Popular Science Article—How the Internet of Things Works

Introduction: The Internet of Things is the next stage in the development of the Internet. At first, we only connected computers and smartphones to the Internet. Now, we connect a series of devices and things to the Internet so that we can interact with them extensively and collect useful data from them at the same time. The Internet of Things frees people up to engage in higher-level and more important tasks.

What is the Internet of Things (or “IoT”)? How does it work? Why is it so important? Let’s dive into an easy-to-understand definition that won’t necessarily answer all of your questions, but will at least give you a direction to ask the right questions!

To understand what’s special about the IoT and how it differs from the regular old internet, we need to understand its place in the history of telecommunications and modern technology.

Where does the Internet of Things come from?

In the 20th century, telecommunications technology enabled us to talk to each other over long distances via telephone.

In the 1980s, we began connecting personal computers (PCs) to the Internet to really quickly share and access resources and information beyond simple voice data over long distances.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Apple has changed the world with the iPhone. It has enabled us to control the power of the Internet anytime and anywhere, and the true mobile era has begun.

Soon after the smartphone era began, we began to see the value of being able to access the Internet from a range of small mobile devices. Not only could we “read” data from things in the world, but we could also “write” data, i.e. give them instructions.

Finally, here’s where the Internet of Things (or “IoT”) fits into the story!

The Internet of Things refers to the practice of connecting objects, devices, and spaces to the Internet that were previously outside the scope of the Internet. As we have seen, until a few years ago, the Internet was basically limited to two things: computers and mobile phones. Now, we have brought many things online: cars, stereos (such as Alexa), household appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines, urban municipal infrastructure, agricultural equipment, and so on.

The Internet of Things enables citizens, businesses, and governments to interact with many once disconnected objects remotely and at scale. It enables us to collect data from these devices, generate insights from that data, and then send instructions back to those devices that help them perform their tasks better.

The Internet of Things enables humans to connect the physical world around them to the internet and interact with it through digital representations.

Core components of IoT systems

hardware

At the heart of the Internet of Things are billions of interconnected devices, typically sensors and actuators, that enable you to sense or control the physical world around you. In addition to requiring a network connection to transmit the data they collect, these devices also require some basic processing and storage capabilities, which are typically provided by microcontrollers, system-on-chips (SoCs), or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Embedded Programming

IoT devices are embedded devices. They can be prototyped using commercial microcontroller platforms such as Arduino, with a custom printed circuit board (PCB) developed at a later stage. Prototyping with these platforms requires circuit design skills, microcontroller programming, and a deep understanding of hardware communication protocols such as serial, I2C, or SPI used to establish communication between the microcontroller and connected sensors and actuators. Embedded programs are typically developed using C++ or C. However, Python and JavaScript (for UI and platform) are becoming increasingly popular for prototyping and scaling IoT systems.

safety

Security is one of the most critical issues in IoT, closely tied to data ethics, privacy, and responsibility. It must be built into every step of system design. With tens of thousands of new devices connected every day, the number of potential (or real) attack vectors grows every day. Security engineering skills, including threat assessment, ethical hacking, encryption, protecting network architecture and applications, event monitoring, activity logging, and threat intelligence, become critical with so much at stake.

Network and cloud integration

Network design and management are critical in IoT because of the sheer number of connected devices and the impact that network design decisions can have on IoT systems deployed at scale.

Connectivity allows devices to communicate with other devices as well as applications and services running in the cloud. Although cloud computing and IoT are two distinct technologies, real-time data streaming and cloud integration are essential for the proper functioning of IoT. Cloud infrastructure is used for data storage, processing and analysis, as well as for implementing business logic in IoT applications.

Data analysis and prediction

The number of IoT devices transmitting data is increasing every day, and developers will need to securely and reliably ingest, store, and query large amounts of heterogeneous data originating from these devices. Many IoT devices generate latency- or time-sensitive data, so it is also useful to filter or discard irrelevant data at the edge of the network instead of sending all data to the server.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

To deliver value and leverage the vast amounts of data generated by IoT devices, machine learning and artificial intelligence are useful tools in IoT systems. These technologies teach machines to learn by exposing them to large amounts of data about situations, and these technologies can be applied to sensor data streams in real time for predictive analysis and autonomously make decisions based on incoming data. Machine learning can also be applied to historical data to identify patterns or anomalies in the data that can enable you to make important decisions.

Internet of Things and Industry

The impact of IoT on industrial ecosystems has led to the emergence of powerful physical network connections, often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, also known as the Industrial Internet of Things (or "IIoT"). The connected ecosystem refers to physically connected industrial assets, including assets on the manufacturing floor as well as connected logistics tools, processes, etc.