What does the internet of things (IoT) mean?
It has been more than 50 years since the birth of the Internet and more than 20 since the expression Internet of Things was coined. But what is referred to by this term?
We talk about the Internet of Things (acronym for IoT) or even the Internet of Things, but perhaps it would be more correct to call it the Internet of things, because at the basis of the Internet of things are smart objects, so-called “smart objects”: objects that are part of our everyday life and work but also belong to the digital world, because they can connect to a network to process data and exchange information with other objects. At the end of 2018, smart objects were moving about 5 billion euros in revenue. Thermostats, household appliances, manufacturing plants, automobiles-all objects that are the basis of our lives, but also key objects of the Internet of Things.
Internet of Things
The phrase Internet of Things was first formulated in 1999 by British engineer Kevin Ahston, co-founder of the Auto-ID Center in Massachusetts, and does not merely refer to a network of objects connecting to each other, but goes inside the nature of the network that connects them. The term “Internet” denotes a network that connects objects and aspires to have all the properties of openness, accessibility and reachability of the Internet that we are all familiar with to ensure “application multifunctionality.” Indeed, one characteristic of these smart objects is in the possibility of developing new applications over time with purposes very different from those for which the objects themselves were initially created. For example, monitoring the electrical consumption of devices within a home, developed for energy efficiency purposes, can then be leveraged to monitor behavioral habits and provide personal care services.
But what are some examples of Iot?
The most popular in Italy are those belonging to the areas of “Smart Metering, Smart Car and Smart home,” namely:
– Smart meters for measuring and managing gas and water consumption;
– The smart power grid;
– new automobiles increasingly able to foster connectivity between vehicles and the surrounding infrastructure;
– all new appliances, lighting and air conditioning systems in the home, children of home automation.
