An Overview of the Internet of Things

The arrival of the 5G era has brought tremendous changes to our lives, as well as more confusion. The Internet of Things, as a brand-new term, has flooded the media, but what exactly is the Internet of Things? “Connecting everything, interconnecting all things”? Does this mean my slippers can chat with my air conditioner?

What is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the “Internet that connects all things”. It is a vast network that extends and expands upon the internet, integrating various information sensing devices with the internet to enable interconnectivity among people, machines, and objects at any time and any place.

In simple terms, the Internet of Things refers toplacing sensors in objects to enable information transmission between objects and between objects and people.

Let’s use a few simple analogies:

I pick up a cup and ask, “How old are you, sir?”

The cup replies, “I am five years old…”

I walk through a field and ask, “How is the situation in the field?”

The soil responds, “There are an average of 2412 bugs per acre, and the moisture content is 201ml per cubic meter…”

I lie in my bed and ask, “Does the house need cleaning?”

The house responds, “The bedroom is quite clean, the kitchen is a bit dirty, and the bathroom has not been cleaned since the renovation…”

I sit in my car and say, “Please turn on the air conditioner.”

The car replies, “Okay…”

This may sound mystical, but in fact, the Internet of Things is already ubiquitous in our lives, from campus cards in schools to ETC on highways, and the popular wearable smart bands in recent years are all examples of IoT applications.

Additionally, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, “IoT + AI” brings more possibilities. The smartification of traditional furniture products is a good example, such as a robotic vacuum cleaner, which is a typical entry-level smart home product. In the past two years, the smart speaker market has been booming, with the focus being on voice interaction, simply put, whether it can understand human speech. As an entry point for artificial intelligence into homes, smart speakers not only have functions like scheduling reminders, checking the weather, logistics, and shopping, but most importantly, they can control other household appliances through voice commands, achieving intercommunication among all items in the home. This is the ultimate goal of the future development of smart homes.

Here we differentiate between the two concepts, “artificial intelligence” and “the Internet of Things”.

Assuming it is a day not far in the future, you wake up in the morning feeling a bit hungry, “Hi, Jarvis, please heat a cup of milk for me.” Your smart housekeeper Jarvis, upon hearing your words, processes the data and responds (find the milk – turn on the pot – set to heating mode – time for 5 minutes), this stage is “artificial intelligence”.

And when Jarvis transmits the instruction to the pot through the home wireless network, that stage is “the Internet of Things”.

In simpler terms, “the Internet of Things means connecting objects to the internet”.

The Difference Between IoT and the Internet?

In the Internet era, we use devices like smartphones to obtain and output information, which belongs to a human-machine interaction model, where humans are the subject transmitting data and information over the network. In the era of the Internet of Things, the subject of “human” is replaced by “objects”.

For example, in a factory assembly line, there are three machines A, B, and C working in coordination. However, one day B suddenly malfunctions, but C continues to work. Fortunately, Xiao Ming discovers this problem and stops the entire assembly line, saving the loss. This is a typical human-machine interaction; once a machine fails, the other machines are unaware and require human intervention to ensure the assembly line operates smoothly.

In the era of the Internet of Things, machines can communicate with each other. Once B malfunctions, it immediately informs the maintenance robot and its companions A and C. A and C can stop operations by themselves to reduce losses, and the maintenance robot can arrange repair work at the first moment, quickly restoring the operation of the assembly line.

What Are the Main Components of the Internet of Things?

In simple terms, the Internet of Things mainly consists of three components:sensors, network connectivity, and data processing.

Sensors are installed in various products; they are the “things” that connect everything. These sensors or chips give products the ability to perceive and process data, and traditional household appliances can also be smartened up using these chips.

After collecting data, products need to upload it to the cloud for centralized processing, which is done through network connectivity.

The last part of the Internet of Things is data processing, which aims to convert raw data into useful information, typically done on cloud servers. These servers are the brain of the Internet of Things. Common servers include Amazon’s AWS and Alibaba’s Alibaba Cloud, etc. After processing, the data is returned to users in a clear and understandable form.

After discussing so much, this content is coming to an end. Now, imagine a scenario: when you get home from work and push open the door, warm lights automatically turn on, your favorite music plays from the speaker, the air conditioner automatically adjusts the room temperature to the most comfortable level, and the rice cooker has just finished cooking. Isn’t that very pleasant?

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