If you haven’t lived in a distant uninhabited island somewhere in the Pacific for the last ten years, you’d have definitely heard of the term IoT or Internet of Things. Some say it is the next big thing in the world of Internet and others believe it will change how we see technology as it stands today.

There are those that predict IoT would drive us to a world where machines would take control of our lives.

This brings us to the question – what is IoT?

Going by the technical definition it is a “system of interconnected computing devices”. You may wonder isn’t this something we have known for years as computers and other gadgets have been interconnected.

While you are right in your argument IoT as a concept is taking this interconnection and communication between devices and objects to a new level.

In fact, it goes way beyond the technical definition we have mentioned earlier. And the best way to explain it is looking at things it can do and what are the things you need to know about it.

So here are some of the basic things you need to know about the Future of IoT:

It will connect Machines and Humans too

Internet, as we know of it now, connects computing devices. So your smartphone can connect to your laptop or vice-versa.

With IoT, it’ll be possible to connect everything that is around you. Your smart refrigerator would be able to order for supplies when stocks run out or your coffee maker would track your vehicle approaching your home and get the coffee ready by the time you reach home. Or your lighting fixtures or HVAC system could switch on as soon as your open the smart door lock. Similarly, your pulse rate and BP levels may be constantly logged with your health-care provider to know how you are responding to the recent prescription.

The possibilities with it are endless.

Every object, device or human being can possibly be provided and connected with unique identifiers that will let them share data and communicate between themselves.

It will add a Brain to everything

The reason IoT has generated so much interest over the last decade or so is the possibility of this new concept.

Even in today’s smart age if you look around you’d see that the majority of the things aren’t yet connected. Your couch is still the old couch and doesn’t know if someone is sitting over it. Similarly, the oven that you have in the kitchen doesn’t preheat by itself when you are busy with cake preparation.

The idea behind IoT is to add brains and ability to communicate in almost everything that is around us. It will slowly drive us towards a world where many of the things in your home and office can communicate without requiring your intervention.

The technology shall open many possibilities when it is used in conjunction with Artificial Intelligence as several mundane things in your life would be taken care of by smart devices and gadgets at your home.

It will collect Data, lots of it

‘Data is the new currency’; you’d have heard this cliché umpteen number of times. But you haven’t surely heard the last of it. Internet of Things is slowly leading the world towards data explosion.

Together with Big Data another concept that you may have read about it will not only lead to massive data collection but streamline their use. While businesses collect tons of data and push it through their analytics tool to make information out of it, IoT would take this to a new level where machines would be able to make information out of this raw data and take necessary actions in real time.

For instance, if a customer is aspiring for new products the best deals possible can be made available to them almost immediately. You already see product ads on social media after you have visited an online store and seen them and similarly data would be used.

Related: How IoT can Bring an Unprecedented Transformation in Your Business?

You’re already using IoT Devices

Are you using any of these – Apple Watch, Google Home, Amazon Echo or SmartMat? Congratulations you are already using this technology and you may have never thought about. All these gadgets that we have mentioned can send and receive information which is the whole idea behind IoT.

You can ask questions to your smart home assistant and immediately find answers from them. These are no longer standalone music players where you have to use a remote or buttons to operate them. They receive information in terms of your voice commands and offer you what you are looking for.

Non-wired IoT Devices are the Future

The moment you think of any communicating device you would immediately think about how it would draw power.

While most appliances that you use at home directly draw power from the outlets while some like your wristwatch are powered by a battery. There are some like laptops that rely on both these sources such as your laptop.

The need for power in communication and data transfer was earlier seen as a limitation for letting different things communicate. Scientists and engineers may have already found a solution to this problem as powerless IoT sensors are already under development.

These sensors would draw power from light to fulfill their energy requirements. Thus, you can take your smart gadgets or devices just about anywhere and they would work perfectly.

To sum up, IoT is a concept of possibilities. It will streamline operations for businesses add to the convenience of the customers but above it will be a big enabler in our lives.

While the market for IoT hardware is still in a nascent stage it is one technology that will occupy our imagination as the Internet did in the first decade of the 21^st century and smartphones are doing in this decade.

Many things that today you think about as science fiction IoT would make all of these a reality.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below.