4. Some Cases of Smart Use of the IoT

IoT refers to an emerging paradigm that consists of a continuum of unique things that communicate with each other to form dynamic global networks. IoT, such as objects, appliances, and sensors, is the network of unique identified connected devices with computing services. The IoT term is relatively new and has been the concept of combining computers and networks to monitor and control devices for decades. For example, by the end of the 1970s electric grid remote monitoring meters via telephone lines had already been used in commercial use. Advanced wireless technology has also become extensive for the machine-to-machine companies and industrial solutions for monitoring and operation of equipment where closed-end networks or proprietary industry-specific standards have been used instead of Internet Protocol (IP) and internet standards. Since the beginning of the use of IP to connect devices in the early 2000s, a robust research and development field in the networking of intelligent objects leads to the foundation of IoT today. The term IoT is now popular for scenarios in which internet connectivity and computing capabilities extend to a variety of objects. The idea behind the IoT can also be seen in Fig. 4.1. A refers to technology globalization (anytime, anywhere, any device, any device, any network, etc.) and C reflects IoT’s collection, convergence, connectivity, computing, etc. properties. But the IoT of today has extended beyond the A and C range.

Several organization predictions provide a wide range of estimates of the total number of IP-enabled IoT devices operating on the internet by next year, from a low of 19 billion to a highly optimistic forecast of up to 40 billion, and rather this growth continues exponentially over the coming decade. This growth opens an era of new services which can bring significant changes for individual citizens, society, the economy, and the environment as well as numerous business opportunities. The rest of this chapter provides basic IoT building blocks with the definitions proposed by various organizations and major IoT applications.