Internet Of Things Essay: Existing And Emerging IoT Technologies

Question

Task: In this assessment you are required to write an essay of 2000 words; evaluating existing and emerging IoT technologies; current and potential future trends, business opportunities and societal implications.
This will encompass research, review, analysis and reflection upon the key concepts of the Internet of Things and its enabling technologies. Your essay should also aim to explore the many deep rooted aspects, implications and considerations that must be addressed, in the emergence, development and proliferation, of IoT technology and services that organizations, individuals and society in general will embrace.
You are not limited to discussing and evaluating only the functional and service aspects of IoT Systems, you are also required to consider different industry sectors and the benefits that existing or emerging IoT technologies provide.
Creating a structure for your essay:
Writing an essay with a clear structure helps you to:
• Make all your ideas clear
• Discuss similar ideas together
• Avoid including irrelevant or tangential information
• Avoid repeating information you have already covered
• First, identify your main ideas. You may need to do a certain amount of research in order to decide what ideas your essay will cover, although your assignment brief may also give some clues. (Hint: do not necessarily start by writing your introduction!)
• Once you decide on your main ideas, you will need to do detailed research in each area you have chosen, using academic sources.
• Then, look at one main idea at a time and organise the information you have found on each idea.
• Next, you are ready to write the body of your essay. Make sure to use topic sentences when introducing a new main idea.
• Finally, write your introduction including your thesis statement, and write your conclusion, reiterating your thesis statement and main ideas.
You are strongly advised to use Coventry University Academic Writing Guides especially on Essay Writing and Referencing in the Coventry University Harvard Referencing Style.

Answer

Introduction
According to the research on internet of things essay, IoT has already started to automate the world and soon will grab the control over human being. IoT is referred to the Internet of Things due to its convergence with multiple things through a network which carries an IP address for internet connectivity. It is more than an Internet network or simply computer-based internet or phone-based internet, rather it is defined as a physical internet which can connect every object and transfer the data. IoT is basically an enabler of communication technology or information communication technology (ICT) that can transfer data from any wireless physical objects through its embedded sensors. Even it can enable data interaction without the involvement of a human being through Unique Identifiers which is termed as UIDs. In this way, IoT has opened the opportunity to integrate the physical world to the virtual world to improve the systems through human exertion and resulted in commercial success.

Evolution
The idea of smart technology has been evolved around 1982, with the innovation of an internet-connected coke machine, by Carnegie Mellon University (Madza 2020). The machine was smart enough to transfer the data of the coffee to its inventory; such as whether it is cold or hot etc. The contemporary concept of IoT discussed in the internet of things essay is found in 'Ubiquitous computing' referred in the research of Mark Weiser; in his thesis, he gives the origin of the computer from the beginning and its step by step changes to reaching in modern day to day activities. The theory of Ubiquitous is further explained by David Becta which is quite relatable to today's IoT (Kranz 2020); according to him, ubiquitous computing refers to the technology which is 'invisibly' inbuilt in physical object and intelligent interface can reach to it. His vision was to improve the computing system so natural and mingled with the physical environment which can be enough without the involvement of human operation or the human brain. Johnson (2020) concludes the argument raised on this internet of things essay that, the concept of ubiquitous technology depicts the vision of high adaptability of computers with the physical world which can deliver service as per the needs of human. This concept implies the intention of connecting the computer network not only with the device but also with any object, place and people. This conception reflects the IOT’s activities.

Can you provide a brief note on “Power of IoT” in the present internet of things essay?
The co-founders of Auto-ID, Kevin Ashton illustrates the power of IoT through the analogy of the work volume created the human depended on the computer which now automatically captured by the sensor technology and other combination in IoT (Baldwin 2015). His describes that the human depended computer has created almost 50 petabytes of data found on the internet earlier (McMillan 2015). It was derived by the process of typing, pressing, recording, and digital imaging or scanning the barcode. Kevin argues that Human being is not the perfect fit for capturing data from the physical world. OSAWA (2017) supported this view as pointing out that the human has the limitation of time and accuracy. McMillan (2015) reacts to this argument as he says if a computing technology can handle the data collection to data analysis without the interruption of a human operator, it can automatically track, count minimizes waste and cot of an operation.

Technological advancements of IoT
This section of internet of things essay focuses on the technological changes of IoT that creates a positive impact on the economy, commerce and society; IOT revolutionizes the way of communication with the device to device and device to human and device to any other object. IoT enables the communication between the security system and IT, automated cars, vending machines, electronic appliances; the common example of IoT is seen in Alexa; it is a smart speaker which can transfer the data while connecting through wifi. A similar application can be found in Google Home, Apple smartwatch, baby monitors, robots and a video doorbell (Brooks 2014). It deals with various technologies in an integrated way and results in innovation; IOT can work with machine learning technologies, automation, wireless technology, internet and micro-electromechanical system. IoT eases of the integration of the operational technology with the information technology by converting the device generated unstructured data to real-time information. Thus, IoT enhances the consumer experience of society since it poses some risk. As IoT relies on the machine to machine learning, the interruption of hackers may affect the confidential data like transactional data and use it for bad intention. For this reason as mentioned in the present section of internet of things essay, the IT application must be compatible with the government-defined standard.

Disruption
Economic disruption: The IoT has disrupted the financial and industrial sector. First of all, it makes an efficient economy by simplifying the banking transaction system through scanning code in mobile application or RFID tags in the stores (Bedi et al. 2018). If an individual goes to a shopping mall or a hotel, or book a car without his purse or any banking cards, he can make the payment process by scanning the code through his mobile applications like Paypal, Paytm, Google pay etc. Only he needs to carry is a smartphone and internet connection. It is evident in this internet of things essay that the financial sector like insurance also benefited by IoT as IoT helps the insurance underwriters by detecting the risks; the health insurance sector detects the early signs of disease among the customers; the vehicle insurance uses IoT for detecting the lacking which may cause a penalty (Nicolescu, Huth, Radanliev and De Roure 2018). IoT already creates an impact on the company bottom line by lean production technique. The factories manage their inventories through RFID tags which report the availability of finished goods, the required material and avoid stockpiling. Also, it facilitates waste management by minimizing the use of goods and also the waste of goods which creates efficiency in cost-saving and profit-making. The IoT sensor accessed data of the inventory, production, waste and demands of order, also helps in business decision making. These disruptions outlined in this section of internet of things essay indirectly increase the employments as the demand for production is increased due to the efficiency in industrial sectors (Sharma, Shamkuwar and Singh 2019). On the contrary, this disruption also adversely impact on the jobs of existing processors whose job roles become obsolete due to the automation of IoT. 

Industry disruption
In the innovation of electronic autonomous vehicle, IOT is applied; it merges the application of sensors, camera, radar and Artificial intelligence or AI. This combination of technologies allows a car to reach to the destination without the involvement of a human driver. The example of Google's autonomous car is perfectly matched with IoT where the intersection of various technologies; the data of the nearby object is collected by the sensor, high-resolution camera (Kranz 2020); the patterns of data are recognised through the neural networks and the data are filtered by the machine learning algorithm. Similarly, in the making of an automated home, known as Smart Homes, IoT technology is applied. The owner can control it through a mobile application or any other devices (Madza 2020). This technology examined herein internet of things essay provides the owner multifaceted benefits such as energy efficiency, security, convenience and comfort. For example, it can facilitate energy efficiency by automating energy consumption based on the preference of the owner. For improving the security of the home, the owner can control the allowing of visitors through the use of smart locks. The device can detect the presence of the visitors and recognizes the presence of the owners which facilitate the owner to go outside securely by locking the main door with smart locks. The alike devices are found in smart TVs which can provide on-demand video and can be operated by a recognized voice (Kranz 2020).

Impact of IoT
Impact on Society: Apart from the commercial benefit, it is evident in this internet of things essay that the broader society is also influenced by the positive impact of IoT. The smart cities across the globe are adopting IoT powered sensors for monitoring the air quality for purifying the environment from air pollutions. One of the cities of Austria, Linz added IoT sensors to all its public vehicles from flight to rail, tram to buses where they incorporated almost 500 several datasets such as energy usage, acceleration, braking or jerking and health equipment. The information provided in this internet of things essay mentions that the traffic management of Linz uses these data for efficient driving which can reduce the hazards on the environment. This initiative resulted in the success of the reduction of energy consumption by 10% from public transport (Madza 2020). Oakland’s transport system introduces a vehicle, Google Street view, created by Aclima partnering with Google and cisco. This vehicle is enabled by IoT sensor for checking the air pollution in every block. This vehicle scans the city to find out the zone of the higher rate of pollution which assists in the work of scientists. Apart from that, the data of the pollution also support the work of other domains like a city planner and healthcare providers. IoT is used in water conservation. Barcelona has adopted an IOT enabled irrigation system for checking whether the soil becomes hydrated. Based on this data considered herein internet of things essay the device works from a remote location by automating the watering process as per the requirement. This technology has resulted in the deduction of municipality watering bill by 25% (Kranz 2020). A famous innovation of Oxford University is a smart water pump which is applied in Kenya. It replaces the use of hand pumps used by the local folks. The Oxford generated pump's handle is equipped with motion sensors. When the pump starts malfunctioning, a repair team is automatically notified for an update of the equipment. The internet of things essay examines that this sensor improves the watering system of Kenya by providing water consumption data. IoT is also applied in the cultivation which fills the gap of labour shortage of farming occupants. The farmers use sensors for tracking the real-time data of climate, cropping field and other monitoring requirements are fulfilled. California is benefited by this technology during the drought which enables the farmers to minimize the water usage in the field by 40% (Madza 2020). As a response to labour shortage, Driscoll Berries and Taylor farms are known for using Drone, Automation and Robotics in the South of Silicon Valley (Johnson 2020). This IoT system faster the process of picking and packing of fruits and brings efficiency in the Food sectors. These few examples are sufficient to give an idea of how IoT can fix the issues for the benefit of society and it will certainly explore the future scope if it is connected to living creature.

Impact on Human behaviour
The IoT technology opens the scope of analysing human behaviour by connecting sensors as IOT can be connected to any living things. For example, research is conducted on bees to track their behaviour. Science is addressing the declining number of bees as they are the main pollinator of food trees. The scientists attached a Radio Frequency Identified (RFID) technology to the backpack of bees. These microsensors mentioned in the internet of things essay collect the data of bees and deliver deep detailing information on their activities. The IoT technology can collect the data of the driving factors behind the pollination process (Johnson 2020). These data are applicable in multiple sectors of science to create a balanced ecosystem. Cisco helped the scientists in developing these IoT enabled microsensors. This application reminds the fictional movie, black mirror, where IoT becomes a connector in human communication. This fictional story reveals the psychological behaviour of human being in the advancement of IoT technology. The movie, Black Mirror brings out the view-point where human beings are regulated by the IoT system (Madza 2020); it shows how it will be if the human has a limitation point, progress rating, and ranking scales like a machine. This fictional movie gives just a glimpse of the future direction of IoT.

Conclusion
The internet of things essay only shows examples of how IoT technology can make the world a better place to live by its automation, integrity, connectivity and diversity. With the advent of IoT enabled devices, it becomes smaller in size and cheaper in cost which boosts up the wide-spreading uses of IoT. Despite witnessing the good side of IoT in economy, commerce and society, the users must be concerned with meeting the standards of data security. It is also stated in this section of internet of things essay that the human must be concerned with the ethics and use the IoT for only business sustainability. Applying on human behaviour may raise the concern of ethics as human are not machines. Otherwise, it will reflect the negative aspect of human behaviour.

References
Baldwin, R. (2015) "The cable box might solve the Internet of Things' biggest problem." Engadget. Available from http://www.engadget.com/2015/07/01/the-cable-box-might-solve-the-internet-of-things-biggest-problem/ [2 May 2020]

Bedi, G., Venayagamoorthy, G. K., Singh, R., Brooks, R. R., and Wang, K. C. (2018). Review of Internet of Things (IoT) in electric power and energy systems. Internet of things essay IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 5(2), 847-870.

Brooks, T. T. (2017). The Impact of IoT Devices on Network Trust Boundaries.

Johnson, B. (2020). How the Internet of Things Works. Available from https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-of-things6.htm [2 May 2020]

Kranz, M. (2020). Council Post: IoT For Economic And Social Good: How The Internet Of Things Makes Our World Better. Available from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/06/14/iot-for-economic-and-social-good-how-the-internet-of-things-makes-our-world-better/#271b83cb100f [2 May 2020]

Madza, A. (2020). Internet of Things (IoT): Concepts, Concerns & Applications. Available from https://medium.com/@The_Mad_Zaafa/internet-of-things-iot-concepts-concerns-applications-c0647473b461 [2 May 2020]

McMillan, R. (2015) "Coming This Summer: U.S. Will Run Out of Internet Addresses." The Wall Street Journal. Available from http://www.wsj.com/articles/coming-this-summer-u-s-will-run-out-of-internet-addresses-1431479401 [2 May 2020]

Nicolescu, R., Huth, M., Radanliev, P., and De Roure, D. (2018). State of The Art in IoT-Beyond Economic Value. London. https://iotuk. org. uk/wpcontent/uploads/2018/08/State-of-the-Art-in-IoT-–-Beyond-Economic-Value2. pdf.

OSAWA, T. (2017). What Is “Human Centric IoT” That Becomes the Key Success Factor of IoT Businesses?. Journal Of The Japan Society For Precision Engineering, 83(1), 42-45.

Sharma, N., Shamkuwar, M., and Singh, I. (2019). The history, present and future with IoT. In Internet of Things and Big Data Analytics for Smart Generation (pp. 27-51). Internet of things essay Springer, Cham.