What is IoT and why is IoT important

If you are reading this article, it is because you are curious about IoT, the Internet of Things. This is a concept that has become more popular in recent years, thanks to advances in technology. Let’s find out here what is IoT, why is IoT important, where can you find this technology, and some examples in real life.

What is IoT?

We often are asked about what is IoT, since this concept is very popular in the market nowadays. To put it in simple terms, the Internet of Things are devices, hardware or products that contain electronics, sensors, firmware and software, and that can store, gather, and send data over the internet to other devices or platforms.

Another way to explain what is IoT is through an example. Imagine a watch that can collect specific information from your body, like blood pressure, oxygen, stress levels, or even the distance you have walked. How does it work? The smartwatch has specific electronics, firmware and sensors that allow to collect information in real time, and thanks to an app or software, the data is processed for the user.

“IoT allows devices or hardware to gather information and send it over the internet to a cloud, app or software.”

The market size of IoT is expected to grow to USD 650.5 billion by year 2026. This is amazing, considering all the potential this market has.

Does this mean that any object or device is susceptible to becoming an IoT device? Yes, if you consider there is a potential for gathering or measuring interesting data that people can use, then, you can get IoT product development done with a company that adjusts to your needs.

Why is IoT important

To talk about the importance of the Internet of Things, it is necessary to understand that technology is really accepted and appreciated by people. All devices that allow to gather information or to interact with other products become popular in a short period of time.

Wouldn’t you like to program your laundry machine from your phone to do the laundry while you are at the supermarket? Wouldn’t you want to get insights on how to improve your running performance thanks to smart devices attached to your body?

The Internet of Things reduces human effort for many activities, and provides tons of information. When people have data, they feel more in control of every aspect that surrounds them.

These technologies have also become more popular because of product prototype development. If an entrepreneur comes up with a great idea for an IoT product, that person can look for a company that makes prototypes, and build it with an affordable budget.

Of course, the IoT device will succeed if there is a market or problem that needs to be solved. The entrepreneur shares his vision, and the prototyping company does the rest with a professional engineering team that builds the machine or product.

Let’s explore more the importance of IoT.

4 benefits to understand the importance of IoT

1. Better life quality

Smartphones are an important part of daily life. People rely on these devices to do almost any task; from answering the phone to sending emails.

Communication is something that improves the quality of life. And the IoT devices allow that.

If you count on a smart device to remind you of your appointments, or you can download your medical report in just a few seconds, it means you can dedicate more of your time to other activities.

When you save time, you become more productive. Your mind releases from unnecessary workloads and can be more focused on more important tasks.

There are even new IoT devices that focus on wellness, this is another advantage of this technology.

2. Automation of processes

Turning on the lights. Opening the garage door. Adjusting the thermostat. Doing laundry. Ordering medicine. Buying groceries. Counting your burned calories during exercise. What do all these things have in common?

These are activities that can be automated. Thanks to IoT devices, you can control these tasks and automate them. By installing sensors at home, you could turn on the lights from your phone, or adjust them from your app to activate at night when there is movement inside the room.

You could open the garage door from your car when you are arriving home, so you won’t waste time getting out of your car and doing it by yourself.

Work out without getting worried about the amount of burned calories, the wearable around your wrist will get the information for you. This is one of the big advantages of IoT for wearable devices.

3. Data-driven decisions

Sean Covey, a recognized writer said, “We are free to choose our paths, but we can’t choose the consequences that come with them.”

Everything in life is about decisions. IoT is important for many people because it opens up the possibility of making decisions based on the collected data.

If you could improve the quality of your crops by measuring the soil, its humidity, and nutrients, would you do it? The most probable answer is yes. By installing sensors or smart devices, you could take your crops to a whole new level.

Of course, the data itself won’t do anything. The collected information will help you acknowledge potential problems, and you can make decisions accordingly.

4. Real time monitoring

These devices would have the ability to keep an eye out on the current quality of goods at home. Knowing the state of your items will allow a homeowner to know when they need to replace an item, without them having to consistently check the quality themselves.

According to Markets and Markets, “The IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring market is projected to grow from USD 3.9 billion in 2022 to USD 6.6 billion by 2027.”

Companies in different industries want to be able to track their assets in real time. This feature gives them the possibility to check the status of the product or asset, its performance, if there are any internal risks, availability, and potential dangers for the monitored asset.

Need of IoT in different areas

You have seen so far why IoT is so important for people and companies. Now let’s see the need of IoT in some important areas:

• Smart Energy.
• Smart Agriculture.
• Retail.
• Industrial level.
• Mobility.
• Health.
• Smart Water.
• Waste Management.
• Home.
• Sports.
• Smart Buildings.
• Logistics.
• Environment.

These are just some IoT use cases where you can develop a new smart device; imagine all the potential you can find there. Every industry mentioned above is open to new developments. They may be already waiting for your IoT device; the trend nowadays is to develop smart cities.

Internet of Things examples

At DeepSea Developments, we have helped some customers develop medical devices. For instance, imagine a smart device that reminds you of taking your medicine at specific times of the day. You would receive an alert on your phone, and the device would open at that moment to give you the pills.

Another example, a hospital that needs to provide medical equipment to a patient to help him move at home. Sometimes the inventory is difficult to find, and that delays a lot of processes from the customer service area.

So, with the help of tracking devices, the staff from the hospital would immediately locate equipment inside the facilities and give it to the patient.

Where could this technology be installed? Well, it depends on the creativity of the electronic product developers. You could for example install sensors in wheelchairs, oxygen machines, special beds, heart monitors, among others.

Not only the doctors or hospitals can monitor the location of the product, but they also can know in real time if there is a potential failure in the device that may affect the patient’s health.

There are many examples of IoT in the healthcare industry, the need of IoT in this area is high nowadays, and several startups are entering the market with new devices.

Now that you understand the importance of IoT, we expect this information gives you great ideas to develop new smart devices for the market.

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