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The internet of things
- 1. “Anything Intelligent Will Have an Online Presence” Mateo Villegas Travis Amrich
Notes de l'éditeur
- What does that mean Travis? Can you explain that a little? So in basic terms, anything will be connected to the internet. What do you mean by ANYTHING?
- Literally anything. From toasters to refrigerators Well, what would be the point of having all those connected to the internet?That way you can do simple tasks as turn on your toaster from your computer and even buy smart refrigerators that can re-stock itself by ordering food when it runs out.
- Oh that’s very interesting however, I still don’t see how it is completely useful. Well, that’s just a basic, small-scale use. For example, biologists may use this kind of technology to facilitate their research. How can they do that exactly? Okay let me explain.
- Biologists in Australia were trying to determine which types of grain would grow in different conditions to yield maximum harvest. With these fields being all over the country, they were faced with a problem of having to monitor the environmental conditions and how fast the grains would grow. On top of that, the fields were often very large and the monitoring teams, small in proportion.
- This can be solved by the application of the internet of things. By having wireless sensors on all the fields which send data back to the research center, biologists will be able to gather data much more efficiently and accurately. Oh, I understand better now. It is more about the ability of devices to send data rather than being able to wirelessly control your toaster.
- So if I’m getting this right, we are already using the internet of things in our daily life. I know that several cities use sensors in their public transportation systems in order to inform the public the current position of the vehicle they are waiting for as well as the time it is going to arrive.
- You are correct. And sensor technology is a large part of what the internet of things is being currently used for. It is the overall idea of having a device be able to collect and send data over a network. And it has to be specifically over a network. Why are you emphasizing that it has to be over a network?
- Because that’s the way it works. For example, having a heating unit turn on if it gets too cold isn’t considered to form part of the internet of things. That because it does not necessarily send information over a network. It is just using a sensor, not necessarily sending data to an external device.
- If it were to be connected to the internet and send data to your computer, then that way it would fit into the internet of things category. That is very interesting. That way, if we managed to connect all our devices in our home to the internet, we would be able to monitor everything that goes around our home just by opening our computer.
- That has made me think of a slight problem. What if the internet in our home were to go down? What would happen then? Well, that is an obvious downside of the internet of things. The fact that the internet can sometimes go down. That is what prevents the internet of things from catching on so fast.
- That is a fair point. But technology is advancing at a huge rate. Wouldn’t that mean that in the future this problem will be able to be solved? I can imagine that it will. And now that you mention the future, these are some ways in which the internet of things may be used in the future.
- For example, you could be able to send your shopping list to a store and then once you get to the store, you would be given a RFID tag to wear. What is this RFID tag and what would it do? Well, it is a smart tag. What would happen is that your RFID tag will have your shopping list loaded onto it.
- I see. And what happens after you get that RFID tag? Well, as you would approach signs with a digital display that are all connected to a network, they would show you where to go to get the items you need in the store. So it’s a way to make your shopping more efficient.
- Are there more ways in which the internet of things will be used in the future? Yes. One way could be advertising. How exactly? Well imagine this: As you walk by a clothing store, a screen with a sensor will detect your height and what you are wearing and display an advertisement for you specifically.
- The internet of things could potentially improve the quality in society. These advances in technology would not only make things more efficiently but also potentially make businesses more prosperous. Right. The internet of things can do much more than save you a few minutes by not having you to get up and turn off the lights.
- I know we referred to the internet of things as just being electronic devices connected to the internet. Have you ever thought of having other non-electronic things connected to the internet? What are you trying to get to? Well, have you ever thought about getting people connected to the internet?
- There is a big controversy regarding the internet of things which is the ability to connect people to the internet. People to the internet? That’s a thought hard to get my head wrapped around. What do you mean? I know. Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of microchips before.
- The basic idea behind using microchip technology on people would be to plant microchips inside human beings. For what purpose? Would it be used to track where people go? If it’s just for that I’d feel that it would be a slight violation of my privacy. Well yeah, that’s a way it can be used. There are several other uses for this technology too.
- It can be used for health monitoring for example. The idea behind this would be to display health conditions of patients to doctors without them being physically present in a hospital. It can show things like heart rate or blood pressure. Despite of the negative sides, there are also several good points about the internet of things.
- Of course. The internet of things can bring improvements in science, medicine, the business world and the daily life. I can see how the internet of things may emerge in the future but once people figure out how to deal with its negative effects.