Abstract
Internet of things (IOT) is a rising technology, having become very popular with the rise of wearable devices. IOT based infrastructure provides connectivity to everything, and not just humans. With affordable wireless high speed internet connectivity, IOT is playing measurable roles in various industries and changing the way it has been traditionally. Agriculture is also not untouched by IOT enabled solutions, which automates several process and captures more accurate data about the climate, soil, crop, livestock, and inventory with the help of connected sensors, drones, etc., to help farmers. With more data, farmers predict more accurately about adverse climate changes and can make better decisions in real time to save losses and optimize farm yield. IOT based solutions in agriculture enable scientists and farmers to understand and innovate the farming techniques for growing food demand for a rapidly growing human population.
TopIntroduction
In the early 70s, computer scientists were trying to connect computer nodes to share a simple message and today after 50 years technology has grown so far that not just computer nodes are connected but the whole ecosystem is connected over the Internet. Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, for data transmission between multiple networks in 1974. They may not have even visualized while developing TCP/IP that Internet will not be just used for message exchange between computers but virtually any electronic device can connect to the Internet and exchange data and automate several processes with the help of connected systems.
Today, with advancements in technology especially in Internet connectivity using fast fiber optic cable networks, enhancement in wireless communication (4G/5G), and cloud platforms, many more devices are connected to the network. These connected devices can share the data across the network with other devices and control centers to control, monitor or analysis. For example, various sensors can be deployed in a smart home automation system to control or monitor the air conditioning system, lighting, music system, fan, refrigerator, garage door, door lock, geyser, etc. Similarly, in a factory, several systems can be controlled or monitored using various sensor-based control units. The complete airport terminal could be controlled using well-connected IoT-enabled systems like an HVAC system, fire safety equipment, flight information system, lights, etc. All equipment in an operation theatre or ICU in a hospital could be connected with the help of several sensors monitoring and controlling the comfort of the room for better patient care. Corporate office buildings, Shopping complexes, power distribution systems in a power grid, every industry has some room for IoT-enabled solutions.
IoT includes everything from a fitness band, mobile phones, smartwatches, coffee makers, smart lighting, smart refrigerator, washing machines, headphones, music systems, to the jet engine of an airplane or the drill of an oil rig—and almost anything else you can think of. IoT applications are gaining popularity due to demand and changes in user behavior with changing technological advancement.
Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, LoRaWAN, Z-Wave, etc. enabled devices can operate for months and sometimes a few years on single battery power. Using such low power consumption technology and highly optimized hardware to send data up to a few hundred meters, several new applications in the IoT space are evolving fast and changing the overall efficiency and user experience.
TopExamples Of Iot Applications
Home And Building Automation
There are 10s – 1000s of sensors reading data and sharing it with an automation system running to control and monitor the building’s ambiance such as lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and fire and safety system. A facility manager sitting in a room can control and monitor their facility using some supervisor software running on a central computer or service hosted on the cloud using a portal. The central service computer is collecting data from all the sub-systems in an HVAC system directly or indirectly.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Smart Farming: Is a concept where farming techniques evolves by adopting the latest and advanced technology to get high-quality farm product and more yield.
Micro Farming: Is a farming technique to grow farm products in smaller areas with specialized technology for the urban population.
Drones: A small unmanned flying vehicles used for monitoring, air surveillance, geo-mapping, spraying pesticides/herbicide, etc.
Greenhouse: Is an eco-system of controlled farming in an enclosure made of glass and advanced technology to control the climate within the enclosure.
Vertical Farming: Is a soilless farming technique for growing crops in vertically stacked layers in a controlled environment.
Internet of Things: Is the global infrastructure to exchange data for any computing device over the Internet from any place and anytime.
NB-IoT: NB-IoT stands for NarrowBand Internet of things. It is a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA) technology. It provides improved indoor and outdoor coverage and supports huge numbers of IoT devices having low throughput, low cost, and low power consumption. It works along mobile networks on 2G, 3G, and 4G (GSM/GPRS/LTE).