In-depth article: Insight into the future of IoT and artificial intelligence (with NXP AIoT white paper download)

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By designing things with smart attributes and connecting them to the Internet of Things, we create a global network of assets that not only improve the quality of our lives, but also make our lives more convenient and safer.

The Internet of Things gives us eyes, ears, and even hands, to access physical reality from the edge of the network, where we collect raw data and stream it to the cloud, where it is processed to extract the ultimate value: applicable knowledge.

By adding high-performance processing, we are performing less information processing and analysis in data centers and clouds and more of it at the edge, and now magic is happening. We are witnessing magical changes in infrastructure, industries, personal devices, and more that make our lives more colorful: through all of this, our lives are becoming more colorful.

The Internet of Things is currently giving us unprecedented opportunities to enrich our lives, but it is just one step on the road to something much more powerful and impactful. I am referring to artificial intelligence for the Internet of Things.

Today’s smart objects can stream data, learn our preferences, and be controlled via apps, but they are not AI devices. They “communicate” with each other, but they don’t work together.

A smart container that monitors the cold chain of vaccine supplies is not an AI system unless it can “perform actions,” such as predicting temperature changes within the container and automatically adjusting cooling.

A self-driving car or a search-and-rescue drone that can navigate autonomously at sea are actually AI systems. If it can drive or fly on your behalf, you can bet it has some serious AI capabilities.

Reading/speaking/translating languages ​​through algorithms, predicting the mass and speed of objects, buying stocks on your behalf, recognizing faces or diagnosing breast cancer are all characteristics of artificial intelligence.

Now, imagine a world where all AI devices are connected. Extending the edge of the IoT with cognitive capabilities like learning, problem solving, and decision making will take today’s smart objects from pure utility to true extensions of themselves, multiplying our possibilities for interacting with the real world.

As an important part of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence is the basis for new applications and services. For example, Siemens uses artificial intelligence to improve the operation of gas turbines. By learning from operational data, the system can significantly reduce toxic nitrogen oxide emissions while improving the performance and service life of turbines. Siemens also uses artificial intelligence systems to automatically adjust the blade angle of downstream wind turbines to increase plant output.

GE has developed an industrial inspection service based on drones and robots, and uses artificial intelligence to automatically navigate inspection equipment and automatically identify defects from the data collected by the equipment. In the field of medical care, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia seeks to improve the patient experience through automatic language processing, which will allow patients to control the room environment and request various information through voice commands.

Rolls-Royce is developing an IoT-enabled aircraft engine maintenance service, using machine learning to help it spot patterns and identify operational insights that it will sell to airlines.

In the consumer market, Google's Duplex shows us what the future holds: a virtual assistant that can perform "real" tasks over the phone, such as scheduling a dentist appointment or making a dinner reservation. These tasks usually require human interaction, but no longer. Duplex's AI voice sounds so natural that the person answering the call may not even realize they are talking to a machine.

Now, what does this mean for the future? The truth is, even with the burgeoning number of IoT AI applications, it’s still impossible to guess what the future will bring. One thing is certain – society is fundamentally changing in today’s digital age. The paradigm shift that will come with the convergence of AI and IoT will be greater than when personal computers or mobile phones came into being. NXP is driving this shift with secure connected processing solutions at the edge, enabling countless applications in the IoT AI of the future.

To eliminate the risks involved, effective security based on the principles of "security by design" and "privacy by design" will be key. If we keep this in mind when designing future infrastructure and devices, IoT AI will surely change our lives. And we also have the responsibility to bring a bright future to mankind.