- IoT is a seamless connected network system of embedded objects/ devices, with identifiers, in which communication without any human intervention is possible using standard and interoperable communication protocols.
- Internet of things (IoT) is extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices & everyday objects.
- Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other hardware like sensors, these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled by computers and smart phone.
Applications of Internet of Things
- Smart cities: Cellular communication enabled Smart municipal bins will send alerts to municipal services when a bin needs to be emptied.
- Agriculture: Sensing for soil moisture & nutrients, controlling water usage for plant growth & determining custom fertilizer are uses of IoT.
- Energy utilization: Smart Grids will be able to detect sources of power outages, can automatically take inputs of solar panel, making possible distributed energy system.
- Healthcare: Personalized analysis of an individual’s health and tailor-made strategies to combat illness will be possible. Enhanced patient monitoring and better health outcomes.
- Manufacturing: The IoT intelligent systems enable rapid manufacturing of new products, dynamic response to product demands, and real-time optimization of manufacturing production and supply chain networks, by networking machinery, sensors, and control systems together.
- Environmental monitoring: to assist in environmental protection by monitoring air or water quality, atmospheric or soil conditions. It can even include areas like monitoring the movements of wildlife and their habitats.
- Supply chain: By placing RFID tags on individual products, the exact location of single items in a large warehouse can be shared, thus saving search time, streamlining infrastructure, and lowering labour costs.
- Elderly, sick and disabled population can be particularly assisted using IoT technology with greater care.
- Overall boosting of efficiency which will result in economic growth and employment creation.
Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IOT)
- NB-IoT technology is a low power wide area technology that may be used almost everywhere.
- Will allow many devices to connect to IoT, allowing development of new applications.
- Designed for applications that send tiny quantities of data across great distances.
- Secure and dependable since it runs on licensed spectrum, offering assured service quality.
- Integrates into cellular system ensuring easy deployment. Links devices to existing mobile networks more easily, effectively.
- Securely and reliably handles tiny quantities of very occasional two-way communication.
- Optimised for low power consumption.
- Extended long-range coverage and deep penetration both indoors and underground.
TECHNOLOGIES FOR INTERNET OF THINGS
- NB-IoT technology operates on licensed spectrum, which is a subset of LTE brands. It stands for Narrowband Internet of Things. is a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA) technology developed to enable a wide range of new IoT devices and services. NB-IoT significantly improves the power consumption of user devices, system capacity and spectrum efficiency, especially in deep coverage. Battery life of more than 10 years can be supported for a wide range of use cases.
- LoRa/LoRaWAN uses linear frequency modulation in the unlicensed frequency range in sub 1 ghz band. LoRa stands for Low Power, Wide Area networking protocol designed to wirelessly connect battery operating ‘things’ to the internet in regional, national or global networks and targets key Internet of Things requirements such as bi-directional communication, end to end security, mobility and localisation services.
- Li-Fi: It is a wireless communication technology that utilises light to transmit data and position between devices. It is also called Light-Fidelity. It uses light from Light Emitting Diodes as a medium to deliver network. It is like Wi-Fi, the difference being Wi-Fi uses radio frequency to communicate. This technology can theoretically transmit at speeds of 100 Gbit/s.
- Near Field Communication: It is a communication protocol that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm or less. It offers a low-speed connection. It is based on inductive coupling between two antennas.
- Zigbee: It is a communication technology used to create personal area networks with small, low power digital radios such as home automation, medical device data collection and low power low bandwidth needs, designed for small scale projects. (Battery powered devices).
- Sigfox: It is a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA) technology developed to enable a wide range of new IoT devices and services. NB-IoT significantly improves the power consumption of user devices, system capacity and spectrum efficiency, especially in deep coverage. Battery life of more than 10 years can be supported for a wide range of use cases.
