Tech

10 Most Popular Internet of Things Applications

Back in the day, different machines were used to help people handle their daily tasks. Refrigerators kept the food fresh, mobile phones helped contact each other, and computers helped perform tasks faster. Now, all of these machines are combining forces to make our lives even more convenient and this is called the Internet of Things.

In simple words, IoT is all about the combination of different machines and devices connected to the internet in order to perform tasks collectively. 

They gather and process data usually without human interaction. Now, IoT has a lot of applications in different fields, modernizing society and making our lives convenient. In this article, I am going to discuss the 10 most popular Internet of Things applications you should know about.

What is Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things is also known as IoT. Its function is to connect devices over the internet so they can speak to apps, us, or to one another.

A lot of IoT apps are used in the home and eventually, the hope is that not just homes will be connected but whole cities. Benefits are that less energy will be used, less time will be wasted and life in general will be more efficient in a myriad of ways.

There are companies that have already developed products to improve your life through the Internet of Things. There are also a lot of start-ups with a theoretical product that have heavy investments due to their possibility of getting serious revenue.

10 Popular Internet of Things Applications:

Some of the main applications of the Internet of things are given below in details.

1. Smart Home:

Smart homes are becoming popular all around the world and they function on the basis of the Internet of Things. The basic concept of a smart home is to make main appliances and devices function automatically without the need for human interaction.

Every major device and machine used in general homes is modernized and automated completely.

All of these devices are connected with each other and usually are controlled by some central servers. Many companies like Google, Amazon, and Philips Hue are making products that promote IoT in smart homes. Amazon’s Alexa and Philip’s smart lights are examples of it.

Besides this, smart doorbells and security cameras are improving the security factor of houses. According to a stats, there are around 258.54 million smart homes in the world and these numbers are rapidly growing.

Smart Home

2. Wearables:

Wearables are devices that a consumer wears to monitor different things including health metrics and GPS locations. These wearables use IoT technology and are rapidly growing around the world. There are many companies that are manufacturing these devices such as Fitbit, Apple, and Samsung.

The basic purpose of these wearables is to make health monitoring systems streamlined. They use multiple sensors to calculate things like blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Usually, the wearables are in the form of wristbands or watches. However, smart glasses and fabrics are also considered types of these wearables.

Wearables

3. Connected Health:

The term connected health, in the context of the Internet of Things, explains the connection between doctors, patients, and pharmaceuticals. 

IoT has completely revolutionized the way we deal with the healthcare department. The wearables I mentioned above are just a small example of it. There are smart beds being used in hospitals that keep a record of patient’s condition to keep doctors informed.

The result is more streamlined checkup and timely medical care providence. These types of technologies can be used at patient’s homes to let doctors monitor remotely. 

Another important application in the health sector is the providence and management of telemedicine and vaccines in remote areas. These connected systems are now improving the healthcare sector in both developed and developing countries at a rapid speed.

Connected Health

4. Smart City:

Smart homes that I mentioned above are only a small unit of a Smart City that is now being developed in many regions of the world. Just like a smart home, these cities use technological devices to maintain the functionalities of a general city. There are multiple ways authorities are using IoT to manage the city. 

For example, different sensors to collect data and use the traffic signal systems more efficiently. Local transport uses advanced map technologies to identify traffic-congested areas and find alternate routes.

Another way the authorities of a smart city use IoT is for pollution monitoring. Sensors help them monitor temperature, CO2 level, and humidity in order to take safety precautions. A well-functioning city has to distribute its resources evenly. So, smart cities use technology to analyze the availability and distribution of resources like electricity and water to get things going seamlessly.

Smart City

5. Smart Grids:

Handling the functionality of grids is an important thing for utility companies. These companies are utilizing IoT technologies to make smart grids that work more efficiently. There are special sensors that are installed in transmission lines and distribution systems to make the distribution system more reliable.

These pieces of technology work smartly and alert the authorities in case there’s a failure in the system. It allows technicians to respond timely and handle the situation without facing any major loss. 

IoT also helps in the efficient monitoring of energy consumption. In other words, companies can understand the peak usage hours to handle overload in that period. This consumption data is collected on multiple levels to get more accurate results.

Smart Grids

6. Industrial Internet:

The industrial Internet works entirely differently from the normal Internet. Companies have to connect different machines and systems to the Internet to make things work perfectly. The Internet of Things offers convenience here by allowing smooth integration of these devices with the Internet.

For example, it allows smooth communication and connection with cloud platforms for better functionality among different departments. The level of data usage is also monitored making things more efficient. Besides this, companies use technologies to get real-time data and analytics to make better data-driven decisions.

Industrial Internet

7. Smart Cars:

Another popular and useful application of the Internet of Things is smart cars. Companies like Tesla have revolutionized transportation by launching self-driving cars. These vehicles use many IoT-based technologies to function. 

They are equipped with hundreds of different sensors that help the central system collect data such as speed, information about road obstacles, etc. This collected data is then analyzed by the central system.

After analyses, the system makes a data-driven decision to run the car accordingly. Also, these cars provide connectivity facilities by providing features like 4G/5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

IoT also helps in smart vehicle maintenance. It does it by keeping the user informed about car health. Also, the sensor analyzes and warns drivers about road hazards to ensure safety.

Smart Cars

8. Smart Retail:

The Internet of Things has revolutionized the retail industry as well. Both online and physical stores can use its features to streamline their functionalities. Online store owners can manage their inventory and warehouses more efficiently using robotic approaches.

IoT also helps in collecting and analyzing data for business benefits. For example, physical malls can analyze customer traffic in the store.

This analysis helps in making adjustments to the store’s interior to make the customer experience better. Another way data analysis helps understand customer behavior. For instance, sellers can analyze past purchasing patterns of customers. 

It helps in coming up with personalized promotions and packages to attract customers and persuade them to buy products.

Smart Retail

9. Smart Supply Chain:

Managing the supply chain for both product and service-based businesses is important. Companies have to streamline the supply chain starting from acquiring the raw material to providing the end product to customers. IoT is being used at various steps of this supply line.

For example, different types of trackers are used by shipping companies to manage the process. They help analyze the most efficient routes for delivery to avoid time wasting. Different kinds of systems are used to manage delivering fleets for a streamlined procedure. These fleets can also be managed remotely making things even more profitable for companies.

Smart Supply Chain

10. Smart Agriculture:

Smart methodologies are being utilized for both indoor and outdoor agriculture. For indoor purposes, IoT helps in creating micro-climate conditions to get a good quality yield production. These applications are even more for outdoor agriculture. Different sensors are being utilized to analyze soil quality.

It helps farmers pick the right fertilizer for their soil to get the best results. Also, this technology has automated the irrigation system as well. 

It allows farmers to evenly irrigate the fields which results in a good yield. Also, RIFD chipsets are being used for better livestock monitoring and management. Many people use drones as well which helps in better field surveillance.

Smart Agriculture

So, Finally:

The Internet of Things has revolutionized the way we consume technology devices and machines. It combines the potential of each individual device by connecting them together via the Internet. 

As a result, these machines work efficiently without a lot of human interaction. IoT is being applied in almost every field of our lives. The above-mentioned points are the popular Internet of Things applications helping different industries work more productively.

Ahmed Raza

Ahmad in a nutshell is product of passion, enthusiasm and adventure. He loves to write around anything that involves behaviors, art, business and what makes people happier. He also shares his business and lifestyle content on entrepreneur.com and lifehack.org.

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