What is IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) consists of various technologies that incorporate sensors and software to connect through a network with other devices and systems for the purposes of automation, monitoring and remote management. Many examples are now present in our homes and use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and software to operate your heating, smart lights, or virtual voice assistants. Outside of the home, other examples of where IoT is employed include weather sensors and traffic management systems; it is common for IoT tech to talk to cloud-based services that use AI to perform automated actions or permit users to monitor and control these connected devices.
As the data is usually nominal in size and only sent when an event is triggered, the amount used by IoT in the home is typically very low (but this will increase alongside the number of devices connected). Some users elect to have many IoT devices within their home, all interconnected and synchronizing with the cloud to enable automation and control from apps. Outside of the home, devices can use comparatively more if they are being used for sensitive applications like the remote management of renewable energy sources (wind turbines or solar farms) as they are required to send data more frequently.
You may wonder if your home or business broadband internet connection is compatible with IoT, and these devices will typically work with any internet connection though there are some considerations. Firstly, much like the devices you will use to access the internet (such as smartphones, tablets, and PCs), you will need to check that your IoT devices are compatible with your networking equipment, as some devices will only be compatible with more recent iterations of Wi-Fi. Secondly, the majority of IoT devices will connect wirelessly to your local network and so it is important to check that your device will have a reliable Wi-Fi connection where it is located. Finally, you should check with the IoT device provider to ensure that it has no specific internet requirements such as a static IP, bandwidth speeds or latency tolerances. The good news is that IoT is designed to make life easier and ‘smarter’ and the devices should require very little configuration.
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