ORIBELLO, MARY GRACE B.

Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the devices, vehicles, appliances, and other electronic items that
are embedded with a software system that connects it to the internet to transmit data to the connected
device. Your smart watch, cars, home appliances, etc. that now has sensors for ease of access with your
smartphone come under this broad category. It is making life easier, no doubt, but it is also creating scope
for other big disadvantages that we are slowly adapting into our lives.

Clearly, IoT promises to hold a host of benefits for consumers, businesses, governments,
academics—well, just about everyone, let’s put it that way. We’ve already seen the growth of the smart
grid to help households use power more efficiently. Some of these are:

 Smart cars will eventually communicate with traffic lights to improve traffic flows and with the
home to know whether it should use gas or electricity (if it knows it’s going home, it will switch
to electricity knowing that it can be recharged shortly). Looking for a parking spot? No problem.
Your smart car will help you find one. As we’ve already seen with some companies, your smart
car data can help you get lower insurance rates (assuming you’re a good driver), but as we’ll see,
this is also cause for concern. And smart cars may eventually recognize when the driver is drowsy
and make necessary adjustments.
 Smart homes, in addition to communicating with your smart car, will have refrigerators that will
be able to take food inventory and tell your smart phone while you’re at the grocery store. Want
to know if the kids are home? Your home will tell you.
 Smart cities will not only have more efficient traffic flows for individual smart cars but public
transportation could be improved by more accurate assessments of transportation fleets, safety
habits of drivers, route planning and fuel consumption. Cities may well excel in citizen
engagement and municipal services. We might even have smart trash cans that alert when they’re
full.
 IoT in Healthcare is aimed at empowering people to live healthier life by wearing connected
devices. The collected data will help in personalized analysis of an individual’s health and
provide tailor made strategies to combat illness.
 Smart retail allows businesses to track and assess inventory and product placement to a very high
degree. Consumer tracking will also allow businesses to better tailor their services to their
customers. Smartphones will be the way for retailers to remain connected with their consumers
even out of store. Interacting through Smartphones and using Beacon technology can help
retailers serve their consumers better. They can also track consumers’ path through a store and
improve store layout and place premium products in high traffic areas.

The IoT has the potential to transform many aspects of our lives. More automation, autonomous
systems and machine based connectivity to benefit our homes, our businesses and our communities.

While this poses some great economic opportunities, it also raises some important questions
about safety and privacy. Just like all other advents of technology, IoT too will have major disadvantages
to it and hence it largely depends on the way we decide to use it. The usage should definitely be kept to
the minimum to ensure than one doesn't become a slave to machine.