The impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on our future
Author: Dr. Srikanth Gaddam, CEO, ERPA Group The phrase “Internet of Things” was coined back in 1999 by MIT researcher Kevin Ashton. Since then, this phrase has evolved, and it now focuses on every type of item that has smart capabilities and which can be controlled in one way or another over the internet. Devices that are a part of the Internet of Things ecosystem usually have sensors that gather, share or store data that can be spread online.
According to the Gartner research firm, there are roughly 10 billion smart, connected items that are a part of the Internet of Things ecosystem. These range from industrial robots to door locks, smoke detectors, toasters, smart cars, trains, heart monitors and so on. Mackenzie Global Institute estimated that the total Internet of Things market might reach $11.1 trillion by 2025.
Smart Cities
As technology evolves, cities will start adopting smart technologies naturally. Cities around the world are investing in “start city” initiatives to improve citizen services, traffic control, utility consumption and quality of life. Cities will start automating, collecting, and managing data remotely as taxis, bike rental stations and even surveillance systems will be interconnected. This will make it easier to track a person, but it will also offer more convenience and value for the user at the same time. We might even be able to eliminate gridlocks since cars will be interconnected and keep the right distance between one another.
In a broader sense, IoT is creating and supporting smart cities. Smart surveillance, automated transportation, smarter energy management systems, water distribution, urban security, waste disposal systems and environmental monitoring are all IoT applications geared towards building smart cities. By 2030, 70% of automobiles will be connected to the internet, translating to increased automation of vehicles according to the Statista.
The implications will be improved road safety, lesser accidents, reduced traffic congestions and carbon monoxide emissions. Soon, buildings will also have the ability to redirect and redistribute energy to places that need it the most, thereby improving energy supply.
Smart homes
We are still ways away from having a Jarvis, however houses are becoming a lot smarter. A Mackenzie study reveals that an adoption of Internet of Things applications in homes for chore automation, energy management, safety and security alone can make an economic impact of over $200 billion by 2025. The Internet of Things will help trim the average costs by monitoring devices and whenever something feels off, you will be required to repair it. That will trim the average maintenance costs and time up to 20%, sometimes even more than that. The Internet of Things my sound a great opportunity and very attractive to the consumers due to its enormous benefits in terms of ease of use, quality of life, efficiencies, and cost savings. However, in the short -term consumers may be hesitant to adopt Internet of Things based applications until they
feel secure and comfortable to share their data and privacy.
These devices are revolutionizing the way people live and interact with their homes, while also rapidly increasing in prevalence worldwide. In 2017, over 663 million smart home devices were used in homes around the world, and the number is expected to surpass 1.94 billion by 2023, with devices sales exceeding $78 billion at the same time.
Smart manufacturing
A Mackenzie study reveals Internet of Things applications in factory settings has a potential to create up to $3.7 trillion by 2025, as a result of using sensors data to remotely track, monitor and adjust machinery at different parts of the plants or even across plants. The robots are already playing a critical role in the factory automation, predictive maintenance, and operations optimization. Also, Internet of Things applications would allow machines to interact with one another, making it very simple to fully automate an entire production line. People would focus more on tracking problems and designing, as the manufacturing process will eventually become fully automated. Home robots will become a thing soon, and they will have full connectivity thanks to the Internet of Things. We can expect these to be autonomous and to provide us with ways to save time while still completing menial tasks. At first these robots will focus on a single task, but they will surely evolve in the long run.
According to a study by Oxford University researchers, Carl Frey and Micheal Osborne found that 47 percent of U.S. workers have a high probability of seeing their jobs automated over the next 20 years.
Healthcare Internet of Things
We can expect patient data to be in the cloud and readily available on any doctor’s device as needed. Smarter medical devices facilitate remote monitoring and patients improved connection with the doctors, and the care of chronic diseases, and that alone can make a huge difference.
Since most medical devices will be interconnected, it might reduce human errors and inefficiencies, we might even receive AI suggestions to what medical treatments will better serve a person. Internet of Things can play a key role in optimizing pharmacy research, clinical trials, and manufacturing, resulting in lower drug prices.
One of the initial applications of IoT in the 21st century was adding Radio-frequency
identification (RFID) tags expensive medical equipment, drugs, and patients to help keep track of their location. Since then, the cost of installing sensors and an internet connection to objects has continued to fall, and experts predict that this basic functionality could one day cost as little as 10 cents, making it possible to connect nearly everything to the internet.
Privacy concerns
We will constantly pursue the idea of creating faster, better networks that support more IoT devices. Faster networks will help acquire and study data quickly, which means a much better user experience for any smart device. At the same time, the more devices are connected to each other and to the internet, the more personal privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of data concerns appear. Something like this means a lot of people will be worried that their personal data will be stolen or accessed by unlawful people. Most importantly, IoT concerns about cybersecurity introduces new risks associated with home security systems, personal data theft, disrupted health monitors, attack on power grids, etc., can create massive economic harm and threats to human health and safety. The consumers may not be able to adopt IoT systems unless they believe that their data is safe and secure form the cyber security breaches.
Conclusion
The future is bright, and we believe that the Internet of Things will have a great impact on all of that. Does Internet of Things have the potential to really change our lives? Absolutely, but this also comes with its fair share of challenges. We believe that eventually the Internet of Things will help us improve the way we work and live, however we still need to monitor it and not leave everything under its control. Technology can be a great thing, but it can also be dangerous. That is why the smart thing to do is to bring in the Internet of Things technologies gradually into the mix, test them and then make them public. The potential is amazing, but a cautious implementation will help keep things safe for everyone!.
About the author
Dr. Srikanth Gaddam is an author, angel investor, and a seasoned entrepreneur who launched three successful technology companies in the last seventeen years. Dr. Gaddam' s greatest accomplishment lies in raising ERP Analysts, Inc. from a two-person organization to an eightyfive-million-dollar firm. ERP Analysts, Inc. has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies by Inc. 5000 for ten years, Deloitte Fast 500, & Business First Fast 50 for several years. ERP Analysts is recognized as a “Best Places to Work” in Ohio for several years (www.erpagroup.com). Dr. Gaddam graduated from the Doctor of Management (DM) from Case Western Reserve University, MBA from the Ohio State University, and the Owner President Management program (OPM 43) from Harvard Business School. He is the author of the book “Destination Success: Discovering the Entrepreneurial Journey” and also co-author of “Roadmap to Success”.