Bright Future of the Internet of things

Bright Future of the Internet of things


"Internet people" has long been turned into an "Internet of things." The number of devices connected to the network exceeded the number of inhabitants of the planet in 2008. Your fitness tracker, which stores statistics about activity in the "cloud", a socket that can be turned on and off from the smartphone, are the simplest and most tangible examples of using the technology.

But gadgets and sensors are just the tip of the iceberg. A recent study by IoT Analytics noted 10 key industries, in which the most frequently implemented projects from the Internet of things (IoT).

IoT and production

Today the Internet of things is most demanded in the production sphere. In factories where people have long been replaced by automated machines, all equipment is connected to the Network, and then the operator can monitor its status online. For example, carry out remote diagnostics, fix software malfunctions and see detailed statistics about all the performed actions. This is how the Russian platform for the industrial Internet of Winnum products works .

Such systems are not just a tribute to modern fashion, but an effective tool. The introduction of a similar technology at the Harley Davidson motorcycle factories in 2009-2011 reduced the production cycle by 84 (!) Times and increased the shareholder value sevenfold in the next four years.

A more "humanized" example of the Internet of things in production is in the rich portfolio of Intel. Created in partnership with PivotHead and based on the Intel® Joule ™ platform, smart points are used in the final assembly phase of Airbus aircraft .

One quick glance of the operator on the plane skin, and the gadget immediately shows him which bolts are positioned correctly and which are not. The result is an acceleration of the quality control operation by more than six times.

IOT and "smart" cities

The second largest market for IoT is "smart" cities. About additional technical equipment, as a rule, think in administrations of densely populated and rich megacities. The goal is to make people's lives easier and more comfortable.

Intel and Siemens have a joint project of a "smart" parking system . In the lanterns located above the parking spaces, sensors are integrated that determine whether a particular slot is currently available or not. The information is aggregated on the central server, and any user can see the data in the form of an interactive map of free seats. Then it remains to get to the point, park and pay parking right in the application.


If near the parking sensor there is a cafe or a shop, car owners can send promotional offers with discounts. Business receives additional customers, and the city - its commission.

"Smart" houses are also an integral part of the Internet of things. Good and demanded programs for lighting control and security systems, as well as monitoring dozens of sensors are created by Russian developers. One of the most successful domestic solutions in recent years is the complex system THRONE Project .

IoT and energy

If IoT can "squeeze" the maximum out of the machines in the factory, then why not optimize energy consumption in homes using the same technology? Several years ago the company "EMIS" deployed in Chelyabinsk an automatic system for monitoring and accounting for electricity . It is based on smart counters with fully remote control. The project has installed more than 130,000 such devices, and today they serve 860 multi-apartment buildings, home to about 128,000 subscribers.

Thus, the company managed to reduce costs by reducing the staff of line inspectors - accounts are now automatically exposed to customers. And even cunning counters easily determine the facts of unauthorized connection to the power grid. Alas, in Russia this is still an actual problem.

IoT and cars

The car connected to the Network automatically becomes a part of the Internet of things. The most obvious direction for development is the introduction of autopilot into the machines. What for? Because the computer is less likely to make mistakes than a person. In the future, we have every chance to solve the problem of road accidents once and for all. At the basic level, the autopilot is already implemented in Tesla cars, BMW, Mobileye and Intel are working together on this development .



But for now it is still a matter of a rather distant future.

Where systems like the Russian " ERA-GLONASS " look more real . The idea here is that sooner or later every car in the country is equipped with a SOS button. In the case of clicking on it or triggering shock sensors, there is a free connection to the nearest cell tower. So the call-center gets information about the car and the indicators of built-in sensors. The operator communicates with the driver or assesses the severity of the situation according to the instrument readings from the car, and then calls for help services.




According to statistics, more than half of victims of accidents perish due to the fact that doctors were called too late. A momentary notification of the "First Aid" about the accident is significantly accelerating the arrival of doctors.

IoT and agriculture

Top-5 industries, in which the technologies of the Internet of things are most actively used, is agriculture. Take, for example, winemakers. At the stage of growing grapes, it is very important to monitor the illumination, soil condition, humidity and other factors that have a direct impact on the quality of the crop. In Germany, this is done using sensors on solar panels, each of which is controlled by the Intel® Atom ™ processor E3845. Data transfer to smartphones and wine maker tablets is performed by the built-in Intel® XMM ™ 7160 modem.

In the pilot project, 50 such sensors are used. Real-time data collection allows winemakers to forecast the harvest and identify problems in advance, such as the possible contamination of grapes by pests.

Another interesting project in the field of agricultural IOT was implemented by Timur Takabaev and Andrei Kim from Kazakhstan. Based on the Intel Genuino platform with the Intel® Curie ™ module, they created a crop monitoring system . The guys are engaged in the cultivation of apples of the "Almaty Aport" variety, reaching an impressive weight of 400-600 grams. Because of this mass, ripe fruits often fall without human intervention. So the most valuable and delicious part of the crop simply disappears.



In the garden of Timur and Andrew, under each tree are fixed garden grids with a combined sensor from the accelerometer and gyro. If the apple falls on the grid, then the information about the fluctuations is fixed and transmitted to the central server. When the harvest in the grids is recruited for several kilograms, then the collectors are sent for the fruits.

IoT and health

Without medicine, of course, too, anywhere. Here, the technology of the Internet of things can be applied even at the most basic level, as it was done in one of the hospitals in Florida . Each doctor wears a special badge that collects statistics about all his movements. The data is analyzed by the computer, which helps to organize the space inside the building. Immediately it becomes clear where it is better to place certain cabinets, where to organize storerooms, where to place patients, etc.


Another example is Intel's IoT solution for helping older people. With the help of a set of sensors installed inside the room, a graph of the daily activity of the grandfather or grandmother is made up. Thus, a certain norm is revealed, deviations from which are fixed. You can see, for example, that the observed insomnia began, he often went to the toilet, fell on the stairs, but did not tell anyone about it, etc. All this becomes an occasion to accidentally invite in the house to the elderly person a doctor who will conduct the examination.

An interesting variant of the private application of the "medical" IoT is the  "clever" Athos clothing . This is a special training suit, which is equipped with sensors that monitor the work of muscles, cardiovascular and respiratory systems in real time. Wearing such clothes is comfortable, plus, unlike inexpensive fitness trackers, Athos collects very accurate statistics, which is extremely important for professional athletes.



IoT and trade


In the trading business, the sensors of the Internet of things help to automate inventory accounting. For example, the Intel® Retail Sensor platform performs such accounting based on RFID tags affixed to the goods in automatic mode. The project is implemented in several stores of Levi's . As a result, the operator of the central server sees at which point of sales the stocks for certain positions approach the end, and immediately sends an order for their replenishment to the logistics service.

At the Central Children's Shop on Lubyanka in Moscow, a whole system of Internet-connected "things" was built . This is more than 600 screens, each of which displays entertainment content for children, advertising, information for visitors, etc. Absolutely to each of them for the adjustment or troubleshooting an operator can be connected remotely.



Another interesting IoT project in the field of trade is the interactive kiosks of Zorgtech company based on the Intel® Core ™ i5 processor. The machines are built-in: touch screen, printer, scanners for A4 sheets and passports, a card reader, a plastic card receiver and a PIN-keyboard. It turns out a full-fledged replacement to the live communication of the client with the consultant of the company - with the help of the available set of tools it is possible to obtain information and order the service of almost any plan.

The Internet of things contributes to the sphere of logistics. So, the largest US railway company Union Pacific has created an incredibly effective system of predictive analytics . Specialists installed sensors on wagons, rails and in general all important railroad junctions, and this for several years now helps to predict the occurrence of breakdowns a few days before they occur. Immediately after the introduction of the system, the frequency of assembling dropped by 75%, and only this fact saved the company more than $ 40 million in 2013.


There is also an interesting solution from Intel for transport telematics , i.e. satellite monitoring of traffic. This is an OBD-II hardware key with  the Intel® Atom ™ processor x3-C3205RK, which connects to the main vehicle systems, collects data from them and then transfers them to the central server via a secure protocol. For transport companies, it is the collection of statistics on freight or passenger transportation, for insurance companies - help in collecting data on the manner of driving the client, for private owners - useful statistics for troubleshooting before they occur.

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