An Introduction to IoT

IoT stands for the Internet of Things and comes with various devices. The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects or ‘things’ that encompasses everything connected to the Internet with sensors, software, and other technologies. A ‘thing’ could be any object outfitted with sensors and the ability to gather data. Smartphones, automobiles, and medical devices are among the most famous objects having this capability. IoT links everything together and facilitates communication between devices and the cloud to streamline data exchanging and transferring over a wireless network without human intervention.

How Does IoT Devices Work With Blockchain?

We learned that IoT is made up of numerous objects, nodes and various devices with minicomputers and active sensors. Each node can be registered on a blockchain ledger, and all the devices can be connected directly. Additionally, the integration of IoT and blockchain allows smart devices to function autonomously without the involvement of a third party. These devices collect massive amounts of data via machine learning. It means they collect data from their environment to regulate and adjust themselves in a human way. Many of the devices around us can communicate smartly on a network, and most of them are being run in applications and smartphones.

IoT Gateway and Function

As IoT grows and expands, it finds more in-depth applications. “IoT Gateway” is a prominent example that comes from the heart of the IoT. It is a physical and centralised device and a wireless network that can be used as a novel solution to enable all the devices to connect to the Internet.

How Does IoT Gateway Work? 

An IoT Gateway is a virtual platform and housing application software with long-term advantages and utilisations. An IoT Gateway is designed to streamline connection among various protocols and data sources and enable visualisation. By applying an IoT Gateway, we enjoy lower security risks. An IoT Gateway comes with other key benefits, such as filtering our measured data to reduce errors, reducing transmission costs, and connecting devices to the cloud.

Benefits and Examples of IoT Systems

IoT devices offer useful insights and beneficial tools and are applied in various processes and fields like healthcare, lifestyle, automobiles, and cities. 

IoT in Healthcare

• IoT comes with multiple devices, including blood pressure cuffs, heart rate monitors and glucometers and alert devices to help people track their health.
• Additionally, patients can connect with doctors faster via remote monitoring and virtual visits. 
• To reduce drug prices, it optimises the pharmaceutical production process.

IoT in Lifestyle

• Security devices can monitor your home, turn the lights on and off as you enter and exit rooms, open and close the doors, and keep the video so you can check while you’re far away from your home.
• With IoT, you can regulate the temperature and turn your air conditioner on and off no matter you are at home or not.
• You can check your daily activities and your burned calories.
• With IoT features, you can set up your sleep schedule and create a wind-down routine.

IoT in Automobiles

• In a car accident or car crash, your IoT device will immediately make calls and notify friends and family automatically.
•  IoT makes cars smart, meaning you will find the shortest route and locate the empty parking spot.
•  Smart GPS can be used to determine and predict the traffic duration.

IoT in Cities 

• With IoT, we can predict weather conditions and measure air quality.
• IoT devices discover ordinary requirements for critical infrastructure like bridges, traffic lights, street lines.
• IoT devices provide more safety with smart policing and monitoring in various cities and locations.

Does IoT Have Drawbacks?

Although IoT makes a giant step to facilitate our daily routines and improve the quality of things, there can be some challenges like the following:

• Since some of the components in IoT devices come with high prices, it would prevent startups or small businesses from operating IoT devices.
• It's inseparable from the Internet and cannot operate functionally offline.
• In a system with smart features, everything will be done by the internet, making people lazy and unintelligent.

Why Does Blockchain Help IoT?

Although IoT devices have insurmountable benefits, they often lack the security and authentication necessities, and they are centralised. As such, no single party has control over the massive amount of data the IoT devices generate. Therefore, to prevent cyber attacks and protect the whole system, we need to build on more layers of security and privacy. This is where blockchain should come into play! Blockchain is our brilliant and exquisite ledger and primary solution for the issues in centralised systems. The Centralised IoT system adjusts itself with blockchain and will appear in the decentralised form. Integration of blockchain and IoT brings sky-high levels of security and makes it much more complicated for hackers to access the system and gain control of the information. The adoption of the IoT and blockchain provided a safe environment to record our data.

Blockchain and IoT Projects

Helium, Vechain, IOTA, IoTex and  OriginTrail projects are embedded with blockchain and implement decentralised ledger to bring transparency, security and reduced costs. You can read more about each specific project on Cryptologist.st.

A Short History of IoT

Although the true Internet of Things history began with the invention of the Internet in the 1960s, the idea of the Internet of things came about in 1999 by Kevin Ashton. Ashton was working on his new project, and he used the term ‘IoT’ as the title of his project. The main concept of connecting devices dates back to the 1980s when the first electromagnetic telegraph was created to communicate directly among electrical transmission between two machines.

The World’s First IoT Device

It might be hard to believe, but the first IoT device was the Coca-Cola vending machine. In order to see if the cooling device keeps the drinks cool enough, in the early 1980s, a group of students from Carnegie Mellon university merged micro-switches and used the early form of the Internet and created the Coca-Cola machine!

Final Remarks

It is no secret that technology will affect every industry and even every individual in the world. IoT has the potential to grow on and on and cooperate with blockchain to solve its issues and optimise its performance while guaranteeing safety. Here at Cryptologist.st we intend to educate you about the limitless world of the blockchain and the related subjects. Although we offer no financial advice, we are here to help you make confident crypto decisions. Stay tuned!