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The internet reached a major
milestone a little over 10 years ago.
Around 2004/5, according to Cisco,
we reached the point that there was
one device (‘thing’) per person on
the planet connected to the internet.
In fact, now, this global network has
become known as the 'Internet of
Things' (IoT). By now, it is estimated
that there are between three and
four internet-connected devices per
person and this will almost double
within the next three years, leading
to around 26 billion devices on the
IoT by 2020 (according to Gartner).
Although many organizations are
investing a lot of resources, it is
difficult to predict the size of the
total IoT market. Early assumptions
were forecasting more than 50 billion
devices. Yet, a more realistic and
recent forecast from ABI predicts
a total 36 billion connected IoT
devices by 2020. The ABI forecast
anticipates 19 billion IoT nodes, 11
billion gateways and 6 billion mobile
devices.
Future revenue potential for the IoT
is even more difficult to estimate,
due to the newness and rapid growth
of the sector. The McKinsey Global
Institute estimates somewhere
between $4 trillion and $11 trillion
in 2025.
Whatever the actual number of
devices and associated revenue
become, it is clear that the IoT is
going to form a major part of the
future.
When comparing the IoT to the
'regular' internet, it becomes
obvious that a far greater proportion
of activity on the IoT is machine-to-
machine (M2M) communications.
The information that travels on
this network is mostly generated,
interpreted, stored and acted
upon without direct human
intervention. Each of these uniquely
identifiable embedded computing
devices exists within the existing
internet infrastructure and, when
interconnected,
will
facilitate
automation in nearly all aspects
of daily life as well as enabling
advanced applications of the future.
Very soon, in fact by 2020, it is
estimated that home devices such
as white goods and HVAC systems
will outnumber computers on the
internet.
The rapid growth in applications is
due to a combination of brand new
product concepts (such as wearable
fitness devices) and smart factories
that are able to be controlled and
monitored remotely as well as new
spins on established technology –
such as smart home applications
Simplifying Sub-GHz IoT
Andreas Laute, Melexis
IoT
Special Edition
56 l New-Tech Magazine Europe