The Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing internet infrastructure. In IoT, objects and people are assigned unique identifiers and are responsible to transfer data related to activities without requiring human-to-computer interaction.
Brendan O’Brien, Chief Architect at Aria Systems says, “If you think that the internet has changed your life, think again. The IoT is about to change it all over again!” And we don’t think it is an exaggeration. Each “thing” that exists in the world will have the capability to be connected, communicated and operated automatically in a system that bridges the gap between digital and physical worlds.
There are three key factors to be considered for IoT:
- What are the different types of “Things” are getting connected?
- What kind of data is being collected?
- How to analyze and monetize the collected data?
An interesting implementation of IoT is GE’s Industrial Internet, which is basically the integration of complex physical machinery with networked sensors and software. The industrial Internet is bringing an insightful transformation by connecting intelligent machines, advanced analytics, and people at work. The following video explains Industrial Internet in detail:
While we have commonly heard of thermostats and fitness devices generating data for analysis, the above video represents much larger ‘things’- ships, trains, windmills and so on generating data. Data analysis of thermostat data affects our personal life. The effect of data analysis of ships, trains, power plants, windmills has macro consequences for nations, and for the world. It can result in saving lives by predicting the failure of aircrafts, trains and power plants; saving precious natural resources resulting in both, saving them for the future, and reducing the amount of carbon transmitted into the atmosphere.
The internet of things also represents some security concerns. All devices being connected to the internet makes them vulnerable to cyber attacks. One example of vulnerabilities is using Shodan. Shodan is a search engine for finding devices connected to the internet- webcams, baby monitors and others. Shodan’s founder, John Matherly, revealed in an interview that Shodan has found vulnerabilities in control panels of power and utility systems, a giant hydroelectric dam in France, crematoriums and even a particle accelerator. Further, an HP study revealed that 70% of devices connected to the internet of things are vulnerable in some respect.
Although security concerns pose a serious threat, the internet of things represents significant opportunities. Given the rate of growth in embedded technology that can communicate, Internet of Things could become widely available in the market as early as 2020. There are significant hurdles to overcome from the security perspective for the internet of things to be commercialized, but the internet of things has arrived and will come into its full existence in a few years.
References
[1] Internet of Things - Wikipedia (J. Höller, V. Tsiatsis, C. Mulligan, S. Karnouskos, S. Avesand, D. Boyle: From Machine-to-Machine to the Internet of Things: Introduction to a New Age of Intelligence.)
[2] Is Shodan really the world's most dangerous search engine?
[3] 70 Percent of Internet of Things Devices Vulnerable to Attack
[4] Internet of Things Installed Base Will Grow to 26 Billion Units By 2020
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