Abstract

There’s a lot of noise at the moment about the Internet of Things (or IoT) and its impact
on everything from the way we travel and do our shopping to the way manufacturers keep
track of inventory. But what is the Internet of Things? How does it work? And is it really
that important?

Internet of Things is the concept of connecting any device (so long as it has an on/off
switch) to the Internet and to other connected devices. The IoT is a giant network of
connected things and people – all of which collect and share data about the way they are
used and about the environment around them.

Introduction
IoT consists of all the web-enabled devices that collect, send and act on data they acquire
from their surrounding environments using embedded sensors, processors and
communication hardware. These devices, often called "connected" or "smart" devices, can
sometimes talk to other related devices, a process called machine-to-machine (M2M)
communication, and act on the information they get from one another. Humans can interact
with the gadgets to set them up, give them instructions or access the data, but the devices
do most of the work on their own without human intervention. Their existence has been
made possible by all the tiny mobile components that are available these days, as well as
the always-online nature of our home and business networks.

How Does IoT Work

Devices and objects with built in sensors are connected to an Internet of Things platform,
which integrates data from the different devices and applies analytics to share the most
valuable information with applications built to address specific needs.

These powerful IoT platforms can pinpoint exactly what information is useful and what
can safely be ignored. This information can be used to detect patterns, make
recommendations, and detect possible problems before they occur.

For example, if I own a car manufacturing business, I might want to know which optional
components (leather seats or alloy wheels, for example) are the most popular. Using
Internet of Things technology, The Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, or any other IoT Enabled
internet powered device can:

Use sensors to detect which areas in a showroom are the most popular, and where
customers linger longest;
Drill down into the available sales data to identify which components are selling fastest;

Automatically align sales data with supply, so that popular items don’t go out of stock.

The information picked up by connected devices enables these devices to make smart
decisions about which components to stock up on, based on real-time information, which
helps me save time and money.

Some major libraries & framework used for implementing IoT on Raspberry Pi 3B/ 3B+
are Flask, Firebase, OpenCV, SQL & XAMPP Stack.

Usefulness
A few common IoT systems:

 Home automation.
 Energy optimization in Home.
 IoT-Lock.
 Smart Smoke alarm.
 BAC (Blood alcohol monitoring) for drug abusers under probation.
 Pet cam for Pet lovers.
 Wearable IOT.
 Mobile parking ticketing system.
 Indoor location tracking in Retail store.
 Home health care.
 Smart Sports Watch.
 Smart Cars.

One of the most powerful use of this technology is embedded across the Amazon Go. It
proves that how effective, less prone to errors, and powerful an IoT and AI powered system
can be.