We are aware of internet which connects web servers and desktop computers. Various web applications are accessed through web browsers or mobile phones. Now, let see the evolution of ration of computing machine to the number of human users.
Servers are shared by multiple users (1 Server: N persons). With advent of mobile phones one person started using more than one mobile phones ( 1 Person: N phones). Now-a-days there is craze for smart watches or wearable. A single user may have tens of different wearable devices (1 person: 10 N smart devices). In this fashion number of devices are growing exponentially.
This statistic shows the number of connected devices (Internet of Things; IoT) worldwide from 2015 to 2025. For 2020, the installed base of Internet of Things devices is forecast to grow to almost 31 billion worldwide. -www.statista.com
These devices are called “Things”. Internet of things (IoT) is kind of extended internet where you can envisage “anything” can be connected to internet which has its own IP address. IP stands for Internet Protocol. It is used for connecting various devices like computers, routers on internet and it provides facility of routing packets from source to destination.
Let us try and understand some buzzwords related to this Internet of Things(IoT).
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network made up of various “things” or objects which are smart i.e. they can gather data and send data to the internet. These devices have what is called as IP (internet protocol) address which identifies them uniquely.
With IoT, miraculous things are possible. Consider the patient is recovering after getting discharge from the hospital and is currently staying at his home. One way of monitoring him and avoiding readmission to the hospital would be to employ a fulltime nurse and monitor patient’s vital health parameters at home.
With wearable technology and internet of things, the same patient can be fitted with gadgets over his body which can monitor him for twenty four hours. All these devices can be connected to the server on cloud and they can send data in real time.
This real time data can be analyzed with sophisticated tools which can generate alerts for doctors in case of emergency or when any specific action is required. In this fashion, many patients can be remotely monitored without admitting them to the hospital and saving lot of cost.
Edge Computing
Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm which pushes the processing power to the locations of end user or source of data. In the context of IoT, edge computing means more processing power and intelligence at the level of sensors or embedded devices.
With cloud, lot of computing power is centralized. Edge computing is opposite of it and makes the devices on extreme ends powerful hence called ‘Edge’. It provides processing and storage for ‘things’ or devices which are away from centralized core processing.
In few years, number of intelligent devices on ‘edge’ would easily outnumber the mobile phones. Controlling millions of such devices would not be possible from centralized servers. This would warrant distributed computing with more intelligent edge devices. Gartner describes this as “the edge will eat the cloud”.
Internet of Emotions
In the digital world with social media a lot of data is generated. This data contains not only text opinions but also contains representation of emotions through emoticons, likes etc. A technique called sentiment analysis is very popular which is used to gauge public sentiment or opinion.
With advances in image processing, videos, face recognition technologies, human emotions can be sensed or detected by the edge devices. The edge devices would be equipped with computing power and artificial intelligence so that it can sense voice, recognize facial expressions, monitor some heath parameters like blood pressure etc. and judge the human emotions or mood. There are gadgets like Feel wristband and Moodmetric rings fall in this category.
Tracking emotions would be of immense value to businesses because emotions affect the purchasing decisions.
Industrial Internet of things(IIoT)
Industrial Internet of things or IIoT is a network of a multitude of industrial devices connected by communications technologies. With these systems companies can not only monitor things and collect data but will be able to deliver valuable insights for smarter business decisions.
Industrial internet of things is nothing but internet of things in the industrial context.
Distance MBA and IoT
Internet of things has evolved by convergence of multiple technologies and devices like embedded systems, sensors, network protocols, machine learning etc. Any 21st century manager needs to be aware of new disruptive technologies like social media, cloud, mobile, analytics, IoT and information security.
Irrespective of job role specialization after distance MBA you need to be aware of these technologies as they are affecting every domain and job roles.
