27 November 2019, 8:00
The Internet Of Things are the collection of everyday objects that can be connected
to the internet and be recognized by other objects and send information to databases.
Through Internet V2 data is created by everyday objects such as IOT sensors.
As the internet continues to expand more and more devices will become connected to eachother. An estimated 50 billion devices will be connected through internet in the near future. With this increase in connectivity comes new products and inventions. These products and services include wearable technology i.e. smart home devices, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices, smart watches, self-driving cars, IoT drones, smart grids, smart farming, the use of digital twins and so on.
One of the earliest applications of this technology is in the domain of energy efficiency: sensors which are deployed across the electricity grid remotely monitor energy usage and adapt generation and distribution during peak and downtimes. Nowadays it is even used in the medical and healthcare sector for monitoring chronic diseas and various other life-enhancing practices. Ruppiner Kliniken for example has partnered with Microsoft to increase the lifespan of people with heart problems. Industries such as insurance, science, automotive, agriculture, aviation and supply chain benefit from IOT.
People all over the world can relinquish the computing power of unused IOT devices
to increase the speed of the centralized and decentralized internet networks. Experts
in IoT say that this technology will lead to a more efficient resource utilization, save time, enhance data collection and improve security. On the other hand security and privacy
can be at signifcant risk through the dangers of the internet: network attacks, viruses incl. malwares. Imagine not being able to open the door to your smart house before you pay money to criminals who have infected your house with ransomware. The maintenance
of the complex, hyperconnected internet is a difficult task which will demand new jobs.
The electric utility industry’s use of IoT applications has closely followed the arc of technology availability. While seldom on the bleeding edge, utilities have always leveraged available technology to optimize and control assets, increase safety, control the grid, and keep the lights on. Two examples of IoT usage in the electric power industry are supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) (Young, R., McCue J., Grant,C. Deloitte, 2016).
According to the next example IOT can significantly increase electricity needs:
'Bhide puts this into easier to understand examples: 6000 megawatt-hours equals approximately 4.8 million customers consuming energy (the population of Lebanon); and 22,000 megawatt-hours is equivalent to 17.8 million energy customers (the population of Shanghai) – just to power sensors in automobiles. (Tom Foremski, 2015)'
It is vital that technologies evolve for networks to be sustainable. The notion
of appropriate technology must be introduced. It is arguable that the above
example is an unreasonable use of energy, especially in the light of global warming.
On the other side of the spectrum:
“Energy harvesting technologies to allow devices to power themselves—even 1 milliwatt saved across 50 billion devices translates into a lot of power,” say Intel Labs leader Wen-Hann Wang.
'While companies are starting to capitalize of this trend, 'It’s also important to be aware that the whole world is increasingly connected by a multitude of devices that are constantly recording, collecting, and communicating with one another (The Digital Dunk, 2018).' For mainstream adoption of technologies such as blockchain and IoT applications we need to take into the equation if the actual benefits which go with such technologies outweigh the possible increased energy needs. In times of digital transformation we should not hinder innovation, nor excessively emitt electricity. But we should regulary ask ourself this very question, while I admit it is a question difficult to tackle.
Which emerging technology would you like to have discussed next? Leave a personal message or a comment below and it will be touched upon on my site or in the Globe At Your Scope Issues ™
Dobbe Boogaerts is a Belgian freelance-consultant and advisor who provides Governmentand and Business Counseling Services (GCS & BCS) upon request.
For serious inquiries only boogaertsdobbe@gmail.com
Sources
Bauer, H., Patel, M. & Veira, J. (2014). The Internet Of Things: Sizing up the opportunity. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/semiconductors/our-insights/the-internet-of-things-sizing-up-the-opportunity
Bernard Marr & Co. (2019). What is The Internet Of Things (IoT) And How Will It Change Our World? https://www.bernardmarr.com/default.asp?contentID=964
Deloitte Insights (2016). The power is on: How IoT technology is driving energy innovation. https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/internet-of-things/iot-in-electric-power-industry.html
Ennomotive (2016). IoT Will Change Energy Consumption Patterns. https://www.ennomotive.com/iot-will-change-energy-consumption-patterns/
Hobbs, A. (2018). Five ways the Internet of Things is transforming businesses today. https://internetofbusiness.com/5-ways-the-internet-of-things-is-transforming-businesses-today/
Lapping, D. (2018). Disruptor: How IoT Disrupting the Energy Industry. https://www.disruptordaily.com/iot-disrupting-energy-industry/
Lapping, D. (2018). Disruptor: How IoT Disrupting the Energy Industry. https://www.disruptordaily.com/iot-disrupting-energy-industry/
Shaw, K., Fruhlinger, J. (2019) What is a digital twin?https://www.networkworld.com/article/3280225/what-is-digital-twin-technology-and-why-it-matters.html
SenseGrow (2019). IoT Cloud Platform Providers. http://www.sensegrow.com/instamsg/iot-cloud-platform-providers
Foremski, T. (2015). Silicon Valley Watcher: The Enormous Energy Demands Of The Internet Of Things. https://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/the-enormous-energy-demands-of-the-internet-of-things/
The Digital Dunk (2018). The Internet Of Things: How organisations are using it for good. https://medium.com/@thedigitaldunk/the-internet-of-things-how-organisations-are-using-it-for-good-e2d8eabcd9ba
Tejaswi, S. (2019). VMOKSHA (https://vmokshagroup.com/blog/6-ways-businesses-can-take-advantage-of-iot/
Marr B. (2017). Internet Of Things (IoT): 5 Essential Ways Every Company Should Use It. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/06/20/internet-of-things-iot-5-essential-ways-every-company-should-use-it/#98873da1a60f
JavaTpoint (2019). Advantages and Disadvantages of (IoT) https://www.javatpoint.com/iot-advantage-and-disadvantage
Which emerging technology would you like to have discussed next? Leave a personal message or a comment below.