The Internet of Things:
What is it ?
The internet of things is essentially a web of interconnected devices that can serve information to each other over the internet or to a defined user. A device on this network can be anything as long as it has some sort of connection to the internet. Each device on this network can share and collect data to improve its function, listen to its environment to achieve a singular goal or both at the same time. Usually a device on this network uses a few different things which I am gonna call the three parts of IoT beginning with sensors…
Part 1 — The Sensors:
Sensors are used to detect external/physical triggers and convert it into a electric signal to be used for a device. A few examples of these external triggers would be temperature, daylight, or motion. For example a Ring doorbell can send an alert if someone is detected in front of it. Now you may ask what does any of this have to do with IoT. In short these sensors transmit the required data over internet to fulfill the target devices application. For example if a device wants to send an alert to an app or a device wants to send a signal to another device. This exchange of data is a integral part of how the Internet of things works. Without it devices connected to the internet of things wouldn't be able to autonomously function. This allows for an extremely wide amount of applications especially within agriculture and medicine. Now we can move onto the connection between devices !
Part 2 — The connection:
In this stage our data is sent across the internet and is usually where cloud technologies can redistribute the data to our devices through an embedded connection to the internet. These connections are usually made using WiFi, Bluetooth or Near Field communication to a device that can connect using the TCP/IP model. Sometimes this data can be stored in other cloud services like databases for further analysis by a user before being transmitted to the device for use. There are a few different models that the IoT can use beginning with a device to cloud. This model connects a given device to some sort of secondary database for its function. A good example of this would be a smart speaker such as amazon Alexa or google home which use a two way communication requiring a constant source of information to your inquiries or keeping track of to-do’s. Another common IoT model is the device to device. This model usually involves a close proximity connection between two devices. A good example of this would be a one way application such as a wearable device like a fitbit connecting to a smartphone or a two way application like using a Apple Watch to control apps on your iPhone. These connections are the foundation for many smart home technology's.
Part 3— The Device:
This is the third and final part of the IoT structure which is the device itself. In order for a device to be able to properly function using the IoT concept in needs three things. First would be the embedded connection to the internet. Without this connection our device is not capable to sending and receiving data from other devices on the network. If a device cannot connect to the internet than it cannot be considered a IoT device. Second, and IoT device should have some sort of builtin or external sensor. Like we talked about before the sensor is what helps our devices collect useful information about the world around them. Now the third and final is some sort of software for interpreting and sending data to and from other devices. This is kinda the alternative to a sensor based device. Without proper software our device (in this case without a sensor) would not able to understand what it is receiving and put it to proper use. This is what would help a security system control a wide range of devices like blinds, lights, cameras, and locks.
The Applications:
There are many applications for the internet of things with some really common examples like smart devices. Some of these smart devices usually include digital thermostats, smart fridges, security systems and other components which usually used together to form a “smart home”. However these commons uses just scratch the surface of IoT. The internet of things has been seen in the field of healthcare to enable remote patient monitoring and data collection for patient health statistics. The internet of things can also be found in agriculture with devices being able to water plants based off of soil humidity levels, Livestock monitoring, and smart greenhouses that all use IoT to save water and have real time information on soil, weather, and water consumption. Here are is a closer look into these cool applications.
Medical:
A more in depth look at the internet of things in healthcare reveals a plethora of amazing developments in remote monitoring of patients. Using the internet of things medical staff can remotely monitor anywhere from heart rates to glucose levels of a patient. IoT can even be used to help mitigate who hasn't washed there hands or not by using analytical information to relay information to staff about a certain patients risks. Some of these systems such as the freestyle libre allows for a diabetic patient to remotely view there own glucose levels using an app.
Agriculture:
A more large scale use if the internet of things would be its profound use in agriculture. With advanced sensor technology like light detectors, humidity gauges, and even livestock focused sensors allow for more efficient and controlled agricultural operations. Analytics provided by these sensors lead to a variety of uses for IoT devices and farmers. With IoT base crop monitoring farmers can closely monitor developing crops in real time to ensure a quality product quickly and efficiently as possible. This data can also be collected and stored to provide farmers with the knowledge to handle weather based issues like droughts with smart irrigation calculated from existing data. The best part of IoT and agriculture is it can all be done remotely allowing for a more autonomous approach to agriculture effieciny , waste and livestock managements, and crop monitoring.
The Dangers:
As useful as the internet of things can be it comes with some significant drawbacks that usually come in the form of privacy and security concerns.
Privacy:
It is a well know fact that in order for the internet of things to work it requires a lot of user data and many questions have surfaced about what these devices are actually collecting. A good example of this is Amazon Alexa always listening for a given keyword to execute a skill. However Amazon Alexa also has a built in voice history which logs any interaction with the service. It asks the question of how much data is being collected on you. Coffee makers knowing how much coffee you drink, refrigerators knowing what you eat, and Alexa knowing everything you say. All this data can be collected and accessed by the devices cloud service and used to the party's content. This opens the doors for rigorous misuse of your personal information by a party or a would be attacker.
Security:
Security is another large issue within the concept of IoT some of the biggest being unauthorized access to devices and Denial of service attacks. Most IoT devices that connect over WiFi are usually unprotected and can server as gateways for the knowledgeable attacker. Most IoT devices have default passwords that can easily be found within a IoT devices source code. Attackers can also use devices such as the amazon Alexa and there voice history to potentially expose personal information. Another very large factor in lack of security is usually lack of support. A device may come out that the company decides to upgrade but fail to release security patches and updates for the original model resulting in outdated and vulnerable devices. With unsupported devices being left in the hands of consumers they can be easily enlisted to support large scale DDoS attacks. Some devices don't even use SSL/TLS http encryption for there data transfer which leaves HTTP requests totally exposed to a would be attacker.
In Conclusion:
The internet of things is truly a wonderful peace of technology that will propel us into a new age of technology. This interconnected spider web of devices and its many uses are beginning to define the century as time moves on. However the drawbacks of IoT is an amazing example of why IoT may not be ready to automate our entire lives but it hasn't stopped IoT in its tracks. We are just seeing the beginning of what IoT can do but sometimes you do need to ask the question. Will we be able to handle it? Good thing the first step to answering that question is learning more about it. Thanks for reading !
