Internet of Things

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For our Culture Module project, I discussed the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is the connectivity of multiple devices to one another and how they communicate with one another using Wifi Networks or Bluetooth Connections (Scott). So why is this important though? The internet of things shows that everything is at your fingertips and connected to one another both outside and within devices (Slavin). Think of how everything you need is on your devices now: your contacts, pen and paper, books, phone, news, and social connections.

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Risks (Defining The Internet of Things)

The first thing I considered was that the need for everything to be connected to one another will increase the likelihood of hacking and glitches within technology. If a hacker can get into one of your personal things, they would be able to get into everything. A couple of examples include aviation because if something goes wrong in the air, there is nothing that can really be done because everyone is thousands of miles off the ground. Additionally, hackers can get into medical records, which could possibly be leaked, or the patient information could be locked from doctors to see (Ng).

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Possible Benefits (Scott)

There are, however, lots of possible benefits of this interconnectivity.

Home/Office

• Cisco is able to control the core functions of hundreds of buildings, including the temperature, electricity, and security
• Can open/close the blinds when the weather is a certain way

Cities

• Stoplights with video sensors can adjust the duration of green lights depending on the time of the day (to limit the time cars are spent idling at red lights)
• Sensors embedded into parking spaces to show open spaces on an app for customers
• Streetlights censoring if there are cars/pedestrians
• Dumpsters require pick-ups less often by crushing down the garbage

Vehicles

• Electric cars (Teslas) can route you to the closest charging station when there is low battery
• Autopilot mode on cars
• Cisco Smart Connect Vehicles can help ease traffic from communications on positions of cars around them

Transportation

• Tracking exact locations of buses/subways in cities
• At shipping locations, trucks can tell when other trucks are there to schedule a set drop off/pick up time

Health Care

• Tracking a patient/elder family member’s health from afar, sending messages to family members, for example, when their medicines have been taken
• Fitness trackers to share your activity with trainers/friends/family

Energy

• Tracking when energy is needed by turning down/off air conditioning/heat when you are not in a room to save energy
• Solar panels can communicate with one another when big gusts of wind are coming to optimize wind power collection by angling blades in the optimal position

Agriculture

• Smart watering systems to see if/when fields need water or if there is a leaky pipe, which is good during droughts so water is not wasted
• Tracking of cow health, which affects meat and milk
• Tracking the number of pests in a field, and can throw off their mating with pheromones, ultimately decreasing the need for pesticides if there are fewer pests

Citations

“Defining the Internet of Things – Time to Focus on the Data.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Nov. 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2014/nov/06/internet-of-things-data-security.

Ng, Alfred. “IOT Hacks Are Rising — and Older Gadgets May Be Most at Risk.” CNET, CNET, 15 Mar. 2018, https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/iot-attacks-hacker-kaspersky-are-getting-worse-and-no-one-is-listening/.

Scott, Alec. “Eight Ways the Internet of Things Will Change the Way We Live and Work.” The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail, 29 May 2015, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/the-future-is-smart/article24586994/#home_and_office.

Slavin, Tim. “What Is the Internet of Things? .” Beanz Magazine, Owl Hill Media, LLC , 10 Oct. 2015, https://kidscodecs.com/what-is-internet-of-things/.