What Is the “Internet of Things”?
The “Internet of Things” is everywhere. But what is it exactly? And how does it affect your life? Tech Talker delves into this hot new buzz word.
What is the “Internet of Things” or IoT?
This new buzz phrase has been floating around the internet for a while and is now beginning to make its way into mainstream media. Naturally when words like this enter the general lexicon, I get a lot of questions about them!
This one is near and dear to my heart, so I’m going to roll up my sleeves and try to explain away this catch-all term!
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First of all, what is the “Internet of Things”?
What is the Internet of Things?
Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like: things that have internet!
What sorts of things you might be wondering? Well just about anything from an internet-connected refrigerator, to a smart TV, a plugged-in laundry room, and even your WiFi wired actual house!
I’ve done episodes on products that would be considered within the scope of the “Internet of Things,” such as the Nest thermostat, Apple TV, Chromecast, and even security cameras! All of these things fit into the category of internet-enabled things.
What’s the Big Deal About IoT?
So why is this becoming such a big deal all of a sudden? Well this is something that has been ramping up in the past few years because of the ever growing size and speed of the internet. Once people began to get internet on their phones, forward-thinking geeks started to wonder: What else could you plug into the internet?
At first it seemed ridiculous. Why the heck would you want your toaster, fridge, washer, or dryer hooked up to the internet? Then companies such as Nest began to develop and their thinking was, “What if you had your thermostat connected to the internet? What if you could turn it on remotely and adjust the temperature settings of your home from anywhere?”
Then the question changed into “What if you could build intelligence into such a device that it could learn your schedule and adjust itself accordingly?” Pretty soon that ridiculous idea was bought by Google for a whopping $3 billion!
Devices like the Nest smart thermostat are beginning to hit the mainstream because of the ease of use they provide to consumers and because of the lower cost of the components that make up these devices.
The Future Is Now (Almost)
Let’s take a quick look at the not-so-distant future. Pretty soon, washers and driers will be WiFi-enabled in order to let you know when a load of laundry is done. Fridges will inform you when food has spoiled, when you need to pick up more milk, or if the temperature rises above a certain threshold. Your fire alarm would be connected wirelessly and send you a text message when it went off.
Everything I’ve mentioned so far currently exists. But soon enough your car will be able to sync with your internet to download maps and weather conditions, along with your favorite podcasts!
Your chair will have a pressure sensor in order to weigh you and determine your posture. Your bed will monitor your motion and determine how to provide a better way to sleep, and your sprinklers will keep track of the weather so that they don’t go off while it’s raining.
Hopefully by now you can see where this is all going! This may sound like a sci fi movie, but believe me, it’s a lot closer than you think. In fact, the internet of things already exists all around you, from street lights, to buses, to water usage, and to pretty much any other measurable quantity you consume. There are little devices collecting vast amounts of data on virtually everything.
Is All This Automation and Connectivity Safe?
To some people, this can be unnerving. After all, it’s not always clear who has access to the data and who doesn’t. It’s also pretty scary to think that someone could hack your entire house, let alone your computer. With pretty much everything tech-related, there are some incredible possibilities for good and some frightening opportunities for exploitation.
Security is definitely a concern for these devices, as we saw in my episode on baby monitors that were hacked. Not to mention that hackers aren’t the only ones pining for access to data. Large companies would love any extra data on consumers in order to better predict spending habits and of course the NSA likes to keep tabs on…well…pretty much everything!
Personally, I love the idea of the Internet of Things. I recently purchased some chicks (yes, that’s right, baby chickens) which are being monitored 24/7 with a temperature sensor and camera hooked up to my Raspberry Pi! This way I can check on them whenever and wherever.
The true power behind the Internet of Things is the automation and logic brought to devices that previously had none.
Next week I’ll be covering the Smart Grid and how exactly that ties into the Internet of Things.
With that here are your 3 Quick and Dirty highlights for the Internet of Things:
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Anything connected to the internet is a part of the internet of things (although this term itself usually refers to devices that are not traditionally connected to the internet such as washing machines or toasters).
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The Internet of Things is helping us to automate our lives in a number of ways.
As time goes on, more and more things are being connected to the internet in order to collect data and analyze it, which poses some security questions.
Well, that’s it for today! Be sure to check out all my earlier episodes at quickanddirtytips tech-talker. And if you have further questions about this podcast or want to make a suggestion for a future episode, post them on Facebook QDTtechtalker.
Until next time, I’m the Tech Talker, keeping technology simple!
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About the Author
Tech Talker demystifies technology and cutting edge devices so that even the most tech illiterate can understand what’s going on with their computer or gadget — and what to do when something goes wrong.
