As the number of connected devices in the home, work and public environment grows, there are more Internet of Things (IoT) applications being deployed. Small package delivery companies can leverage the IoT to deliver shipments by Internet-connected drones; that is they could until the FAA issued a temporary ban. But regulators won’t be able to ground the Internet of Things. There are simply too many innovations emerging to commercial success.
Here are a few IoT success stories:
Smart Home Technology – Connected home networks already leverage IoT technology for home security and energy-efficiency through automated and remote control adjustment of lighting, shutters and curtains utilizing a variety of sensors for monitoring temperature, humidity, motion, light, glass breakage and more. The Aria Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), for example, has deployed more than 70,000 nodes that communicate using a mesh network to control lights, air conditioning and many other services around the building.
Smart Cities – Municipalities are leveraging real-time triggers and schedulers orchestrate processes for increased efficiency. Rather than simply measuring power consumption, smart meters also enable electric companies to alert consumers as to the best times to operate their heavy-load appliances, such as washing machines, to reduce their utility bills. Besides improving customer service, this IoT application can delay the need to invest in additional capacity to meet power demands. Barcelona which has received wide recognition for its Smart City technology, has deployed large numbers of sensors enabling them to monitor air quality, noise pollution, traffic congestion and waste management.
Medical Applications – Telemedicine uses IoT to provide real-time treatments exactly where and when needed. Special heart monitors collect data from implanted devices and deliver a shock when an irregular heart rhythm is detected. A large university hospital equips its surgical rooms using a robotic arm to select and place the required tools for each procedure on a tray in the appropriate room. The controller not only knows which instruments are needed, but places them in order based on the procedure and the surgeon’s individual preference.
Manufacturing – In the food and beverage industry, sensors generate automatic alerts based on the temperature and the humidity of containers in which food products are shipped. They also track the location of shipments from their points of origin to their final shipping destination. IoT controllers are also used in ten of the top twenty newspapers in the US to select and place the appropriate based on the location and demographics of each subscriber.
In order to serve real commercial purposes, IoT applications require integration with an organization’s core back-end systems including CRM, ERP, finance and billing applications. Therefore, system integration platforms play an important part in the success of IoT applications by supporting event-triggered processes while ensuring the necessary precautions to keep data secure.
Connected devices and IoT applications are already being successfully used to improve healthcare, agricultural yields, and manufacturing efficiency on the ground. In the end, there is no way to block innovation. With everything else in place, it’s only a matter of time before package delivery services turn regulations their way, and commercial drone delivery services join the parade of successful IoT applications.
