Let’s understand this with a series of anecdotes. Researching on Google or looking up for an answer on AI is too boring!
When they say that IoT is a massive connectivity of devices via internet, they cannot miss AI or other emerging technologies that are now being integrated with traditional IoT to make it responsive, responsible, and more intelligent. When human effort is combined with smartness of machines, the resultant is totally unlikely.
| The other day I was searching for the most exquisite architectural marvels of the world and I stumbled upon the most exquisite mosques (shrines) in the world, which are usually perceived as prayer halls accommodating thousands of people together. But when you look at the pictures, you could be awestruck. |
This anecdote closely colligates with the concept of Internet of Things (IoT) in current context. It came into being in 1999, as simple way to interconnect devices but it has been reshaped into AIoT in 2024.
What is it?
Internet of Things (IoT) applications are used to gain insights into products, create new business models, and improve customer experiences. IoT has many potential applications in different industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, and everyday life. For example, in healthcare, IoT is also used for mobile and remote health monitoring. In agriculture; it is also used for automated feeding systems, smart irrigation, and more. IoT helps with: (1) Real-time visibility, (2) Reduced costs, (3) Improved efficiency, (4) Remote monitoring, and (5) Predictive insights;
Applications and Use Cases with Benefits
It brings speed, it pitches in more safety, it improves performance, it brings in more comfort, it makes home more secure, it saves (optimizes) energy), it is useful in managing traffic, it has the potential to improve the air quality, reduce energy consumption, automate streetlights, manages data, automates analysis, automates training, Robotic surgery, pharmacy management, remote patient monitoring, data management, automated analysis, automated training
| Once Albert Einstein wrote a letter to a young girl which said, “Dear Barbara, don’t worry about your difficulty in mathematics. I assure you that mine are even greater.” This was the starting point of theory of relativity proposed by this famous physicist and mathematician. #naturalisticintelligence |
While human intelligence is a combination of (1) Linguistic, (2) body – kinaesthetic, (3) Interpersonal, (4) Musical, (5) Logical – mathematical, (6) Intrapersonal, (7) Spatial, (8) Naturalistic – it embodies the essence of how things work, what does a touch mean, how to identify flora from fauna, how to explore and discover the behavior or new species, what tools are available for exploration (binoculars, microscopes, telescopes) etc.,
If interoperability is taken care of, the sharing of data amongst devices becomes seamless. But if now, this acts as a major factor of limiting AI algorithms from functioning as expected.
While AI exceeds expectations most of the times, it satisfies the instincts of those who are unaware or who want to achieve more with minimal effort.
If I research about “Top web development frameworks in 2024″, AI will surely give me an answer within seconds. But what is written within the answer, is often questionable. AI can give wrong or misleading information by all means.
It often skips information and shows the most popular answer. Also if the database is not updated, it might not be able to fetch latest results (news).
Can IoT work without AI?
Earlier I thought that it does, but it doesn’t. If AI was not introduced before IoT, the results would have been self-limiting. It could grow, and flourish, if it is allowed to do access more things, experiment, and introduce new.
| Mobile Phones were introduced, followed by mobile apps, followed by internet, followed by interconnectivity of devices, followed by introduction of voice commands, followed by introduction of smarter (expensive) devices on the lines of mobile phones. That’s how the cycle works. |
IoT Frameworks’ Impacting Development of IoT App
Any framework in software development, enhances the capability of the technology or programming language. It softens the flow, streamlines it, enhances impact; An IoT framework is usually made up of reusable software components that are used as templates to create an IoT app, a website, or a web application by efficiently making use of resources like API’s, code libraries, debuggers, compilers that simplify the development process by abstracting complex functionalities.
Choose framework according to the target platform and the programming language used in data science project. Some of the well-known frameworks of IoT application development used for this purpose include open-source, toolkit-based, and proprietary ones:
- DeviceHive: An open-source IoT data platform that builds secure and cost-effective IoT solutions and applications
- Kaa IoT: A widely used open-source framework based on Java libraries
- Zetta: An open-source framework derived from Node.js and REST that continuously stream large amounts of data
- IoTSuite: A toolkit that provides tools to automate development effort at various stages used by IoT application development companies
- ThingSpeak: An open data platform that builds applications that work with data collected by sensors
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT: A proprietary framework that provides services to help users set up, deploy, and manage their IoT solutions
What impedes its growth?
There are some challenges to consider when building IoT applications:
- Data storage: You need to make sure your systems store large amounts of data securely and efficiently.
- Security: If your devices and communications are wireless, you need to make sure they’re secure and private.
- Hardware maintenance: If your sensors are used in the field, they are easily damaged, so you need to make sure your hardware is durable and easy to maintain.
AIoT
AIoT stands for Artificial Intelligence of Things, which is a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure. The goal of AIoT is to make IoT operations more efficient, improve human-machine interactions, and enhance data management and analytics. AIoT works by embedding AI into infrastructure components, such as programs and chipsets, and connecting these components using IoT networks. It is one of the important IoT applications trends. AIoT is being used for:
- AIoT uses facial recognition to identify customers and analyze their data to predict their behavior. This information is used to make decisions about store operations – marketing and product placement.
- AIoT analyzes traffic data to reduce traffic jams.
- AIoT monitors vehicles in a fleet, track vehicle maintenance, and identify unsafe driver behavior.
What is not known about IoT?
Things that are not well known about the Internet of Things (IoT):
- Interoperability: IoT devices come from different manufacturers and industries, and each have different communication protocols, data formats, and security measures. This makes it difficult for devices to work together, which limits their potential.
- Security: As more devices connect to the internet, the potential for hackers to steal confidential information increases. Encryption and data anonymization protects personal data and ensures the safe use of IoT devices.
- Device management: As the number of IoT devices increases, it became more difficult for organizations to collect and manage the data from all of them.
- Effect on human behavior: It’s not clear what effect widespread data collection from IoT devices could have on human behavior and freedoms of expression.
Wind-Up
Today, IoT describes the network of physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the internet. Smart thermostats, kitchen appliances, fitness-tracking watches, self-driving cars, and home security systems are some examples of IoT devices.