IoT

Learn in the textbookFundamental Concepts of IoT and Embedded Systems

DefinitionIoT (Internet of Things) is a mechanism that gives everyday things a communication function, connects them to a network, and puts the data they collect to use.

ExplanationIoT devices read their state with sensors and similar parts that measure things like temperature and location, and send the data to a server through their communication function. Devices that also handle control carry a drive part, an actuator, that turns received instructions into motion. The collected data is analyzed on the server side and used for remote monitoring and automatic control of the devices.

AnalogyThe network used to be where people got in touch with each other; now a house's windows and a field's soil have joined in, reporting on their own, "Here is how I am right now."

Memory hookLet the T for Things remind you that the internet's participants widened from people to objects.

Learn in the textbookWork Environment and Groupware

DefinitionIoT (Internet of Things) is a system that gives all kinds of things sensors and communication functions, connects them to a network, and puts the collected data to use.

ExplanationA sensor is a component that measures conditions such as temperature, vibration, or position and turns them into numbers. The connected things range widely, from home appliances and cars to factory equipment and farmland. For example, readings from a soil moisture sensor in a field can be used to adjust the amount of watering automatically.

AnalogyImagine attaching a tiny reporter to every tool in the house, each sending constant updates to headquarters. The more reports come in, the better headquarters can act ahead of time.

Memory hookThe Things in Internet of Things are objects. Read it as saying that not only people but objects become users of the internet.