IoT 101: What You Need To Know Now And For The Future

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been around for some time now. It has found its way into our daily lives in applications, such as managing city infrastructure, smart lighting, smart home, grocery store consumer analysis, and more. Besides adding an extra level of convenience to many tasks, the IoT ecosystem has created some positive use cases that enable homeowners to feel safer with smart home monitoring systems. For example, our IoT wireless cameras have provided on-demand surveillance of our homes and businesses. It has also provided ways for us to operate our sprinkler systems, swimming pool equipment, lighting within our home, and the list goes on.

Our newly updated Internet of Things for Dummies book explains IoT basics along with the latest trends and applications. Below are some highlights from the book.

1. What is IoT?

The IoT is about connecting many different types of objects to the internet. These objects consist of:

• sensors
• hands-free controllers
• remote monitoring devices

There are three primary layers of the IoT. First is the sense and connect layer—which connects the IoT hardware to network applications that perform data processing and storage. Next is the platform layer that secures, processes, analyzes and stores the data. Finally, there is the end-user layer—where the end-user employs apps to monitor and interpret the data. Additionally, the apps allow end-users to send instructions.