Working of IoT – Connecting the Dots
In this article, we will be going over the working of IoT. We will try to understand how exactly an IoT ecosystem works by looking into the different components that play a crucial role in the functioning of IoT.
We shall take a deeper look into these components and understand their part in the working of an IoT ecosystem. So pay attention, take notes, and read till the end for the best benefits!
How does IoT work?
Many people think that the working of IoT is hard, but it is actually not. Don’t mistake me for talking about the coding part, which is genuinely challenging. However, the theory and understanding are pretty simple.
IoT in itself consists of 4 main components that make its working possible. Let us first look at each of these 4 components in depth, and then you can picturise how IoT will work. The 4 essential components for the working of IoT are:
1. Sensors and actuators
2. Connectivity
3. Data processing
4. User interface
Let us take a deeper look into these components before understanding the working of IoT.
Sensors and actuators
We all know that IoT revolves around sensors. Why? Because they convert information obtained in the outer world into data for analysis. They include data regarding the process or environmental surroundings like temperature, fluid flow in the pipe, air quality, and more.
But what on earth are actuators? Technically speaking, actuators can intervene to alter the physical reality. It sounds very fancy when you put it like that, but they are actually pretty boring. They are regular machines like fan regulators, thermostats, valves, switches air, conditioners, etc.
Every single IoT device must and will have sensors because it is from this stage that data is generated. This data will travel through the different stages of IoT architecture and, finally, the cloud.
Connectivity
Once we have the data, how do we need to send it to the cloud? There are several methods that are available for connecting IoT devices to the cloud. A few examples include WiFi, Bluetooth, satellite, cellular, and 5G. With the help of such connections, the data from the devices will be sent to the cloud for data processing.
Connectivity is nothing but a protocol. It enables all the devices in an IoT ecosystem to communicate with each other (including the cloud). The way a device connects to the cloud depends on various factors, like the data that has been collected and how it will be processed.
Connectivity is so essential for an IoT device that without it, it cannot operate as an IoT device. It means that without a connection between the device and the cloud, the information collected by the IoT device is useless as it can’t be sent to the cloud for processing.
Data processing
After the sensors collect the data, it is sent to the cloud using a connection to process the data. But what is data processing in the first place? Data processing is where the cloud converts the raw data obtained from the sensors into a machine-readable form. It allows the IoT device to know what should happen next.
Data processing is a way the cloud reads, understands and processes the data. It could be a simple process, like making sure the temperature is at the right level, or it could be slightly more complex, like using computer vision to identify safety hazards. IoT devices are programmed to understand a few datasets to carry out specific functions based on the information they collect.
User interface
We now have data that has been processed to a machine-understandable state. But what good is it without a way to use the data? It is where UI (user interface) comes into the picture. The UI gives the output to the user after the data is processed.
The reason that most IoT devices have a UI is that people can interact with the device. Alexa is an excellent example of this. Therefore, UI plays a vital role in the working of IoT devices. For example, security personnel will get a text alert when motion is detected at their location after hours.
Other examples include IoT devices displaying an alert if the temperature within a cold storage unit is too high or a pre-programmed protocol can be automatically triggered if the parameters for action have been reached.
A cumulative recap of how IoT works
Now that you know the role of each of the 4 components and have a rough idea of how they work together for an IoT system to function, let us look at the holistic picture to understand the working of IoT.
So we saw that the sensors collect various information, which needs to be sent to the cloud for processing. But for the sensors to communicate or send data to the cloud, they need a protocol, AKA connectivity. It is also this connection that lets the other devices communicate with each other and work coherently.
Once we have the connection or protocol, the sensors send the analyzing data to the cloud for processing this data into a digital form. Why should the data be converted to a digital form? Well, the data needs to be converted to digital form so that machines can understand and perform tasks based on it.
The last stage or component of the working of IoT is the UI, where the user gets to control set automation or schedules, where a pre-programmed task is triggered when all the parameters are met. This User Interface is mainly an app. It can also show the user hard numbers in the form of charts and graphs.
Summary
As you have seen, 4 components that work coherently together for the working of IoT. They cannot exist without each other. You have now learned how IoT works as we dived deep into the 4 components and discussed their roles in the working of IoT.