The internet of things, or IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low and any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and is able to transfer data over a network.
An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems, such as processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send an act on data they acquire from their environments. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect by connecting to an IoT gateway or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be analyzed or analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related devices and act on the information they get from one another. The devices do most of the work without human intervention, although people can interact with the devices - for instance, to set them up, give them instructions or access the data.
The IoT has the potential to dramatically increase the availability of information, and is likely to transform companies and organizations in virtually every industry around the world.
As such, finding ways to leverage the power of the IoT is expected to factor into the strategic objectives of most technology companies, regardless of their industry focus.
The number of different technologies required to support the deployment and further growth of the IoT places a premium on interoperability, and has resulted in widespread efforts to develop standards and the technical specifications that support seamless communication between IoT devices and components. Collaboration between various standards development groups of some current efforts will eventually result in greater clarity for IoT technology companies.
-BY Pavithra K