What is Internet of Things?
Devanshi Gupta (251601010)
University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
Abstract The internet of things (IoT) is a
computing concept that describes the idea of
everyday physical objects being connected to
the internet and being able to identify
themselves to other devices. The term is closely
identified with RFID as the method of
communication, although it also may include
other sensor technologies, wireless technologies
or QR codes.
1.Introduction The internet of things, or IoT, is
a system of interrelated computing devices,
mechanical and digital machines, objects,
animals or people that are provided with unique
identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data
over a network without requiring human-to-
human or human-to-computer interaction. The
IoT is significant because an object that can
represent itself digitally becomes something
greater than the object by itself. No longer does
the object relate just to its user, but it is now
connected to surrounding objects and database
data. When many objects act in unison, they are
known as having "ambient intelligence.”
An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled
smart devices that use embedded processors,
sensors and communication hardware to collect,
send and act on data they acquire from their
environments. IoT devices share the sensor
data they collect by connecting to an IoT
gateway or other edge device where data is
either sent to the cloud to be analyzed or
analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices
communicate with other related devices and act
on the information they get from one another.
The devices do most of the work without human
intervention, although people can interact with
the devices -- for instance, to set them up, give
them instructions or access the data.
2.Examples of IoT devices You start with a
thing, you add some intelligence, some
computer technology inside it. Then to top it off,
you add internet connectivity.
Thing + Computational Intelligence + Network
Connectivity = Internet of Things Device
IoT doesn’t change the basic interface; it just
improves the functionability and flexibility of the
device.
E.g.: The most modern cars are an IoT device
as they have computational intelligence and
network connectivity. They would have a remote
to start a car, anti-lock breaking etc.
RFID tags instead of Bar Codes are used in
logistics. RFID tag is an IoT device as it has a
processor inside them , a remote antenna, and
even has a flash memory to store information.
Some Refrigerators are also IoT devices. They
not only keep your stuff cold but can also do a
variety of things. Like it'll warn you when the
door is ajar; it might tell you when the water filter
needs replacing; it could tell you when you're
low on butter.
3.IoT devices versus Computer The main
function of an IoT device is not to compute. It is
the basic function of a computer to compute
functions and run programs.
If we consider the example of a Car and its IoT
device; the main function of a car still remains to
be driven. An IoT device doesn’t change the
basic interface; it just improves the function
ability and flexibility of the device.
The IoT refrigerators have a computational
intelligence that can help you, network
connectivity can improve its ability, but its main
function still remains the same i.e. to keep things
cold. Whereas in a computer, its main function is
to run code.
Computers are made to be for general purpose.
They are made to run any type of code. But IoT
devices are generally special purpose things. So
they are made to do a particular task or set of
tasks that are all related to one thing.
4.Trends in Adoption of IoT Cost: Things
have got a lot cheaper. The cost of
computational technology has decreased a lot
over time.
Amount of wiring: The earliest computers like
ENIAC used to have a lot of wires. Manual
wiring was used for programming.
Hardware Size: The ENIAC was a very big
device with a weight of about 27 tons. But the
laptop today is small and light. An IoT device is
even more smaller and lighter.
Computational Ability: ENIAC- 5000
instructions/second
Laptop- 18billion instructions/second
Audio processing, network communication and
other things that you can do now require lots of
computation and it just wasn’t possible with old
machines. The newer machines even have
faster clock rates and parallelism
Internet Access: In 1945, internet didn’t exist.
Now internet access has improved and many
countries have an access to it. Though the poor
parts of the world don’t have much internet
access but you can even access internet
wirelessly now. That actually helps a lot as
running cables is expensive.
Data Cost: The cost of internet access is fairly
low so that large number of people can afford it.
Bandwidth is high: You can transmit lots of data
at a good speed.
5.Embedded Systems IoT devices are typically
embedded systems. Embedded Systems are
generally defined as computer based systems
that don’t appear to be computers i.e. complexity
is hidden from the user. These are much more
common than desktops and laptops.
The major difference between an Embedded
System and an IoT device is that an Embedded
System may or may not have an internet access
but an IoT device surely has one. One of the
most important factors of an Embedded System
is its efficiency. Embedded Systems need to be
application specific. They have to be designed
for a specific application they are chosen to
perform. The general purpose systems use
hardware and software developed by different
companies; for example desktops and laptops.
Designing both the hardware and software
together is a major task for the designers.
5.a. Generic Embedded System Structure
IP (Intellectual Property) Core
An IP (intellectual property) core is a block of
logic or data that is used in making a field
programmable gate array ( FPGA ) or
application-specific integrated circuit ( ASIC ) for
a product.
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA)
It is a hardware that can be reconfigured or
rewired via RAM. It is faster than SW and slower
than Application Specific Integrated Circuit
(ASIC).FPGA doesn’t require fabrication; they
just need to be reconfigured as required.
Microcontrollers
A microcontroller is a compact integrated circuit
designed to govern a specific operation in an
embedded system. A typical microcontroller
includes a processor, memory and input/output
(I/O) peripherals on a single chip.
5.b. Components of an Embedded System
General Purpose Processor
Many features are included in the processor and
can be used for a variety of functions.
Digital Signal Processor
It is made to support the digital signal
processing functions. They are processed using
vector instructions. They are cheap but limited in
amount.
Sensors
There are 2 type of sensors; simple and
complex.
The simple sensors include photo resistors and
thermistors whereas the complex sensors
include CMOS camera and Ethernet controllers.
CMOS camera is used for capturing images and
Ethernet controller enables network
communication.
Actuators
They are the devices which cause events to
occur in the environment.
Analog to Digital Convertors
They are used to interface with the analog
sensors as the sensors and actuators that we
use are analog components whereas the
processors we use are digital components.
5.c. Microcontroller Properties
Data Path Bitwidth
It refers to the number of bits in each register
and determines the accuracy and data
throughput. An Arduino Board has an 8 bit
Datapath and a Raspberry Pi has a 32 bit
Datapath. Operating systems generally work on
a 32 bit Datapath.
Input/output Pins
We need to have enough number of pins in the
microcontroller to support our application.
Performance
The clock rates of a microcontroller are slower
than a desktop. The 8 bit processors are in
4MHz, 8MHz, 16MHz clock range whereas the
32 bit processors are in 500MHz/GHz range.
Timers
They are needed for real time applications.
A to D convertors
These convertors are used to read input from
analog sensors.
Low Power Modes
In any Embedded System, power saving is the
key.
6.Software Tool Chain The software is written
on a host platform like a desktop or laptop. The
code is then transferred to the flash memory in
the microcontroller. The Tool Chain is the set of
tools needed to process the software. The IoT
devices apart from using microcontrollers and
other devices also need network connectivity i.e.
they are connected to the giant World Wide Web
or the Internet.
7.Computer Network LAN: Local Area Network
A local area network (LAN) is a group of
computers and associated devices that share a
common communications line or wireless link to
a server. Typically, a LAN encompasses
computers and peripherals connected to a
server within a distinct geographic area such as
an office or a commercial establishment.
WAN: Wide Area Network
A wide area network (WAN) is a geographically
distributed private telecommunications network
that interconnects multiple local area networks
(LANs). In an enterprise, a WAN may consist of
connections to a company's headquarters,
branch offices, colocation facilities, cloud
services and other facilities.
MANET: Mobile Ad Hoc Network
Stands for "Mobile Ad Hoc Network." A MANET
is a type of ad hoc network that can change
locations and configure itself on the fly. Because
MANETS are mobile, they use wireless
connections to connect to various networks.
8.Internet Protocol The Internet Protocol (IP)
is the method or protocol by which data is sent
from one computer to another on the Internet.
Each computer (known as a host) on the
Internet has at least one IP address that
uniquely identifies it from all other computers on
the Internet.
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