The Internet of Things (IoT)
The internet of things, or IoT, is a hot field that is growing at a very substantial rate. With the introduction of the World Wide Web back in the 1990s, we were able to connect people globally through this vast online network (Andrews). Fast-forward to about three decades later, and now we are able to connect just about anything. But what exactly does “the internet of things” mean? Well, this vague name is actually quite self-explanatory. IoT refers to the network of objects, ranging from computers, to cars, to even medical devices designed for humans and animals, that have an identifiable IP address and internet connectivity (IoT Agenda). While it may seem unnecessary to connect so many things to the internet, IoT has various benefits. Smart machines are able to replace dangerous or mundane jobs that were once held by humans, medical devices can monitor and detect illness before someone’s health takes a turn for the worse, and IoT can decrease the number of deaths caused by vehicle crashes each year with the introduction of autonomous vehicles (Raftery) (Earl) (Marr)! One major way in which IoT relates to data analytics is with the development of machine learning algorithms for autonomous vehicles. Data analytics is essentially identifying patterns in raw data and drawing conclusions from them, something that all autonomous cars must constantly do to operate (TechTarget). In order to be able to drive autonomously, Tesla cars must be aware of their surroundings. In order to do so, the car is reading data from the cloud that is then generated as a “road map” for the car to be able to follow. By using these big data maps, Tesla vehicles are able to detect any obstacles in its way and swerve around them or completely stop moving to avoid crashing into it (Ahdoot). While autonomous vehicles were once seen as a thing of the future, the use of data analytics and other tools have now made it our present day reality.
Ahdoot, Albert. “How Tesla Is Driven by Big Data.” Colocation America, Colocation American Staff, 19 Oct. 2016, www.colocationamerica.com/blog/how-big-data-drives-tesla.
Andrews, Evan. “Who Invented the Internet?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 18 Dec. 2013, www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-invented-the-internet.
“Data+Analytics+Is+the+Science+of+Examining+Raw+Data+with+the+Purpose+of+Drawing+Conclusions+about+That+Information.” TechTarget, whatis.techtarget.com/search/query?q=Data%2Banalytics%2Bis%2Bthe%2Bscience%2Bof%2Bexamining%2Braw%2Bdata%2Bwith%2Bthe%2Bpurpose%2Bof%2Bdrawing%2Bconclusions%2Babout%2Bthat%2Binformation.
Earl, Randy, and Jon Karnofsky. “3 Threats and 3 Benefits of the Internet of Things.” Atlantic BT, 29 Mar. 2018, www.atlanticbt.com/blog/3-threats-and-3-benefits-of-the-internet-of-things/.
Marr, Bernard. “Why The Internet Of Medical Things (IoMT) Will Start To Transform Healthcare In 2018.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Jan. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/01/25/why-the-internet-of-medical-things-iomt-will-start-to-transform-healthcare-in-2018/#4ff2c96a4a3c.
Raftery, Tom. “Connected Cars, Autonomous Vehicles, And The IoT.” Digitalist Magazine, Digitalist Magazine, 20 Dec. 2017, www.digitalistmag.com/iot/2017/11/17/connected-cars-autonomous-vehicles-iot-05535120.
“What Is Internet of Things (IoT)? – Definition from WhatIs.com.” IoT Agenda, internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT.