IoT Wiki
The history of IoT and M2M
The term IoT was coined in 1999 by British entrepreneur Kevin Ashton. Referring to a worldwide network of objects linked to radio-frequency identification, or RFID. The idea was that all objects and objects would be provided with identifiers so that computers would manage and establish records.
One could argue the term has since evolved and its meaning is less coherent than originally intended. In spirit, we think of it as a summary word describing electronic communication, for everyday objects such home appliances, accessories, vehicles, buildings, and industrial components and so forth communicating over primarily over the internet. Sensors transmitting 24/7 information that´s desirable for whatever use case is IoT in its essence.
The worlds first connected IoT device
The first IoT device is thought to have been invented in the 1980s by a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University. David Nichols, the student, and inventor thought it was a long way to check whether the coca-cola vending machine was empty or not and as such invented a way to remotely check the contents of the machine. With help from fellow students Mike Kazar and Ivor Durham the machine was connected to ARPANET, a precursor to today´s internet. At the time less than 300 computers made up the entire network.
Why an IoT wiki?
Our IoT Wikipedia strives to describe a few key areas where M2M and IoT connectivity is relevant to our company or areas of application in general which we find interesting.
Why IoT? Allowing systems to communicate directly via networks online promises enhanced efficiency, scalability, and economic benefits. Imagine a farmer getting exact information on how much he needs to water his plants due to a small electronic transmitter that measures humidity in his fields? Or the water company knowing within split seconds if there is a build-up of debris in their network due to the measuring water flow. It´s completely possible with IoT solutions.
IoT technology
IoT and M2M are two terms that are often confused for a good reason. They only differ slightly. M2M systems also contain network-enabled devices, however, these devices are isolated and only communicate directly with one another.
Meanwhile, IoT can be described as the next level of IoT and is technologically superior. In IoT-enabled networks, the devices are part of an interconnected ecosystem that utilizes IP networks. The devices do not transmit data to standalone equipment but gateways or a cloud. The cloud acts as a middleman that computes, sends, and receives all data.
IoT at the user or device level is not complicated in most cases. However, the infrastructure needed in order to enable IoT communication is a field of its own with requiring much know-how and furthermore infrastructure. Building a Lora network for example is a big project which will demand both resources and effort that´s not economical unless it’s scaled. Therefore companies, such as NetmoreM2M specialize in the network part of IoT communications in order bring economic viability to IoT projects.
Which industry benefits from IoT technology?
IoT-enabled devices are becoming increasingly cheaper. In addition, IoT SIM cards can be purchased at bulk prices and can rely on connectivity technology that was specifically designed for IoT use, such as NB-IoT, LTE-M, and LoRaWAN® (all of which fall under the LPWAN-category)
As a result, the deployment of an IoT ecosystem becomes a viable undertaking for companies from a wide variety of industries. There are already more connected devices than people in the world. It’s predicted there may be as many as 41.6 billion connected IoT devices by 2025.
Many stand to gain from this ongoing Internet of things revolution connecting devices with applications. Such as the automotive industry, public infrastructures such as electricity, water, and sewage, which will probably be the large user of IoT in the future, thanks to the continued launch of smart city solutions, smart meters, security systems, such as burglar alarms and CCTV and so forth.