IoT’s interwoven ecosystem affects the average person’s daily routine in ways they may or may not realize. An obvious IoT device is your fitness watch, which tracks information and sends the data to an app on your phone or computer—without any direct action from you at all. Smart devices, like your connected TVs, speakers, appliances, and other wearables, are all driven by IoT.
IoT, or “the internet of things” is a system of interconnected computing devices, which can include computers, phones, wearable gadgets, and a wealth of other machines. Even heart rate monitors are classified as IoT devices. Consumers are not the only ones who benefit from having interconnected control of their technology. The operations of businesses—as they get their product from manufacturers to warehouses to consumers—are simplified thanks to IoT software development services.
How Does IoT Work?
The IoT ecosystem is comprised of smart devices using embedded sensors, processors, and communication hardware to give, receive, and apply data obtained from their surroundings. The novelty of IoT is that these interactions take place without human intervention. Instead, IoT-enabled devices send data to the cloud to be evaluated there, if not locally, before corresponding devices respond to commands.
What are Some Real-World Applications of IoT?
How do we use IoT today, and in what industries? We’ll start with familiar applications and move to some lesser-known ways IoT is utilized.
Smart Home and Entertainment
Today, IoT could easily be incorporated into every aspect of your home life, and for many people, this is already the case. The multitude of devices that pass information back and forth between each other in a home is astounding, yet incredibly understated. Between your phone and the smart bracelet, your alarm clock and Bluetooth speakers, your smartwatch and TV, and similar pairings, IoT’s presence makes your viewing and listening experiences as accessible and controllable as can be.
IoT software has also changed the way we use common appliances in our homes, becoming the baseline for numerous smart security systems and applications. Smart home sensors can trigger devices to shut down, lights to turn off, and doors to lock without you having to directly prompt such actions.
Transportation Industry
Software developers create IoT-driven applications and devices to automate many processes in the logistics and transportation industry. Automated machinery, communications, sensors, all work in tandem to improve warehouse productivity, fleet management, route and shipping optimization, demand planning, and more. In short, businesses thrive when IoT software is applied to company transportation procedures.
Agriculture
IoT software is used for agriculture by automating common farming practices. Sensors collect data on the air, soil, and surrounding weather conditions. Smart farming software can determine if and when its time to irrigate crops, and even suggest custom fertilizers.
Healthcare
Healthcare professionals can better collect and analyze data from their patients’ IoT devices. This industry’s utilization of IoT is still tentative, but in time, IoT’s use in healthcare will lead to better customization of patient treatment. For now, the bulk of IoT’s applications for hospitals are in inventory management, as medical equipment is counted and tracked by IoT devices.
We can be sure that consumers and businesses will reap the benefits of IoT software innovations for years to come.
