blog

Home / DeveloperSection / Blogs / The Internet of Everything

The Internet of Everything

Tom Will584 30-Aug-2019

Introduction 

Life without the Internet and gadgets is virtually impossible. The speed of information technologies development is very high. Meanwhile, the world is entering an era of the Internet of Everything: smart traffic lights, parking light bulbs with IP-addresses, connected cars, smart water supply and waste disposal. The concept of the Internet of Everything suggests that devices, houses, cars, roads and other facilities interact in the Internet. It is a new technological order uniting people, data, processes, physical objects and various electromechanical devices in a common information space and ensuring their interaction with the help of wired and wireless communications. Such development raises numerous discussions regarding the fact that, on the one hand, the scientific world ascertains breakthrough in technological development of human civilization and, on the other hand, expresses doubt whether human progress is moving the right way and whether there is a possibility that it can result in a global catastrophe. The most astonishing is the rate of changes: the society is transforming every moment. Consequently, the projection horizon narrows significantly. Over the past few years, the Internet has passed the stage, where "cloud" services and collective creation of content received the general widespread. The concept of Internet of Everything is based on the idea of connecting devices, facilities and systems by simple and transparent connections, which provide mechanisms for the exchange of information and coordination. Despite psychological fears and security issues, the Internet of Everything introduces intellectual and semantic components in the relationship between people, things, data and processes in order to improve the efficiency of everything.

The Internet of Things

The first step in the development of the Internet of Everything was the Internet of Things. Such rapid development of the Internet causes major changes in transformation and utilization of technological complexes. The Internet of Things is wired or wireless network, which connects a number of various autonomous devices, which are managed by ‘smart’ systems. In addition, it possesses a high-level operating system, has independent connection with the Internet and can perform management of its own and cloud-based applications, as well as analyzing the collected data (Morgan, 2014). Moreover, the devices can collect, analyze and transfer (receive) data from other systems. By connecting a variety of applications and devices, the Internet of Things becomes useful in various industries. Thus, the Internet of Things is considered to be a new step in the Internet development, which significantly increases the collection, analysis and dissemination of data, which can be transformed into information, knowledge and wisdom. Thus, Chaouchi (2010) emphasized that the Internet of Things would “provide more automation of various tasks in order to built a smart world” (8).

The Internet of Things will lead daily life to a new level of functionality, efficiency and convenience. It transforms inert objects, instruments and devices into the category of intelligent devices that can communicate with other gadgets (PC, smartphones and tablets).

The combination of technologies, including cheap sensors, low-power processors, continuous scaling of cloud services, as well as the widespread introduction of wireless connectivity allowed to start technological revolution. Increasingly, companies are using such technologies for the implementation of the analysts activities and search for new opportunities of their products that allow household items become smarter, learn from their experiences and interact with their environment better. In the consumer sector, many categories of products became a part of the Internet of Things. In particular, they include:

· Consumer electronics, including: alarm clocks, digital cameras, home audio system and speakers;

· Kitchen appliances and household appliances, such as refrigerators, dishwashers, dryers and coffee makers, lamps of various kinds, thermostats and air conditioners;

· Security monitoring devices, such as radio-sitter and monitoring system for the care of the elderly, smoke detectors, fire pumps, cameras, equipped with sensors, boxes and safes, as well as home alarm systems;

· Musical instruments;

· Robots;

· Toys;

· Products for health and fitness.

Today, the Internet of Things consists of weakly interconnected disparate networks, which have been deployed to meet their specific needs. In particular, several networks operate in modern cars: some of them control the operation of the engine, the other - security systems, and support communication, etc. In office and residential buildings, multiple networks are installed to control the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, telephone, safety lighting. With the development of Internet of Things, such and many other networks will be connected to each other and acquire more opportunities in the field of security, intelligence and control.

Cisco Company

Cisco Company is a world leader in the field of information technologies. It helps mankind use possibilities of the future and proves that connecting of unconnected things contributes to achieving positive results. The company has already developed and implemented the decisions for cities, transport, industry (particularly for oil and gas and mining industries), factories and enterprises, agriculture, health, education, sports, security and so on. The introduction of such solutions provides many advantages to settlements and enterprises: cost optimization, creation of new jobs, increase employee productivity, innovation and modernization of the economy, quality of life, increased security, etc. Moreover, Cisco ensures more security in the Internet (Hardy, 2014).

Cisco's decision of ‘smart city’, which is embedded in many cities and entire regions, have been successfully operating for several years, bringing huge economic and social benefits. Here are some examples:  

· The return of revenues that was lost due to defective gas meter was ensured;

· A 30 percent savings on garbage collection with the use of sensors is achieved;

· The use of 10 tracking cameras makes possible to release a policeman;

· The introduction of "smart" timetables of buses allowed increasing the degree of passengers satisfaction;

· Reduction in crime was achieved through "smart" street lighting control.

Solutions in the connected transport can significantly improve traffic safety of citizens and goods, remotely monitor the location and speed of trains, prevent collisions on the railways, implement video monitoring in passenger cars, provide information on transport schedules, as well as various certificates, notices and contextual advertising. Another set of Cisco solutions was designed for the industrial sector. Cisco solutions for the connected plant are a combination of connected devices with analytics in real-time and new "cloud" services. Built-in sensor devices are enabled to communicate with each other, become a tool for better understanding of the complex processes and provide quick adaption to changing conditions. For example, a video camera, except for the data recording device, becomes a temperature sensor, controller of motion and quality, thereby creating a more intelligent production environment. Cisco solutions accelerate time of penetrating the market through more efficient production cycle, provide more efficient use of fixed assets due to the presence of sensors, allow better controlling of risks and managing them through the implementation of operational intelligence and improve the overall security of the enterprises. In addition, such solutions can significantly improve the quality of equipment service and implement an automated process to prevent shutdowns due to equipment failure. The above set of Cisco solutions in the field of the Internet of Things is not exhaustive. The company intends to reach the stage of the Internet of Everything, creating new integrated solutions and taking the changing environment into account.

New Applications

General Overview. The Internet of Everything is a part of the concept that the Internet has become not just a global network for people, allowing them to communicate with each other through computers, but also a platform for devices that allow to communicate electronically with the outside world. Mobile applications and modern technology have seriously changed the surrounding things, making them not only smart but also comfortable. Dynamic control lighting, thermostats, smart timers and geo-location service, which allows determining the optimal settings on the basis of changing weather conditions, can be controlled from any part of the world. Some of such devices perform the communication of ‘machine to machine’ type. For example, sensors on the roadway alert cars about the potential dangers. Smart grids send dynamic data on the prices of electricity appliances in order to optimize energy consumption.

Other devices use ‘human-machine’ types of communication that is carried out directly through the product itself or indirectly through a web browser on a PC or mobile device. For example, the system of management tech support on farms (promoting sound management decisions) can combine data on soil conditions from environmental sensors with historical data and forecasts on prices and weather conditions. It allows developing recommendations for farmers on how to plant and fertilize the land plots.

Possible applications of the Internet of Everything include:

· Management of household appliances;

· Burglar and fire alarms, as well as possibility to cooperate with the police or fire protection;

· Monitoring the health of a particular person with the possibility of operational cooperation with medical institutions;

· Remote monitoring of children and pets (feeding aquarium fish during holiday);

· Search for personal belongings;

· Automated payment for goods in the store;

· Protection against thieves and their capture;

· Cars that are connected to the Internet (with or without driver).

Even travel planning has gained mobility with Airbnb app for the iPhone. Airbnb gives an opportunity to deal with the most interesting lodging worldwide. It is the easiest way to earn a free living space. Its abilities include booking unique apartments, finding a rented room directly from the mobile phone, finding housing anywhere in the world, planning a trip, writing letters to the owners.

Environment Applications. Protection of the environment requires a multifaceted solution, but the Internet of Everything offers a unique opportunity to address issues of air and water pollution, waste disposal and deforestation. Touchscreen devices that are connected to a common network monitor impact on the environment and collect information about sewage, air quality and landfill waste. Outside the city, such sensors constantly monitor forests, rivers, lakes and oceans.

In particular, Air Quality Egg is a device that uses sensors to collect and exchange data on air quality outside the home or office. The Egg collects data on the immediate environment in real time. The base station transmits data on air quality over the Internet, where information is collected and reflected on a special web site. Real time data can be used to assess the impact of urban policies and changes in the level of contamination, as well as for the development and adoption of new programs and solutions in this area.

BigBelly device is a solar-powered urn, which compacts the debris and prevents the sanitary crews (janitors and cleaners), when it is full. Overall network analyzes discussion board post the collected data, which allows planning activities for the collection and making quick adjustments, such as the frequency of garbage collection and the size of the box.

Invisible Tracck is a small device that is discreetly placed on the trees in protected forest areas to help fighting against illegal logging. The device notifies authorities when illegally cut trees pass within range of a mobile communication.

‘Smart’ home. ‘Smart’ home can perform a number of new tasks that combine intelligent appliances with control devices: dynamic lighting, automation, energy management, security and remote control functionality. As an example, there is an application that eliminates owners from expense tracking of water, electricity and gas, as well as filling the receipts of payment. Such system can also help in tracking whether there are people in the room, and if there is no one there for a long time, it turns the lights off.

A person can control the lighting in the house and in the street in the presence/absence of movement, create lighting scenarios, such as the effect of presence in one’s absence and turning off the lights when leaving the house. The system of climate control provides overall management of the supply and exhaust ventilation, air conditioning, boilers, heating system, underfloor heating, warm roof. Multiroom is a system of distribution of audio and video that covers a large number of individual rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and even a closet. Video surveillance provides a detailed report of events taking place during one’s absence. Individuals and actions are recorded in the system and stored in its memory. Protection against flooding and gas leaking disables gas or water (depending on the type of emergency) and sends messages to the appropriate service, as well as the customer's mobile phone.

Medicine. Portable devices can be used in medical applications, such as remote monitoring of the patient (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) to notify relatives or medical personnel in case of increasing performance. New applications are widely used in medicine - from simple reminder systems of taking medication to probes that are implemented into the body in order to monitor the work of the organs for the production of complex diagnosis.

For example, artificial intelligence IBM – Watson has been working in the medical field for several years. Advanced artificial intelligence system can instantly produce a number of medical data. The largest market segments of wearable electronic devices include medical sensors and devices maintaining physical fitness and health (Bajarin, 2015).


Updated 30-Aug-2019

Leave Comment

Comments

Liked By