The Internet of Things is on the rise, bringing to mind George Orwell’s prediction of people with fingers and a single eye. The statistics are incredible with the Internet of Things (or the IoT) taking a good share of the market now but should you be concerned by it?
What is the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things is the term used to describe technology that connects to the internet. Technology that relies on the internet. Technology that is powered by the internet. We’re not discussing keyboards and mouses (mice), we’re talking about fire alarms, remote controls, activity trackers.
Never has the phrase, “there’s an app for that” being more apt.
Manufacturers have realised the potential in the internet. Let’s be honest, you didn’t really think the internet would just get faster and brighter without any developments, did you? The internet, it seems, was just the beginning as now it’s spawned a whole host of technology that would be completely redundant without it.
It makes sense of course, the internet is THE hub of information, the ultimate fact checker, the best record keeper and the best portal for global accessibility. Whether we like it or not we’re connected to the internet 24 hours a day as we’re slowly beginning to use it in all areas of our lives.
- When was the last time you let the name of an actor bug you for days?
- When was the last time you answered “I don’t know” to a child’s homework question?
- How long did it take for news of Robin Williams passing to reach you?
- What is your Yellow Pages (the tangible one) doing right now?
WE love knowledge, we love statistics, we love convenience but most of all we love gadgets and the IoT gives us all of this and more.
For instance just some of the products available include:
- Remote security systems
- Intelligent Fire Alarms
- Monitoring Devices
- Health Trackers
Quite simply, if it can be watched, recorded, monitored, tracked or adapted it can be controlled through an app.
You Can be Omnipresent
You can now be anywhere from everywhere, for instance, you can view your own living room from abroad, you can keep an eye on the nanny from the pub, you can even turn your smoke alarm off. There’s little you can’t do. The Internet of Things has spawned creations such as:
The remote kettle – You no longer have to get up to flick the switch on the kettle, just connect it to the internet and do it from your phone. You can tell it what temperature you’d like it to boil to too.
The mother – from anywhere you can control a room’s temperature while monitoring for smoke or other dangerous airborne chemicals. You can tell it when you’re coming home so your house is at the perfect temperature for when you step in the door.
With all these new inventions many are worried about security as most of these are controlled over a Wi-Fi network.
Reading the statistics on this blog I can see why this would worry some but for me, the only thing that bothers me is the length of charge in a typical iPhone battery!
Images: ”Internet of Things Highway Signpost with wording on Sky Background./ Shutterstock.com“
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