Internet of Things #IoT: how will it evolve? by Breogán Gonda
This editorial column by our Chairman, Mr. Breogán Gonda, was recently published in IT Connect LATAM. This article conveys Gonda’s reflections regarding the scope of the IoT, and his opinion in relation to the role of sensors, intelligence and knowledge, as well as their impact on decision-making.
Por Breogán Gonda
The Internet of Things (IoT) is not new to anyone by now. It has been vastly developed for at least five years already. The first milestone in this path was the launching of the iPad, which surpassed telephonic communications giving way to the new era of applications. But, what are all these applications founded on? They are based on a variety of components such as mobility, an adequate bandwidth for transmitting large volumes of data (4G/LTE), falling costs of data transmission and storage, and, at the same time, an exponential increase of data generation. This scenario, in combination with sensors, paved the way to the Internet of Things.
It is common for technology to become available long before its extended use finally occurs. Society takes hold of technology and devises endless applications for it only after it has become massively offered, with associated low costs. As new technology arrives it becomes more widely used, producing new success and it generates feedback for this recurrent process.
The sensor boom
For a number of years, we have been using more sensors than we are aware of. The difference today is that sensors are explicitly presented with an entity of their own.
For instance, applications used for agricultural work resort to temperature, moisture and wind speed sensors, or sensors for measuring the volume of grain contained in an elevator, or to determine the pace of consumption.
Sensors are also becoming popular in the world of medicine, where they are used to gather data regarding the human body and aspects that take place within our bodies.
There is also a significant amount of sensors used in sports, for example, to accurately and unmistakably define the timing of each participant in a running race of thousands, or, in soccer, to determine whether the ball has actually surpassed the goal line or not. Proximity sensors for cars have also become quite popular, enabling us to tell, based on our speed, if we are getting too close to the car in front. They are also capable of making our car stop automatically to avoid an accident. A very particular case is that of Google’s cars –with no driver in them– which are used to take photographs and accumulate geo-spatial knowledge about the whole planet. Thanks to sensors, these cars may circulate without the need of a driver, where allowed, or with occupants who need not act as a driver.
In sum, sensors have become an excellent way to capture data in an exponentially increasing manner, where the data collected is precise and provided at the exact pace we need to have it.
Intelligence, knowledge and decisions
It is obvious that sensors are exactly that, and nothing more, because if we isolate them they would not be useful at all. However, we have resources to make their messages received and transmitted to wherever we need them. Once interpreted, those messages turn into invaluable knowledge. Using that knowledge with traditional computer means, in combination with the Cloud, as well as with statistical methods and tools resulting from Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the like, it is possible now to reach results that were unimaginable to us not long ago.
Even when we have been doing this for years, the proper data and knowledge to solve a variety of problems have always been an extremely scarce resource.
The Internet of Things is not characterized by the above, but rather by its potential for the possibility of accessing all the knowledge and data we need. All of this is available in the Cloud, which is under continuous expansion. We are all part of the knowledge era, and we permanently handle a lot of data, either in the personal or the work environments, and at the same time we face the need to be making numerous decisions every day.
In fact, 80% of all such decisions are trivial. However, they require knowledge and data, and there is the possibility of making those decisions automatically. Other decisions call for human participation, though the individual making the decision may rely on the aid of appropriate information.
The main objective of the IoT is to capture data to feed the processes described above, for they are automatic or semi-automatic processes on which we increasingly depend for our daily life. And someone could ask: is all this convenient? As with any technological innovation, it may be used for a good or a bad purpose; but we should trust mankind to use it adequately and make the most of it in order to turn our world into a better place for all.
Original source: “IoT: ¿Cuál será la evolución?” Master byline by Breogán Gonda
It is common for technology to become available long before its extended use finally occurs. Society takes hold of technology and devises endless applications for it only after it has become massively offered, with associated low costs. As new technology arrives it becomes more widely used, producing new success and it generates feedback for this recurrent process.
The sensor boom
For a number of years, we have been using more sensors than we are aware of. The difference today is that sensors are explicitly presented with an entity of their own.
For instance, applications used for agricultural work resort to temperature, moisture and wind speed sensors, or sensors for measuring the volume of grain contained in an elevator, or to determine the pace of consumption.
Sensors are also becoming popular in the world of medicine, where they are used to gather data regarding the human body and aspects that take place within our bodies.
There is also a significant amount of sensors used in sports, for example, to accurately and unmistakably define the timing of each participant in a running race of thousands, or, in soccer, to determine whether the ball has actually surpassed the goal line or not. Proximity sensors for cars have also become quite popular, enabling us to tell, based on our speed, if we are getting too close to the car in front. They are also capable of making our car stop automatically to avoid an accident. A very particular case is that of Google’s cars –with no driver in them– which are used to take photographs and accumulate geo-spatial knowledge about the whole planet. Thanks to sensors, these cars may circulate without the need of a driver, where allowed, or with occupants who need not act as a driver.
In sum, sensors have become an excellent way to capture data in an exponentially increasing manner, where the data collected is precise and provided at the exact pace we need to have it.
Intelligence, knowledge and decisions
It is obvious that sensors are exactly that, and nothing more, because if we isolate them they would not be useful at all. However, we have resources to make their messages received and transmitted to wherever we need them. Once interpreted, those messages turn into invaluable knowledge. Using that knowledge with traditional computer means, in combination with the Cloud, as well as with statistical methods and tools resulting from Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the like, it is possible now to reach results that were unimaginable to us not long ago.
Even when we have been doing this for years, the proper data and knowledge to solve a variety of problems have always been an extremely scarce resource.
The Internet of Things is not characterized by the above, but rather by its potential for the possibility of accessing all the knowledge and data we need. All of this is available in the Cloud, which is under continuous expansion. We are all part of the knowledge era, and we permanently handle a lot of data, either in the personal or the work environments, and at the same time we face the need to be making numerous decisions every day.
In fact, 80% of all such decisions are trivial. However, they require knowledge and data, and there is the possibility of making those decisions automatically. Other decisions call for human participation, though the individual making the decision may rely on the aid of appropriate information.
The main objective of the IoT is to capture data to feed the processes described above, for they are automatic or semi-automatic processes on which we increasingly depend for our daily life. And someone could ask: is all this convenient? As with any technological innovation, it may be used for a good or a bad purpose; but we should trust mankind to use it adequately and make the most of it in order to turn our world into a better place for all.
Original source: “IoT: ¿Cuál será la evolución?” Master byline by Breogán Gonda