(
Internet
Of
Things) Connecting the physical world to a computer or mobile device via the Internet. Also called the "Internet of Everything" (IoE), the Internet of Things includes home appliances, door locks, doorbells, thermostats, lighting, sleep monitors, security cameras, fitness bands, as well as sensors for traffic monitoring. It is estimated that there will be trillions of IoT devices in the future. See
Analytics of Things,
Internet of Thieves and
IoMT.
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
Industrial IoT connects all machines in a manufacturing or harsh environment, the benefits being real-time monitoring and preventive maintenance. However, conversion is a major issue because many industrial sensors do not transmit via the Internet protocol (IP over Ethernet). They use modems, RS232/485 and other signaling methods. See
LoRaWAN,
IoBT,
RS-232 and
RS-485.
A Unique ID Is Required
In order to avoid conflict as more things are connected, items need unique identification. GS1 EPCglobal administers the commercial side, while R&D is done by Auto-ID Labs, which previously developed the Electronic Product Code (EPC) for RFID tags. See
RFID,
EPC,
Internet of Thieves,
Internet of Everything,
LPWA,
IoT gateway,
IoT hub,
IPv6,
M2M and
LTE for iOT.
Just the Beginning
This Miele washing machine was Wi-Fi enabled in 2010. If a part starts to fail, it contacts the dealer and user. Increasingly, appliances are connected via the Internet.