Hi everyone!
Today I would like to tell you about the most perspective technology of a past ten years, which can change our world and make our life so easier!
What is the Internet of Things
Internet of Things is a new stage of development of the Internet, that significantly enhances the possibility of collecting, analyzing and distributing of data that a person can turn into information and knowledge.
Why do we need the Internet of Things
The ideology of the Internet of things is aimed at enhancing economic efficiency by automating processes in various fields of activity and exclusion of a human from them.
At the beginning of 2016 the most important concepts are:
- "Smart House"
- "Intelligent Transport"
Mankind has a chance to get rid of phobias, such as "Have I closed the door" or "Have I turned off the iron," because this information will be on the smartphone and can be corrected from anywhere in the world. The monitoring system detects the faces of all who passed by your house or stood near the door of the apartment, and when the same person comes again it compares his face with a police database. Just in case. Refrigerator, equipped with a set of cameras will inform about the end of the shelf life of products. The smart cleaner will send a message about the finding of jewelry under the sofa.
How did the Internet of Things appear
Internet of Things was born at MIT in 1999.
In 2003, the population of our planet was about 6.3 billion people and 500 million devices have been connected to the Internet.
In 2010, as a result of the rapid spread of smartphones and tablet computers, the number of connected devices has increased to 12.5 billion, while the world’s population was 6.8 billion people.
Thus, the Internet of Things "was born" between 2008 and 2009 years.
Internet of Things as a "network of networks"
Today, the Internet of things is composed of badly interconnected disparate networks, each of which has been developed for specific needs. For example, today's cars have multiple networks: one controls the operation of the engine, the other - security systems, third provides connection, etc. The office and residential buildings are a set of multiple networks of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, telephone connection, safety, and lighting. With the development of the Internet of things, these and many other networks would be connected to each other and get more opportunities in the field of security, intelligence and control.
The value of the Internet of Things
Even today the Internet of Things has caused widespread of temperature, pressure, vibration, light, humidity and physical activities sensors that help us to anticipate various problems.
The Internet started being used in previously inaccessible spheres. Patients began to swallow Internet devices to accurately diagnose some diseases and identify their causes. Microscopic sensors connected to the Internet can be attached to the plants, animals, and geological formations. The Internet now is developed even in the open space.
Development problems
There are factors that can slow the development of Internet of Things. The most important are the transition to IPv6, the power supply of sensors and the adoption of common standards.
Deficiency of addresses and the transition to IPv6
In February 2010 all IPv4 addresses were already occupied. This fact can significantly slow down the development of the Internet of Things, as billions of new sensors need new and unique IP-addresses. In addition, the IPv6 simplifies network management by using automatic configuration and the new, more effective information security functions.
Standards
While in the field of standards there has been a significant progress, there is a lot of work ahead, especially in such areas as security, protection of personal information, communications and architecture.
By the beginning of November 2014 several organizations, including Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), which includes Dell, Intel, and Samsung Electronics started the development of universal specifications for "smart" electronics and related certification program.
Power supply of sensors
Internet of Things needs sensors that would operate entirely autonomously. Now imagine what that means: we need billions of batteries for billions of devices installed all over the world and even in space. It is completely unrealistic.
In 2010, a great success has been achieved in this area. Scientists announced new nanogenerator - a flexible chip that converts human movements into the electricity.
Safe IoT ecosystem does not exist
HP research found that about 70% of the analyzed devices do not encrypt wireless traffic. Web-interface of 60% of the devices were considered to be unsafe due to insecure access organization and high-risk of cross-site scripting. Most devices have passwords of insufficient resistance. Approximately 90% of the devices collected personal information of the owner without his knowledge.
Overall, HP has counted about 25 different vulnerabilities in each of the studied devices (televisions, door locks, household scales, home security systems, electrical outlets ...) and their mobile and cloud components.
The conclusion of HP experts was disappointing: safe IoT ecosystem does not exist now.
So you see that this is a really useful technology of the future that would completely change our daily life and make it better and more convenient. But it has got some drawbacks that would be fixed in the period of 5-10 years so they are nor fatal.
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Alex