The Internet of Things

6 min readMar 1, 2021

Introduction

This is my first blog post for my class, Emerging trends in technology. I am in my final semester at SAIT and have decided to write about the Internet of things. I chose this topic because it slightly relates to my capstone project where my group and I are building an automatic Greenhouse humidifier and dehumidifier system using a Raspberry pi and humidity sensors. Writing this blog gave me a broader knowledge of the benefits and disadvantages of using IoT for systems like our capstone project. In this blog I will cover the history Internet of things, how it is being used in today’s IT industry and the future of IoT.

History

In 1990 John Romkey unofficially created the first internet “thing”. As a founder of FTP software, a company that was implementing early versions of the TCP/IP protocol stack, he was motivated to show off what was possible with these protocols at a computer trade show called Interop. His idea was to connect a toaster to the internet and turn it on and off remotely. His experiment was a success and helped pave the way for the innovation of IoT. The concept of the internet of things did not officially have a name until 1999 when Kevin Ashton, Assistant brand manager at P&G, created the term when he was using RFID to maintain P&G’s supply chain. In a speech for P&G Kevin Ashton accurately predicted what IoT looks like today, stating

“Today computers, and, therefore, the Internet, are almost wholly dependent on human beings for information. The problem is, people have limited time, attention, and accuracy. All of which means they are not very good at capturing data about things in the real world. If we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things, using data they gathered without any help from us, we would be able to track and count everything and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing or recalling and whether they were fresh or past their best.”

The Current State of IoT

Manufacturing industries have been implementing IoT for years now and with help from other technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence new innovations are being made possible. While researching for this topic I came across this video explaining how IoT is being used in factories.

How it Works: The Internet of Things and Manufacturing

To sum it up, IoT has provided a safer workplace for employees, faster production and easier management of machines. IBMs Watson IoT platform is a data analytics software that can identify a machines technical issues and prescribe maintenance to that device to prevent any delays in production. IoT devices also allow them to monitor the quality of the products they are making in real time to prevent any defects in manufacturing. The Watson IoT platform also includes a feature to inform employees of any hazardous working conditions by having them wear sensors in their hardhats and wristbands. These sensors can monitor extreme temperatures and toxic chemicals and can activate preventative measures across the facility if necessary. Currently this cognitive safety function seems to be rarely used in the industry however I can imagine technologies like this will become more prevalent in workplaces where employees may be exposed to these hazards.

IoT has also become more common in many households with devices like Amazon Alexa, Ring, and Google home just to name a few. In my house we have a nest thermostat that we can control with our phones as well as a smart doorbell that allows us to see who is at the door when it is rung. It’s nice for me to see that something I ordered has been delivered when I am away from home which is mostly what I use the doorbell camera for but honestly, I don’t think it was worth what my dad paid for it. These devices can greatly benefit the elderly and people with disabilities, for example, if someone uses a wheelchair and their doorbell rings, they may not be able to get to the door right away, the smart doorbell would be great for them to talk to whoever is at the door on their phone. A device like the Google home could help them turn other devices on or off using voice commands so they don’t have to move around too much. For me and my family I personally feel like these devices are more of gimmick and they haven’t yet reached their full potential but I think they are really beneficial for others and are a step in the right direction. The Google home devices can be set to a schedule to turn other smart devices on or off which I am more interested in and in the future, I would expect to see more houses being built with IoT devices already implemented into them such as automatic lights, speakers, and security systems. Devices like this do exist but I think the reason they aren’t too common is that the general public just doesn’t care to spend so much money when they could just as easily turn their lights off themselves.

Security

The main concern with IoT is that having so many different devices connected to a network opens a lot more security vulnerabilities. John Romkey had this same concern in 1990 when he created his IoT toaster stating in a 2019 interview “Privacy and security were on my mind. Who can see your toaster online, who can control your toaster online?” There have been a few bad cases of IoT devices being hacked in the past few years due to poor security development like the TRENDnet webcam that did not use any encryption technique and allowed anyone with the IP address of the camera to see and hear live recordings. Not only do IoT devices open more vulnerabilities but if some of these devices get hacked the risk can be much higher than malware or leaked information. Hacking an IoT vehicle for example could even result in death. Luckily no has been killed from a smart vehicle being hacked however in 2015 a team of hackers found an exploit in a firmware update of a Jeep SUV. This hack was more of an experiment rather than a malicious attack but they were able to control the AC, radio, windshield wipers, and even cut the transmission until the vehicle slowed to a stop into a ditch. An article from PC magazine stated four straightforward IoT security measures to take.

Devices that cannot have their software, passwords, or firmware updated should never be implemented.
Changing the default username and password is recommended for the installation of any device on the internet.
Passwords for IoT devices should be unique per device, especially when they are connected to the internet.
Always patch IoT devices with the latest software and firmware to mitigate vulnerabilities.

The Future of IoT

Overall, the main goal of IoT is to reduce as much human-machine interaction as possible to increase productivity. One of the most common terms I kept coming across when researching IoT is “Industry 4.0” referencing the fourth industrial revolution.

Industry 3.0 and 4.0 are very similar but the main difference is replacing human interaction with data collected from machines. In a 3.0 factory, processes can be automated but they still require a human to input information to a machine. 4.0 would use data from one machine to inform another machine how and when to start that process. For example, The Ericcson Factory in China uses machines that are able to track utilization times and learn when a machine needs to be calibrated and then complete that process. If the Ericcson factory were a 3.0 facility it would still need a human to input the utilization times to schedule the calibration processes.