The Internet of Things or IoT puts all these into one platform and hence defining it generally is a redundant task. Broadly speaking, we can say that the Internet of Things is a concept of everyday objects – from industrial machines to wearable devices – using built-in sensors to gather data and take action on that data across a network. So it’s a building that uses sensors to automatically adjust heating and lighting or any task for that matter. Or production equipment alerting maintenance personnel to an impending failure. Simply put, the Internet of Things is the future of technology that can make our devices ‘smarter’ and lives more efficient.

Waking up in the middle of the night because the fan was set at a higher speed but now you don’t want to leave your bed to switch it off. Imagine turning of the fan with one tap on your mobile phone right beside you. Or controlling the coffee-maker for the morning coffee with just one tap with no effort. IoT brings this level of comfort in your lives.

With IoT, we are looking to create an ecosystem of connected devices, applications and several similar solutions to create an India-wide mesh of smart buildings, campuses, utility sites, fleet management systems, security and healthcare services. Overall our projections seem to scale the 50 million devices mark by 2022. The IoT is more than just a convenience for consumers. It offers new sources of data and business operating models that can boost productivity in a variety of industries. With everything that we use inter-connected, both making choices and acting on them becomes easier.

Both the consumer and the seller are deemed to extract huge benefits from this. You might be surprised to learn how many things are connected to the Internet, and how much economic benefit we can derive from analyzing the resulting data streams. Here are some examples of the impact the IoT has on industries:

• Intelligent transport solutions speed up traffic flows, reduce fuel consumption, prioritize vehicle repair schedules and save lives.
• Smart electric grids more efficiently connect renewable resources, improve system reliability and charge customers based on smaller usage increments.
• Machine monitoring sensors diagnose – and predict – pending maintenance issues, near-term part stockouts, and even prioritize maintenance crew schedules for repair equipment and regional needs.
• Data-driven systems are being built into the infrastructure of "smart cities," making it easier for municipalities to run waste management, law enforcement and other programs more efficiently.

But also consider the IoT on a more personal level. Connected devices are making their way from business and industry to the mass market. Consider these possibilities:

• You’re low on milk. When you’re on your way home from work, you get an alert from your refrigerator reminding you to stop by the store.
• Your home security system, which already enables you to remotely control your locks and thermostats, can cool down your home and open your windows, based on your preferences.

From 20 billion devices today, the world will see 50 billion devices connected via the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2020, according to a report by Cisco. Also, the global IoT market is expected to grow from $655.8 billion to $1.7 trillion in 2020.

Facilities like healthcare, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications and countless others have already adopted IoT in their functioning. Cloud storage, GPS systems in cars, personalised shopping experiences online e.t.c are vivid examples from our daily lives. The settling in of advanced technological substitutes in our life is so organic that by the time we have all our appliances in one chip we’d be highly accustomed to even notice the lack of effort we’d have sunk into.

So, whilst Google is trying to build automated cars wherein all you have to do is sit back and relax (or be more productive) and Philips sets to bring in LiFi, which gives you an internet connection via light bulbs, an average Indian can hope for a luxurious yet highly productive standard of living in the coming years.

Home Automation Market: By application

• Others(Robotics, healthcare)

Home Automation Market: By networking technology

• Wireless home automation systems

Home Automation Market: By type

By

Abhinav Sharma