your application is easily scalable to aid a growing network of devices and users.
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Your application requires the ability to share data with devices of multiple standards.
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The devices on your network require the ability to communicate with multiple other
simultaneously in near real-time or real-time.
IoT devices
Let's look at a few examples of IoT devices that are in use today.
Google Home voice controller
Google Home voice controller is a smart IoT device. Incorporated with Google Assistant, it allows the user to control other compatible smart devices such as smart thermostats, lights, TV, and can also be used to set alarms, enjoy media and also perform Google searches.
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August Smart Lock
The August Smart Lock is a security IoT device. It allows the user to control their doors from any location. It gives the status of the door notifying if the door is closed or not. It provides unlimited digital keys and also has a good auto-unlock feature which automatically opens the door as soon as the user arrives near the door.
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Nest Learning Thermostat
This smart thermostat helps to control the home's temperature with no effort from the user. It adapts according to your activities and manages room temperature automatically based on your routine. It can interact with Google assistant and Alexa for voice control.
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Philips Hue Lights
Philips Hue is a very famous IoT device used as a personal wireless lighting system that allows the user to control lights and create the right ambiance for every moment. Has light schedules and comfort-dimming capability.
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Ring Doorbell
The Ring Doorbell is an IoT device that allows the user to answer the door from anywhere using their smartphones. Sends HD video feed to your phone to know who is at the door. Has a night vision and motion detection sensor.
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Smartwatch
Smartwatches are likely the most commonly-known and most commonly-used wearable IoT devices. Connecting a smartwatch to a smartphone enables the user to send, receive, and read messages from their watch. Some, such as the Apple watch include GPS and can perform electrocardiogram heart reading. They can also include solar charging capability.