The planetary structure of stars is a galactic feature that can be observed remotely in the universe, and such observations may be sufficient for high-tech civilizations.
Humans know about shelters; do they not know about them? Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival; arrogance is.
—— “The Three-Body Problem III: Death’s End”
Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) is closely related to people’s lives, such as smart door locks, smart curtains, and wearable devices. The interconnection of all things is a development trend for future society, and connecting devices is an important step in the digital transformation of enterprises. It can eliminate information silos within companies, enhance collaboration across various aspects, and improve operational efficiency.
Has the interconnection of all things been realized?
Most of the predictions recorded by John Naisbitt in his book “Megatrends” have been confirmed by the Financial Times. In this regard,John Naisbitt stated: “People think that my predictions are about the future; in fact, I am just writing down the current situation. What I have written over the past 20 years are things that have already happened, and what I need to analyze is what will have a lasting impact on society.” Feng Lun, the founder of the Wan Tong Group, has also said something similar: “Only by seeing the future can one have a future.”
The development of IoT technology paints a beautiful picture of the interconnection of all things. With the help of “Internet +”, massive amounts of information flow globally at no cost, allowing people to connect freely with each other, with objects, and between objects. The interconnection of all things seems to have become a reality. In fact, this is just the beginning.
At the first World Internet Conference, Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank Group, predicted that in the near future, all things will be connected through the IoT. Whether it is laptops, handheld devices, glasses, clothes, shoes, walls, or even a cow, all could potentially be connected by the IoT.By 2040, such phenomena will be very common, and all people and things will connect through mobile devices. All data will be stored in cloud terminals, with very high processing speeds and very large capacities.
The scenarios he predicted are very attractive. In fact, it has been proven that the Internet is indeed evolving towards the interconnection of all things at a rapid pace. In this context, the connections between people will become increasingly close, and the ways of connecting will become more diverse.
From the perspective of human life, the interconnection of all things not only realizes the intelligence of life but also enhances human creativity. In this way, humans can make better decisions while enjoying a high-quality life. From the perspective of enterprises, the interconnection of all things can help companies obtain more valuable information, significantly reduce operational costs, and further enhance user experience. Therefore, the interconnection of all things has a very broad market prospect.
What is the role of IoT platforms?
The Internet of Things, or the “Internet of Everything”, utilizes technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and wireless data communication to achieve the connection between physical objects and the Internet. In the IoT concept, RFID is a technology that allows all items to “communicate” with each other. Its tags store standardized and practical information, and wireless data communication networks can automatically collect this information to central information systems for identification, enabling information exchange and sharing, thus achieving the interconnection of all things.
As early as 2003, the well-known retailer Walmart introduced a very influential mandate requiring its suppliers to attach passive RFID tags to products shipped to stores. Soon after, other retailers also launched their own RFID mandates. With RFID tags, staff no longer need to scan products; trucks filled with products can be automatically identified from dozens of meters away as they pass RFID readers. This was a very exciting and significant innovation for the entire retail industry.
Although Walmart’s mandate did not cover every product due to cost and technical limitations, it formed a very complete closed loop for clothing, luxury goods, and recyclable products. Additionally, this mandate has played a significant role in improving supply chain efficiency, anti-counterfeiting, and theft tracking.
Currently, the IoT is widely applied in industrial production in China, combined with advanced manufacturing technologies. For example, IoT technology can be integrated into in-vehicle intelligent systems to help cars recognize road conditions and achieve autonomous driving. IoT technology can also be integrated into wearable devices used in the medical industry, uploading users’ health status in real-time to central systems. Furthermore, IoT technology can be applied to greenhouse monitoring, allowing real-time monitoring of crop growth and automatically watering and fertilizing crops based on their growth needs.
When IoT technology integrates people, physical objects, data, and processes, it has the potential to change the operational methods of various industries. For example, the operations of water companies are reflected in various aspects, such as managing water supply stations located in cities and towns and managing thousands of staff. After the emergence of IoT, the operations of water companies began to trend towards digitalization and intelligence, significantly improving their operational efficiency and maintaining a balance between water supply and demand.
When water supply exceeds demand, the system will automatically store the excess water in storage devices. When demand exceeds supply, the system will use the stored water to meet the shortfall in supply. In this way, water companies can intuitively understand the flow of water and the status of storage devices, thereby simplifying operational processes.
Moreover, the transfer of assets between major water companies can also be controlled by intelligent devices, which not only ensures the security of assets but also enhances the payment efficiency for buyers and shortens the time for sellers to receive funds.
From a macro perspective, the integration of IoT and the water sector can promote the bidirectional flow of resources and assets. From a micro perspective, IoT can achieve “on-demand” use of intelligent devices and storage devices, and as long as the corresponding operational conditions are met, this “on-demand” can possess digital and intelligent characteristics, thereby enabling water companies to achieve digital operations.
A globalized economy with unobstructed information flow has already formed, and the IoT will create peaks of human economic activity in a completely new way. After the interconnection of all things, resource allocation can be optimized, helping enterprises make rapid decisions, which is also the most important role of IoT platforms.
This content is sourced from:“Digital Transformation of Enterprises: Organizational Change and Innovation Empowerment”Recommended previous article:Digitalization | Cloud Computing: Accelerating Digital Transformation