The Internet of Things and What Comes from Those Things

My uncle is self-employed and owns a large plot of land over the plains of Addison County, Vermont. The air carries no cellphone reception for miles here, only perpetual breeze. He rises before the sun, every day, to tend his land, the bees he rents, and his cows. He operates his small-scale dairy farm mostly by himself, unknowing and uncaring of our modern-day utilities like: cellphones, caller I.D., and the internet.

                              

If I were to throw the word “network connection” at him and ask him to define it, there’s no doubt his response would be different from what most would say. Data networks we are familiar with like, cellphone networks and the internet, have redefined what it means for us to be connected. How different we become when we have immediate access to music, knowledge, friends, and family sticks out like a sore thumb when we talk to people, like him, who have lived their whole lives without it. The internet serves no purpose for his life-style and work. For now anyways.

The internet has not journeyed to what we know in our real-world to be “rural space.” This isn’t to imply rural farmland will be forever undisturbed from its unrelenting influence.

The internet is not a static, invariable system. We are constantly putting our high-tech ideas into action, inventing new technologies, and challenging our concepts of networks and communication.

Imagine a world where everything is “smart” and “connected”. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected objects, of things. “But of what things?” you may ask. Human hearts, trees, cows, cars, and your dog to name a few. The IoT is limited to anything that may be monitored, so essentially, any thing may be part of the Internet of Things.

Embedded sensors in objects provide its operators with rich, valuable information that they would not otherwise possess. For my uncle, tags could monitor the health of his cows. Technology could notify him of any issues of his livestock well before problems develop. Embedded fences could notify him of when they have fallen over or in need of repair. IoT comes into play when these objects are able to transfer information over networks, transferring vital information between the farmers in his area.

Apart from rural space, IoT has practical applications in our regular lives as well. Imagine a “smart” toothbrush. It is capable of sensing one’s body temperature, sugar-level in saliva, etc. Perhaps, it is capable of notifying your doctor if you’re at high risk for developing diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis. This device and devices like these would be connected as part of the IoT to notify your doctor of your health history when you go in for a check-up.

Today’s internet connects us together through our devices. We can talk to our friends over vast distances and stream silly videos we’ve taken to strangers on YouTube. As our bodies, our cars, and many other things send data through the network, communicating without our instruction, our concept of what it means to be connected will also become an antiquity.

Related article:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141210080601.htm