The Internet of Things

Let's start off by stating that you—the reader—are using the Internet at this very moment. A very common feat in this day and age. The Internet has seeped into every aspect of our lives. We use it daily, to the point where now, it has become a part of our lives, a necessity. To be fair, it's not a bad thing. Humans are designed to exhibit such behaviour. It's our first instinct that makes us justify the extensive and intrusive use of this powerful tool—convenience.

What is the Internet of Things?

By definition, IoT is: The vast network of devices connected to the Internet, including smartphones and tablets and almost anything with a sensor on it—cars, machines in production plants, jet engines, oil drills, wearable devices, and more. These "things" collect and exchange data.

The Internet is many things—it's a network, a feature, even magic for some! But let's break it down to its core, what it actually is. Like all inventions, it is ultimately a tool—a device. If the Internet is a tool, The Internet of Things (IoT) is a principle that works on it being able to interact with everything around you.

One device to rule them all. One device to control them all. > One device to bring them all, and bind them.

In this day and age of smart cities, we are moving towards making everything easy and safe and connected. This is where IoT fits in. Imagine going to your house, and there's no wires, nothing hideously dangling around as you go about doing your normal chores—all you need is your phone. That's the IoT dream—an uber world in which your phone/tablet/computer can interact with everything around you and make it hassle-free. You can automate your coffee machine to make your daily cup without having to instruct it daily!

However, automation is just a small part, a small scratch on the vast expanse of features of The Internet of Things.

IoT is the ability for all your devices to interact, to 'Talk' to each other, to constantly share information. This Machine-to-Machine (M2M) aspect is greatly useful in gauging safety.

Tesla Motors is a prime example. They have been using IoT for some time now for Over The Air (OTA) updates to their cars. The sheer possibility that you can update your car by just being connected to the internet is amazing.

The Internet of Things is the ability to control everything using just one device—The Internet. The world we're moving towards is heavily influenced by IoT. It's become an integral part of innovation. People might wonder Why? That's a question with a simple answer, one I started with—convenience. When you have such a powerful tool as the Internet and the ability to harness it and use it to make lives easy, the question transforms itself to Why Not?