Which IoT use cases have changed our world

The Internet of Things, or IOT for short, has grown exponentially over the past decade. In fact, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, by 2020, 75 billion devices will be connected to the Internet.

Whether in transportation, manufacturing, customer service or other areas, the Internet of Things is everywhere and is making the world a better place. In this article, we will select some of these use cases and introduce the power and revolution that the Internet of Things has brought to our society.

IoT use case 1: predictive maintenance of manufacturing facilities

Despite advances in manufacturing and industrial processing, many companies still use the "downtime repair" model. Without advanced sensors and technology on mission-critical equipment, it is difficult to tell when a machine will fail.

If the equipment fails catastrophically, these failures can be extremely dangerous for workers. This is why industrial companies such as Fujitsu not only focus their work on employee safety and preventative maintenance, but also rely on IoT devices.

Which IoT use cases have changed our world

How to integrate the Internet of Things into industrial equipment?

The process is as follows:

First, the sensor is embedded in the device.

Second, the device is connected to a wireless network.

Third, embedded sensors collect data and send it to monitoring applications in real time.

These sensors can record the status of the device in different ways, such as temperature, speed, humidity, etc.

Benefits of the Internet of Things for manufacturing

▲ Fewer human interventions

With the Internet of Things, companies can collect real-time information on the status of their equipment. The crew can detect abnormal conditions in time, and can take measures to remedy immediately, which can even be automated.

▲ Better maintenance plan

Because companies can better monitor equipment, they can perform predictive maintenance based on data collected by IoT sensors. When the application processes data, it can detect warning signs so that plant engineers can fix the problem before it gets worse.

▲ Improve safety and profitability

The integration of the Internet of Things in the manufacturing and industrial ecosystems helps ensure worker safety. Not only that, it also improves efficiency because there are fewer interruptions caused by machine failures. In addition, due to fewer accidents, there are fewer downtimes, and the productivity of each plant increases. This helps increase profits for industrial companies.

IoT use case # 2: self-driving cars

This is perhaps one of the most famous applications of the Internet of Things technology. It is safe to say that without the Internet of Things and powerful wireless networks, autonomous vehicles would not be possible.

Automotive and technology companies are working together

Today, more and more companies are exploring autonomous vehicle technology. (Source IoT Home Network) The potential benefits of successful research by Uber, Waymo, Ford, and dozens of other companies are huge, and we have also seen more joint development cooperation between car manufacturers and technology companies Such as BlackBerry and Baidu.

Benefits of self-driving cars

Autonomous cars are said to be safer and more efficient than cars driven by humans. Designers of tomorrow's cities even see them as a way to eliminate parking lots and create a more humane environment.

Approaching the future

It remains to be seen when autonomous vehicles will become widespread and available for purchase. However, they may provide services to the public as soon as 2020, and some even predict 95% adoption by 2040. But no matter how often it is adopted, autonomous vehicles are still a revolutionary use case for the Internet of Things.

IoT use case # 3: asset tracking and monitoring

Asset tracking is one of the most powerful use cases for the Internet of Things. There are now dozens of IoT product and software companies dedicated to tracking assets, from cars and containers to construction equipment.

Global Positioning System (GPS) is losing its edge

Although GPS (Global Positioning System) has been widely used, new positioning services have entered the market. Networked devices can communicate with each other, which makes sensor-to-sensor communication a good alternative to GPS. Therefore, any object connected to an IoT sensor can be tracked globally.

Benefits of IoT for asset tracking and monitoring

▲ More than simple geolocation

"Location of things" makes geolocation of fixed and mobile assets quick and easy. In addition, because sensors can collect more information than simple positioning, the Internet of Things is providing more available data, such as speed or ambient temperature.

▲ Better data analysis

As more data is collected, companies can better understand when and how problems occur, and even prevent them. For example, by knowing the temperature, speed, and nature of the road, some companies can decide to change the driving route of the truck. For transportation companies, improved tracking means better logistics, fewer delays, and fewer accidents.

What will happen in the future?

Some companies leading innovation in this field include ATTI, Telstra, telecommunications giant AT & T, etc. Over time, the Internet of Things will become more affordable, and IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring will certainly become more common.

IoT use case 4: Telemedicine

The world's population is aging. Due to the growth of the world's population and advances in medical technology, humans are living longer. It is predicted that between 2015 and 2030, the number of people over 60 will increase from 900 million to 1.5 billion, an increase of 56%.

Medical at home

One potentially revolutionary application of the Internet of Things could be home healthcare. Today, many people choose to care for themselves at home instead of living in a care facility. Although home caregivers are attentive in helping the elderly, they cannot provide round-the-clock care.

This is where the Internet of Things comes in. Sensors placed at home and worn by older people can monitor their condition. A heart rate monitor can detect overwork, a gyroscope can detect falls and alert you, and other devices can monitor the health of older people.

Who is leading innovation?

Companies like HoneyCo, Path and Tricella are innovators who focus on the home Internet of Things to achieve advanced security, fall prevention, medication reminders, and more. As the population continues to age, we will definitely see more medical investment in smart homes.

At last

One of the most common questions in the Internet of Things is how to power all these smart solutions, and the answer is edge computing. Although IoT devices can collect data, they are not designed to process and analyze data.

Edge computing is a new computing method that replaces and supports data centers with smaller, more decentralized, and closer geographically located edge servers. Edge servers are installed a few steps away from networked devices, so they can quickly collect and analyze data. This guarantees low latency and high data processing speed for applications, enabling IoT innovations such as autonomous vehicles.