Internet of Things Overview

Study Notes

IoT refers to the interconnection of physical devices (things) embedded with sensors, software, and technologies to exchange data over the internet.
The term was first coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999.
It originated from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices, and the internet.

Smart Homes: Use IoT to remotely control devices, such as thermostats, security systems, and appliances.
Smart Cities: Use IoT to manage resources, reduce energy consumption, and improve public services.
Industrial IoT (IIoT): Use IoT to enhance automation and efficiency in manufacturing and industrial sectors.
Wearables: Use IoT in Fitness trackers and smartwatches to monitor health and fitness.
Healthcare: Use IoT in medical devices for remote monitoring, patient management, and personalized treatment.
Agriculture: Use IoT for smart farming techniques such as soil monitoring, irrigation, and crop management.

A typical IoT architecture includes devices/sensors, connectivity, data processing, and a user interface.
Sensors/Devices: Devices that collect data from the environment (e.g., temperature sensors).
Connectivity: Technologies that enable communication between devices and servers (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth).
Data Processing: Analyzes the collected data to derive insights using cloud computing.
User Interface: Allows users to interact with the IoT system (e.g., mobile apps).

Device-to-Device: Direct communication between devices using protocols like Bluetooth.
Device-to-Gateway: Devices communicate through a gateway, which processes and sends data to the cloud.
Device-to-Cloud: Devices directly connect to the cloud for data processing and storage.
Back-End Data Sharing Model: Data collected by devices is sent to a central server and shared with other systems.

Microcontrollers and Microprocessors:
- Arduino: An open-source microcontroller platform for building IoT projects.
- Raspberry Pi: A small, affordable computer used for various IoT applications.
- NodeMCU (ESP8266/ESP32): Microcontroller boards with built-in Wi-Fi, ideal for IoT projects.
Sensors and Actuators:
- Sensors: Collect data from the environment (e.g., temperature sensors, humidity sensors, light sensors, motion detectors).
- Actuators: Devices that perform actions based on sensor data, such as motors, relays, and LEDs.

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track objects, commonly used in inventory management and access control.

Wi-Fi: Wireless communication standard for connecting devices to the internet.
Bluetooth: Short-range communication technology for connecting devices.
Zigbee: Low-power, low-data rate wireless network standard for IoT devices.
GSM, LoRa, NB-IoT: Cellular and long-range communication technologies for IoT applications.

Cloud computing provides on-demand access to computing resources (like servers, storage, databases) over the internet.
Popular IoT Cloud Platforms:
- AWS IoT: Amazon's cloud platform for connecting IoT devices and processing data.
- Google Cloud IoT: Google's platform offering tools for IoT device management and data analysis.
- Microsoft Azure IoT: Azure's suite of services for building IoT applications.
- ThingSpeak: An open-source IoT analytics platform that enables data collection, storage, and visualization.

Configure devices to send data to cloud platforms using IoT protocols such as MQTT or HTTP.

Data from IoT devices is stored in the cloud and analyzed using big data analytics, machine learning, and visualization platforms.

Data Collection: Gathering data from sensors and devices in real-time.
Data Storage: Storing large volumes of IoT data in databases or cloud storage solutions.
Data Analysis: Using cloud-based analytics tools to process and gain insights from the stored data.