One of the up and coming technologies to power the digital transformation of industries across the globe brought forth by industry 4.0 is, of course, the IoT, or the Internet of Things.
Now, what exactly is this IoT, you wonder?
To give you a simple answer, an IoT device is essentially any device that has an on-off mechanism and can connect to the internet to exchange information. IoT is completely changing how we use and interact with even the most basic technological devices in today’s time.
An IoT device can be anything from your refrigerator to the car you drive. Internet of Things is what can employ a bunch of devices to give you voice-controlled home automation, use sensors to measure and monitor soil levels to give you insight about your back garden’s health, keep you updated on your car’s condition and any future maintenance needs, and even allow your warehouse monitoring sensors to register material shortage and automatically place orders for the required goods!
Did you know that even though IoT seems to be one of the latest hype trains across industrial sectors, it has, in fact, been around for quite a while now? Or that there are smart cat litter trays enabled by the Internet of Things?
Well, in case you didn’t, in this post, we bring you 10 such fun and fascinating facts about the Internet of Things that you might not have been aware of before!
10 Fun Facts about IoT:
- The term Internet of Things was coined by Kevin Ashton back in 1999, while he worked for Procter & Gamble. However, the phrase did not become immediately ubiquitous. It was barely in use from 1999-2005, and then suddenly the term exploded all over the internet in 2008, as the IoT technology started growing and finally reached beyond a small community of computer scientists.
- Internet of Things wasn’t actually called IoT in the early years. However, Twitter users started trending the hashtag IoT in 2008 so that they would have a shorter way to talk about the Internet of Things. This acronym is largely responsible for making Internet of Things a catchphrase.
- According to research conducted by Intel, ATMs were the very first end user-oriented devices to be connected to the internet, back in the 1970s. However, another popular opinion says a modified Coke machine at Carnegie Mellon University was the very first online appliance. This machine was capable of reporting its inventory and whether the newly loaded drinks were cold or not.
- Since 2008, more IoT devices than people have been connected to the Internet, and IoT is now, and has been for some time, bigger than the web itself! By the end of 2018, there were around 22 billion IoT devices being used across the globe. Forecasts suggest that by 2030, the number of IoT devices in use worldwide will grow to 50 billion, creating a gigantic web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.
- The data generated from IoT devices is estimated to reach around 4 zettabytes by the end of 2025! In case you were wondering, a zettabyte is equal to one billion terabytes, or one trillion gigabytes.
- One of the limiting aspects of IoT devices is that the sensors that collect data and send it across the internet need electricity to function. This means that IoT devices always require a wired connection to a power source, which somewhat defeats the purpose of IoT, or they need battery replacements occasionally. However, there are ‘powerless’ IoT sensors in development. These sensors are powered by light, heat, vibrations, or even radio frequencies, instead of electricity or batteries.
- IoT devices are finding widespread use in farming as well. Over a 20 year time period, a smart greenhouse using IoT sensors and automation is reportedly up to 30% more energy efficient than your regular greenhouse!
- The weirdest IoT enabled devices till date include a Smart cat litter tray, a Smart snoring solution, and even Smart flip flops!
- The smart home market is growing in size every day with an increasing number of the general populace adopting smart home appliances like Nest thermostat, Philips Hue, and other home automation devices. As per research done by Zion, the smart home automation market could hike up to a staggering $53 billion by 2022!
- IoT is also impacting the fashion industry in numerous ways! Interestingly, IoT in fashion isn’t just about developing wearables such as Google Glasses or smartwatches. IoT applications in fashion can involve the stitching of invisible sensors onto cloth fabrics, developing interconnected apparels that perform a range of tasks like notifying the consumer about a product’s materials, assisting in detecting a product in case it gets lost, and even in providing fashion tips!
And there you go, ten fun things about the Internet of Things you probably didn’t know of!
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