A Starter Guide to the Internet of Things: Part 2

This is the second post in the three part series on the Starter Guide to IoT. Read the first part of this article here.

The essential technologies for IoT

A blueprint of an IoT solution is made up of many components, such as devices, sensors, M2M communication, transport across wireless local networks to Internet gateways, cloud computing and aggregation platforms and so on.

Illustration of how an Internet enabled thermostat such as Nest Learning Thermostat© works. The underlying technology combines several open standards with Nest’s proprietary standards and algorithms. The solution uses the Wi-Fi 802 protocols to connect with home wi-fi, a cross-platform mobile and web apps allow account management and remote control while cloud services to store data. The solution also uses proprietary communication protocol Nest Weave to let devices talk directly to one another. A full list of technical requirements is listed on the Nest website.

The enabling technologies for IOT can be categorized into three broad layers:

 Network Communications

These cover the entire spectrum of data communication across personal area networks, short range wifi, LAN, WAN and onward. RFID enabled sensors, short range wi-fi communications using Bluetooth or ZigBee, 4G/5G mobile wireless LTE that enable connectivity between sensors to wireless LAN and gateways to WAN to the Internet TCP/IP backbone.

Interface Protocols

These are the group of various software integration and messaging protocols that allow creation of interfaces across devices, services and applications. Examples of this include XMPP (Extended Messaging and Presence) protocol used in near-real time communications and telepresence technologies, COAP (Constrained Application Protocol) for simple communication between  electronic devices over the Internet, RESTful API for  communications across web applications and MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport), a message protocol for lightweight M2M communications.

Platforms

This includes the myriad of hardware, software, development and application platforms, cloud brokers and computing platforms that can be used to build and deliver IoT applications.

Postscape, a research firm dedicated to covering IoT has a comprehensive list of enabling technologies on their website.

Issues facing the growth of Internet of Things 

The current issues being debated about IoT are largely around living up to its market hype,  the technical and economic feasibility of practical applications at large scale, and the level of collaboration needed to create a smart connected ecosystem that goes beyond localized home or industrial solutions.

Convergence on global standards and security fears are the major issues in way of consumerization of IoT

Threat to Security, Privacy and Freedom

Security is consistently stated as the major concern in enabling IoT especially when it comes to designing for a smart grid. The Internet of Things is drawing attention of governments as the threat of digital warfare  especially on the industrial Internet,  has the potential to  cause human and environmental catastrophes. Further, individual right to privacy, security and freedom can just as easily be digitally compromised, even if starting with monitoring user behaviour for commercial profit. IOT security is a  whole industry devoted exclusively to address this concern and is estimated to grow at the same rate.

Inter-operability 

While there are some break-through standards which make IoT a reality, there is a large diversity of devices and their applications depending on the field in which they operate. Multiply this with the heterogeneity of standards, protocols, software and hardware platforms and the sustained effort needed to create a semantic web, there are several years of hard work ahead. One of the challenges is breaking down the scope of IoT which is likely to fragment platforms and standards as IoT evolves across different industry verticals in the coming decade.

Complexity 

Consumer attention in Internet of Things is drawn to portable devices for millennials creating the mass appeal and excitement for the concept to expand. As start-ups emerge with new solutions by the day, the engineering and architecture quality attributes of these offerings will get tested in new ways in the real world. Imagine a smart home short circuiting in a fire and locking down entry for emergency responders? Or a jammed freeway of driverless cars in a snowstorm? As applications grow bigger and more complex, the solutions may be less obvious and the ability to handle all exceptions can create economic and legal minefields for businesses.

Sustainability 

Is a connected planet a sustainable planet? The rapid rate of technical obsolescence of smart consumer devices has implications today with resources required for manufacture, disposal and portability of data. The lifetime costs for upgrades and replacements, ensuring digital security, and perceived complexity deter many in the consumer market today. The same will apply on a larger scale to enterprise and public investments. 

In the concluding post on the Starter Guide, we look at What to expect from IoT in the next five years.