Concept in Definition ABC

If you are getting used to smart and connected devices, hold on, curves are coming, because this has just begun.

Sensorization + connectivity + processing = intelligence

The Internet of Things, better known by its acronym in English, IoT (Internet of Things), has its theoretical basis in the addition of sensors and connectivity to any object and, eventually, it may also have its own processing capabilities, although this is not strictly necessary to enter the definition of IoT.

This allows connected objects to gain a certain degree of intelligence (smart), just as ours has done for a long time mobile (smartphone) or, more recently, our television (smart TV).

We are talking, for example, of a smart coffee maker that alerts you to your cell phone when your coffee is available, of a smart glass that "knows" what temperature there is your coffee, a parking space that is capable of report to a server when it is free or busy and, with this data, feed an app that allows us to find free parking, ...

Which is the limit? theoretically, just imagination.

Possibilities

Based on the examples given before, we can say that both the objects we have at home and on the street may contain sensors, which are getting smaller and smaller, as well as all sorts of devices electronic

The medical field will benefit from temperature sensors that will constantly monitor the patients without disturbing them by waking them up to take their temperature by means of a thermometer. The smart pills will carry photo cameras and short-range emitters to show images inside the body.

Our clothes, our everyday objects, the vehicles with which we move,... Everything will have its degree of intelligence, allowing us to put aside repetitive and / or boring tasks in favor of having more time for creative tasks.

The importance of 5G

So many connected devices will generate in the near future a large amount of data that must be transmitted, and that the current 4G will not be able to absorb.

The great hope is located in 5G, the new batch of cellular connectivity whose key is in the frequencies used, using unlicensed bands to expand the capacity of transmission of data.

Currently in the development and laboratory testing phase, its first deployments are expected in 2020 and, from here, its worldwide deployment.

New infrastructures will also be needed, both locally (routers, switches, ...) as in the networks of the operators.

Industrial IoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things) is the same concept as the IoT but applied to the world of industry, sensorizing and connecting all kinds of devices and objects present in factories and factories.

This use has given rise to the so-called Industry 4.0, of which some have already affirmed that it is the new industrial Revolution.

Photos: iStock - DrAfter123 / mathisworks

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