The acronym IoT stands for “Internet of Things,” which refers to a system of smart devices that can communicate with each other and share data.

What is IoT?

The Internet of Things encompasses a network of smart devices, each capable of receiving an IP address, that communicate with each other. Today, many everyday items have been transformed into smart devices with various technological features, primarily through network connectivity. For example, coffee machines or ovens that can be controlled over the internet are examples of smart home appliances. As the number of smart devices increases, these devices are able to share the data they collect with each other over a network. IoT represents the entire system of these smart devices and their interconnected communications.

What Are the Uses of IoT?

IoT devices are quite varied. Almost every object used in daily life now has a smart version, and these are becoming increasingly popular. IoT is a technology that can find its place in almost every aspect of life. The most visible examples are in smart homes, where devices like boilers, water heaters, and televisions are becoming smart, leading to the concept of smart homes and even smart cities.

Smart homes are one of the most common applications of IoT. You can set up applications that start the heating system when you're close to arriving home, have your coffee ready when your alarm rings, or automatically adjust the lights and blinds based on the time of day. This not only creates a more comfortable and secure home environment but also saves time by automating routine tasks.

Similarly, entire cities can become smart. With IoT, you could create smart cities where street lighting adjusts based on weather conditions and time of day, or where public transportation is automatically adjusted based on bus stop crowding.

IoT can also be used in various production activities such as factories and agriculture. The production process in factories can be tracked and adjusted with smart devices. In agriculture, IoT can be used for applications like monitoring weather conditions and remotely measuring soil values. IoT's use in industry and agriculture can lead to increased efficiency, easier process management, and quick decision-making.

History and Development of IoT

While IoT is a relatively new and growing technology, its roots can be traced back to the 1980s. The soda vending machine at Carnegie Mellon University, which used ARPANET to check inventory and temperature, can be considered one of the first examples of IoT.

Kevin Ashton, one of the founders of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, first used the term ""the Internet of Things"" in a speech in 1999. Over the following years, with the proliferation of the internet, the development of smart devices, and the emergence of cloud technology, the development of IoT gained momentum.

Cisco Systems indicated that the number of devices connected to the internet surpassed the human population in 2010, suggesting that the Internet of Things truly emerged around 2008 and 2009, when it became widely used.

The Future of IoT

In the future, the number of IoT devices will continue to increase, and with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), many processes could be entirely automated. AI could learn your behaviors and routines to create a more comfortable home life. In production processes, AI could discover new ways to increase efficiency and put them into practice. And all this can be done by directly managing IoT devices without the need for human intervention.