Communication has always been significant to the evolution of our human culture. Communication was mostly between individuals in the past, but technology is enabling us to connect with computers, tablets, and gadgets these days. Based on this concept, to make them interact without human input, technologists are now integrating digital sensors with intelligence to simple devices. In this article, we'll look at the Internet of Things (IoT), IoT examples, IoT protection and privacy concerns, and the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain solutions development.
Internet of Things (IoT)
A network of sensors, computers, cars, and home appliances comprise the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Precisely, the IoT ecosystem consists of hardware, software, actuators, networking, logic, and internet information sharing capabilities with the provision of monitoring and management. IoT systems in industry and manufacturing refer to as machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity/interface.
IoT Devices and Systems
If we can link a device to the internet network and enable control, we can make it a part of an IoT network. For instance, if we can monitor and control a light-bulb, motion sensor, smart thermostat, and connected streetlight using a smart contract, they can be part of an IoT network.
Following are some examples of IoT units
- Smart Televisions
- Smart home speakers
- Home Protection Systems
- Intelligent Thermostats
- Smart electricity meter
- Camera for commercial surveillance
In various sectors, such as healthcare, transport, logistics, engineering, education, smart cities, finance, etc, IoT can have applications.
Benefits of IoT Applications in Enterprise/Industry
IoT helps businesses to have more and greater access to their goods, facilities, and internal systems-related data. To analyze this vast volume of data, we will apply Data Science to gain insights into the goods, services, and associated processes. A company can use these data insights to minimize duplication, make more money, and increase customer and employee satisfaction. Component and system data inform us about its present state and forecast its future outcome. We can take corrective steps at the right time with this real-time data collection and analysis to minimize downtime and optimize the system's run-time. The data obtained from these sensors are making the supply chain more effective in the logistics and transportation industry.
In the healthcare sector, for example, the use of IoT devices will provide the patient's real-time position and body parameters to provide timely treatment and support.
IoT Privacy and Protection | Challenges
Extremely sensitive personal data is gathered and transferred by IoT sensors. Security and privacy of IoT devices and the data they collect and transmit are therefore of great importance. New research to tackle this difficult problem is underway.
Also, Read | IoT And Blockchain: Benefits Of Combining These Two Mega Trends
Role of Blockchain in IoT
Protection is a major concern with IoT that has impeded its implementation on a large scale. IoT devices frequently struggle from security flaws which make them easy prey for DDoS attacks. In DDoS attacks, a target such as a central server with a large number of simultaneous data requests is bombarded by many compromised computer systems, triggering a denial of service for users of the targeted device. For organizations and individuals, several DDoS attacks in recent years have caused disruption. Unprotected IoT devices provide cybercriminals with an easy target to exploit the lax security defense to hack them into launching DDoS attacks.
In the event of an attack by cybercriminals, the IoT network will process data transactions through several devices owned and operated by various entities, making it difficult to determine the source of any data leakages. Consequently, the IoT produces a large amount of data, and the ownership of the data is not always transparent with many stakeholders involved.
Also, Read | Exploring Blockchain and IoT Use Cases in Different Industries
Blockchain will help mitigate IoT-related security and scalability issues in the following ways:
- The tamper-proof distributed ledger eliminates the need for trust among the parties concerned because the overwhelming amount of data produced by IoT devices is not managed by any single organization.
- The use of blockchain to store IoT data would add another layer of authentication that hackers would need to bypass. It provides robust levels of encryption that essentially make overwriting of existing data records nearly impossible.
- By allowing anyone to access the network to monitor transactions that have occurred in the past, Blockchain offers transparency. This will provide a clear means of determining a particular source of any data leakage and taking swift remedial action.
- Enables millions of connected devices to process transactions quickly and while enabling fail-proof communication. Additionally, the distributed ledger technology offers a viable solution to facilitate the processing of the vast number of transactions as the number of interconnected devices increases.
- Reduces costs by removing the processing overheads related to IoT gateways (for example, traditional protocol, hardware, or overhead communication costs) by providing a way to create trust among stakeholders.
Smart contracts, an agreement between two parties that is stored in the blockchain, will further allow the fulfillment of contractual agreements between stakeholders based on certain parameters. For example, when the requirements for providing a service have been fulfilled, smart contracts could authorize payments automatically, without any need for human intervention.
After Blockchain, Role of AI for IoT
When we weave artificial intelligence and the internet of things together, we get Artificial Things Intelligence (AIoT).
IoT devices collect all the data and upload it to regular to be accumulated through the internet. AI, which is considered to be the brain, is the main reason for combining AI with IoT. It helps to make decisions and simulate the machines to act or react.
We may again consider the example of smart air conditioners that we discussed above for better and in-depth comprehension. There are sensors in the smart air conditioners responsible for detecting the outside temperature. But a sensor can only collect data and mere data collection doesn't serve a smart device's function. It is the aspect of artificial intelligence with IoT devices that helps to make smart decisions. The AI portion in the air conditioner is thus what essentially helps to change room temperature.
Benefits of AI for IoT
- Improved Customer Experience
- Intelligence Integrated
- Low unscheduled downtime
- Current facilities and goods
- Real-Time Behavior and Reporting
- Enhanced Control of Risks
Also, Read | Creating a Nexus of Blockchain, AI, and IoT for Business Solutions
Conclusion
Blockchain, IoT, and AI provide considerable advantages in terms of encryption, openness, immutability, privacy, and business process automation. However, when blockchain, IoT, and AI come together, the effect of these technologies is even greater. Our blockchain experts believe that in the future such technologies will potentially converge and thus, drive the industry's digitization.