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These examples of IoT – Internet of Things give us a more exact dimension of what this technological advancement leaves us in our daily lives.
Despite being a concept that is increasingly familiar, we often see it as distant, only for the rich, for large companies or to imagine ourselves in a world of science fiction.
However, this technology is not here for that. It’s function is to improve people’s lives.
Note that with some examples of Internet of Things that we will see in this post, you will start looking at it with more friendly and enthusiastic eyes.
What is the Internet of Things?
I will not extend much the concept of IoT, because what interests us today are it’s applications. But I will give a small definition so that we all focus and know what we are talking about.
The Internet of Things is a concept that is based on the interconnection of everyday objects.
We can say that it is the communication that is established between the “things” of our daily use, through an Internet connection, and that improves people’s lives.
We are watching one of the greatest technological revolutions of our era. And that has just begun. It is getting our attention more and more and the investments in this area are constant.
It seems invisible but is already making our life better.
A quote from Hans Vestberg, Ericsson’s CEO:
“If a person connects to the network, life changes. But if all things and objects connect, it is the world that changes.”
Did you know that in 2012 there were already of 1.8 mobile devices per person in the world?
In 2020, the number of devices connected to the internet is expected to exceed 20.4 billion.
Wow! That’s really a giant network and still growing…
Now, let’s look at those 10 examples of the Internet of Things.
Examples of IoT – Internet of Things related to home automation.
The applications of the Internet of Things used for home automation are surely the most popular. These remind us a lot of science fiction movies and, also, many are already being commercialized and available to many families.
1 – Home security.
How about going on vacation and having your home guarded from your smartphone?
There are already APPs that you can download on your mobile and connect with webcams installed strategically in your home. Some of these APPs are free and there are also several IP cameras on sale at very reasonable prices.
It’s that simple. You install it and visualize it.
You may use it also to monitor your pet when you go to work, Aren’t you curious to know what you do when you leave home?
Another application is to watch your baby sleeping in the bedroom while relaxing and enjoying your favourite TV Series sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Here is a selection of these Home Security Cameras
2 – Robot Vacuum Cleaner as known as robovac.
Do you have one of this already? They claim that it is great for those who have pets at home.
Personally, since I bought my Roomba, I’m saving a lot of time with this assistant at home. It can clean entire home every day while I’m outside to work.
There are several of these robovac products out there in the market, many of them with a very affordable price for almost families.
If you didn’t know they exist, or if you are planning to buy one, check out this link with some suggestions about Robot Vacuum Cleaners
3 – Refrigerators connected.
They have arrived, the first one was released by LG in the year 2000, but too expensive that time.
Your fridge tells you if you are missing any basic products or if you have others that are about to expire. Not only that. He is also able to place the order for you, so they can bring it home.
Some of them can connect with Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, and buy your products in this Marketplace.
You can now receive guests at any time!
4 – A smart plug.
This is my favorite at this moment. It can convert every single electric object into a smart device, great isn’t it?
It allows you to schedule when to switch on or off any device, control it remotely and finally keep track of power consumption on connected device.
This smart plug is the cheapest way to start the smartification of your home, using your plain old devices.
From just $7.64, you can find a lot of these Smart Plugs, extremely easy to install and start creating your smart home.
Examples of IoT – Internet of Things related to health.
All these changes and technological advances that we are seeing also positively influence the health field. Doctors and patients benefit from the applications that the Internet of Things in the health sector.
5 – Smart watches.
Apple Watch leads this trend of wearable gadgets.
Thanks to the information of anonymous patients collected in the cloud, a database has been collected to help diagnose Parkinson’s disease, control asthma, diabetes and, in general, chronic diseases.
The clocks collect information from the patient that reaches their doctors, who can carry out the control visit without the patient traveling to the clinic.
The information also circulates in the opposite direction, the device being the one who warns the patient of when it is time to take the medication or carry out some type of control.
Of course these gadgets weren’t created just for the health purpose but I found this application interesting for this post.
Examples of IoT – Internet of Things related to Industry
This is an area where you can find examples of the Internet of Things under another nomenclature: IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things).
We will not go into it today, but we are going to address some applications that are already used.
6 – 3D printer
You may have heard about these amazing three-dimensional impressions. They work with software to which you enter the object you want to print.
It will reproduce, layer by layer, the figure in charge. In addition, the construction material is decided by you.
It is especially useful for prototype production, significantly reducing costs. It is also used to replicate spare parts, which allows reducing the stock of a company’s availability.
All a saving of time and money!
At this time you can also find some smaller 3D printers to have at home to create any plastic object beyond your imagination.
Examples of IoT – Internet of Things related to logistics.
The world of logistics is one of those who most want the incursion of the Internet of Things.
The traceability of the merchandise is one of the main demands, but there are other applications for the sector.
7 – Smart shelves.
In logistics, the correct location of the merchandise is key to stock control. Therefore, these shelves warn if the weight and dimensions of the package placed correspond to what I expected.
They also warn of whether there is a risk of falling of the package or accident of the operator.
You can provide download areas where you expect to place the incoming pallets.
8 – Anti-accident trucks.
It is about providing the trucks with sensors and alarms that detect the risk of accident in the warehouse, even stopping it.
It is also possible to optimize the routes, avoiding those areas of land planned for the reception of goods.
Circuit optimization is achieved, time is saved and, therefore, costs are reduced.
Some of these sensors are already being applied to our cars, making our roads safer and safer.
Examples of IoT – Internet of Things related to agriculture.
We tend to think that rural areas are isolated from technological advances, but farming and livestock also have objects connected to the Internet that help them optimize their tasks and make their work profitable.
9 – Smart Tractors.
It is an automated tractor, that is, it does not need a driver. It can travel across an entire agricultural field and perform various tasks using their tools without human intervention.
A map has been included in your software with the route and tasks you must perform on them. It is launched from an APP and incorporates a GPS, sensors and radars, which allows them to circulate between crops.
10 – Drones
One of our best-known Internet of Things examples comes to the field.
Thanks to drones, farmers know the status of their fields in real time.
In this way, they do not need to physically go out to control if they need to fumigate. For example, in Poland they are already used to work alongside bees in the pollination of flowers.
The future of the IoT – Internet of Things
The Internet of Things has already changed the way of understanding life and business. And this has just begun!
In the future we will see how we normalize the new connections.
Our houses and cars will be smarter and take more care of us. In the area of health, there will come a time when we do not have to move so that a doctor will scan us or perform the routine review.
In cities, catastrophic accidents will tend to be reduced because we will have more foresight about them. Traffic will be more controlled and we can avoid traffic jams.
In conclusion, we can optimize resources and minimize costs in all sectors.
We have reviewed different applications of objects connected to the Internet, from different areas. They are not all, because it is extensible to any sector that you are thinking.
Which of these 10 examples of Internet of Things did you like the most? Do you want to tell us another one that you know?