The Internet Of Things In Modern Society

The Internet of Things (IoT) is confidently entering the life of our society. There is an active discussion of the technological revolution that will invade all areas of social development.

Back in 1926, in an interview with Collier's, Nikola Tesla outlined the prospects for the development of radio, believing that it was a "big brain" that would facilitate uniting all things into a single system, and the tools to manage them would be small. Later, in 1990, one of the developers of the TCP/IP protocol, John Romkey, tested the possibility of remote control of a toaster, which can be considered the beginning of the use of Internet of Things technology

The term "IoT" itself was coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton, co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Auto-ID Center for Research on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Sensor Technology. The concept of the Internet of Things was developed as a technology aimed at using means of radio frequency identification to interact with physical devices.

In 2004, Neil Gershenfeld, Raffi Krikorian and Danny Cohen analyzed the possibilities of applying the concept in everyday life: household appliances (alarm clock, air conditioner), home systems (garden watering, security, lighting), sensors (heat, lighting, and movement) and "things" (for example, medicines with an identification label), their interaction through communication networks (infrared, wireless, power, and low-current networks) and automatic execution of household processes (turn on the coffee maker, change the lighting, remind to take medication, maintain temperature, water the garden, manage economical energy consumption). The main emphasis of the authors was on combining devices and "things" into a single computer network.

The technology has become widespread, and in 2008-2009 the number of items connected to the network exceeded the number of people connected to the network. The use of the technology in practical projects began in the 2010s due to the development of wireless networks, cloud computing, machine learning technologies, and the beginning of an active transition to IPv6.

Since 2009, the Internet of Things conference has been held annually in Brussels with the support of the European Commission, presenting reports by European Commissioners and MEPs, government officials from European countries, heads of companies such as SAP, SAS Institute, Telefónica, leading scientists from major universities and research laboratories. Since the early 2010s, the Internet of Things has been the driving force behind the Fog computing paradigm, which extends cloud computing principles from data centers to a huge number of interoperable, geographically distributed devices, seen as the Internet of Things platform.

Experts mark 2013 as the year of the beginning of the era of active use of the Internet of Things technology. Initially, IoT technology was seen as a machine-to-machine (M2M) interaction procedure that did not require human participation to enable wireless monitoring systems. Only later did they begin to connect it to devices related to embedded computing systems (such as high-end networks, digital signage equipment, robotics, drones, car computers, and portable devices).

The world's largest IT companies have already begun the race for leadership in this market.

So Intel in 2014, after the release of "SoC Edison", announced the "Make it Wearable" contest with a prize fund of $1.3 million, which provided for the development of a model for this module application. The company has created a division within the Internet of Things Solutions Group to develop this area. In early 2014, Google acquired Nest Labs for $3.2 billion, focusing its activities on intelligent thermostats.

At the 2014 CES exhibition in Las Vegas, a large number of home appliances (refrigerators, TVs, washing machines) with built-in smart sensors were presented. Leaders in the development and implementation of Internet of Things technologies are countries in which the industry of microprocessors and embedded computers is developed — the United States, China, and South Korea. European countries and Japan are also making significant progress in this area.

Research conducted by experts shows that when using Internet of Things technology, the need to solve three interrelated problems is generated:

A comparative analysis of the existing protocols that are needed to solve the problems of the Internet of Things shows the feasibility of using:

MQTT: a protocol for collecting data from devices and transmitting it to servers (D2S). This is a convenient and simple messaging protocol that implements the "publish/subscribe" model and is designed to connect three computerized devices to a local or global network.

XMPP: A protocol that connects devices to people, a partial case of the D2S scheme is when people connect to servers. The protocol is designed for instant text messaging between people.

DDS: Designed for the integration of smart devices (D2D)

AMQP: a system that facilitates queuing to connect servers (S2S). This is an advanced message queuing protocol that is sometimes referred to as the Internet of Things protocol. It configures transactional connections between servers and is oriented toward middleware messages, it is most commonly used in the banking industry and is capable of processing thousands of queued transactions.

The term "Internet of Things" is interpreted as a network that includes interconnected physical devices with built-in sensors, as well as software that facilitates the transfer and exchange of data between physical and computer systems in automatic mode using standard communication protocols. A network can consist of actuators built into physical objects and interconnected through wired or wireless networks. These devices provide reading and transmission of information without human intervention through the use of intelligent interfaces.

Scientists F. Mattern and C. Floerkemeier believe that the IoT is formed by a combination of advanced technologies that help bridge the gap between the virtual and physical worlds through the ability to self-identify, self-localize, process data from the outside world and sensors, accumulate, transmit information, respond to changes in their state or the state of the environment, and communicate with various devices and people through certain interfaces. Thus, according to A. Klein, F.B. Pacheco, R.d.R Righa, there is an opportunity to develop innovative products and services using technologies of integration of the objects of the physical and digital worlds, which contributes to a systematic approach to making innovative competitive decisions. 

The Internet of Things technologies lead to the reorganization of business models, to create which one of the following templates is used: BMC (Business Model Canvas), a typical business model for the IoT, developed by S. Turber based on the Gasman Magic Triangle and the Value Design Model. Among these templates, the IoT model of the Business Model Canvas, modified according to the specifics of the IoT, is the most common and the most suitable for the formation of the business model at the enterprise level.

The template contains nine components (blocks) that reflect the basic elements, the integration of which into the system forms business models.

K. Arnold and co-authors proposed dividing business models, the emergence or spread of which is based on IoT, into three main categories: business models based on cloud technologies; service-oriented business models, and process-oriented business models.

An IoT device is a combination of a physical thing, a smart (sensor, hardware, and software for data transmission and processing), and network (means of connecting to the Internet, data processing platform, or M2M network) subsystems.

IoT technologies are successfully used in the following areas:

Predictions from Brain consulting company estimate that the rapid growth in annual revenues of companies selling IoT hardware and software will reach $470 billion. According to a McKinsey study, the total capacity of the IoT market in 2015 was about $900 million, and in 2020 it increased to $3.7 billion, with an average IoT growth rate of 32.6%. IHS Markit predicts that the IoT market will grow from 15.4 billion in 2015 to 75.4 billion in 2025. 

The number of IoT devices produced by the company increases more than twice every 5 years. And according to the IoT technology development statistics published by McKinsey's, the average growth rate is 32.6% per year, which is a clear indication of the rapid development of information systems and Internet of Things technologies in the world.

Other data provided by the Gartner analytical agency show that in 2017 the global community used IoT devices worth about $ 8.4 billion, which is 31% more than in 2016, and by 2020 this figure rose to $ 20.4 billion, with two-thirds of these devices in China, North America and Western Europe. More than 8 billion of all devices are consumer goods such as smart TVs and smart speakers. Among the most popular IoT devices used by enterprises are smart electric meters and commercial CCTV cameras, and the vast majority of experts believe that IoT technologies will completely transform the existing IT infrastructure

According to Fortune Business Insights, the number of connected devices equipped with "smart" IoT sensors in 2018 was equal to the number of mobile subscribers; at the end of 2020 it was 30 billion, and in 2025, according to IHS forecasts, it will reach 75 billion units [4; 37, p. 5]. At the same time, in the global IT market, IoT technologies will help increase revenues to $ 1.2 trillion by 2026. The pandemic led to a reduction in IoT spending of 8.2% in 2020 (although it was projected at 14.9%), with revenues from the introduction of IoT technologies in early 2021 amounting to $742 billion; revenue growth for the coming years will be 11.3% [18]. The profits of the enterprises, due to the connected IoT devices, [19] will amount to $ 613 billion a year. J. Manyika and co-authors [20] predict that the annual income from the use of IoT in 2025 will reach $11.1 trillion.

The advantage of using IoT technology for businesses is that it facilitates access and real-time processing of large amounts of data about their products and their own internal systems.

Among the main advantages are the possibilities of:

• obtaining exhaustive information in a timely manner and creating forecasts
• development of effective production complexes, their management at all levels and stages
• structuring and processing available data
• Ensuring competitive advantage in the market
• Monitoring of geographically remote objects
• Competitive intelligence and customer data analysis
• Ensuring the security of the company
• Automation of the stages of ordering services or products

IDC consulting company [21] identifies three main areas where the largest financial inflows into IoT technology are expected in 2018: manufacturing ($189 billion), transportation ($85 billion) and utilities ($73 billion).

The impact of the Internet of Things technologies on societal development

• IoT technologies help transform the environment—homes, enterprises, and vehicles — into smart and predictable ones.
• Setting up a heating system for the house, which heats it at a certain time, and smart lights, which light the space on request.
• Ensuring control over the house and the surrounding area through the implementation of home security systems.
• Autonomous cars and smart cities can change the way we manage our personal or public space [20].

IoT architecture and general construction principles

For the practical implementation of IoT technology, all surrounding objects and devices (household appliances and tableware, clothing, food, cars, industrial equipment, etc.) must be provided with miniature identification and sensory devices. Then, if you have the necessary channels of communication with them, you can not only track these objects and their parameters in space and time, but also manage them, as well as introduce information about them into a common "smart planet".

In essence, the Internet of Things is a global network of computers, sensors, and actuators that communicate with each other using the Internet Protocol (IP). Uniting mart things into a single network provides critical quality changes for the development of human life. In their locations, it is often very difficult to provide high-speed channels with low latency, and their own computing power allows the necessary data processing, implementing the fog computing concept

Hierarchies of protocols developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) are used in machine-to-machine technology for communication. The IT markets already use a number of technologies: C-UNB (Cooperative Ultra Narrowband), LoRa (Long Range), but the most promising for the Internet of Things are EC-GSM (Extended Coverage GSM) and NB-CIoT (Narrowband Cellular IoT) technologies, which involve the use of mobile communication networks. Connecting smart objects into a single network using the IP protocol forms a network of networks that produces a large variety of telemetry data

Smart objects with unique identifiers, depending on the design, are able not only to transmit data streams collected by sensors but also to transmit commands to change the state of the devices connected to them. The interoperability protocols between these components are stacks, and standards adapted for use through low-speed channels are well established. Messaging works according to the publish/subscribe scheme. 

A specialized "server" for information transfer is allocated for this purpose. All transmitted information is divided into areas. Different sensors transmit information about different physical quantities through appropriate channels while consumers subscribe to receive them, very flexibly exchanging the necessary information. The described principle has become widespread in a number of protocols: MQTT (MQ Telemetry Transport), XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol), etc.

The control system is responsible for configuration, software updates, and monitoring of equipment operation. The ability to manage smart objects is significantly smaller compared to "classic" devices (routers, computers, servers ...) and they have their own specifics. For these purposes, a number of standards based on Client-Server technology have been developed: CWMP, OMA-DM, and Lightweight M2M.

Providing a distributed platform for data processing by various applications is one of the features of the Internet of Things architecture, and one of the main trends in improving the protocol for their secure connection, OAuth 2.0 

The fundamental characteristics of the Internet of Things are:

Interconnectedness. All devices communicate through a global or local infrastructure for information exchange.

Device-oriented services. The Internet of Things is capable of providing semantic coherence between real-world physical objects and their information representation in cyberspace, and of combining physical devices, taking into account rules and restrictions.

Heterogeneity. Devices in the IoT are heterogeneous by definition and can belong to different networks and hardware platforms, which is not an obstacle to interaction.

Dynamics. The state of the devices is constantly changing: switching on and off, contextual and technological information, including location and speed. The number of connected devices can also change dynamically.

Scale. The number of devices that will communicate and receive control will be ten times higher than the number of nodes on the current Internet network

The use of Internet of Things technology in daily life

The smart home system integrates dozens of sensors. One of its functions is to control temperature parameters depending on the environment in the context of energy saving. This concept involves the use of usual household appliances that have become smart: thermostats; video surveillance and alarm systems; refrigerators, freezers; TVs, etc. Such technologies use situational decentralized WSN — remote monitoring of their own home via a smartphone, automatic climate systems of buildings (for home, office, warehouse, etc.

A smart air conditioner, in turn, will be able to track the location of its owner and turn on when they go home, and a home refrigerator, to monitor the number and stock of foods.

The main functions of such systems are home security, efficient use of energy resources, and facilitation of everyday life. To provide the first function, Chui is used — an advanced videophone that acts as an electronic doorman. It recognizes the owners of the house by their faces and opens the front door automatically. Chui can also recognize regular visitors by sending a message to the owner's tablet or smartphone. If the guest is unfamiliar to the electronic doorman, then instead of a text message, the gadget sends a video with a picture of them to the owner's mobile device.

The next application is August SmartLock, an electronic lock that, with the help of a smartphone, provides the ability to open and close the doors of your own home. August SmartLock is opened with the help of special digital keys, which the owner of the house sends to all its residents and other welcome guests. Such keys can be permanent, temporary or one-time.

The second function is provided by the products of Nest, Belkin, WeMo, and others, among which the smart air conditioner should be singled out. Most smart house systems include a climate control function, but previously there was no separate device on the market that could cool the air in the room, learning that the owner is going home. The smart air conditioner is not only distinguished by the support of remote control and a flexible automation system, it is also extremely economical. Special software allows the user to control the balance between comfortable room temperature and energy costs, offering the optimal cooling scheme with minimal energy consumption.

Within the Ecois.me startup, a home energy management system has been developed. The whole platform analyzes how much electricity is consumed by each household appliance in the house, and a special application notifies the owner when the iron is not turned off or the refrigerator is not closed.

The third function of this concept is to facilitate everyday life. One example is a universal garden device that provides the user with accurate information about the level of humidity, light intensity, temperature of the upper layers of the soil, its saturation with minerals, etc. Unlike other similar sensors, it receives electricity from the built-in solar panel. And the measurement results are transmitted via Wi-Fi to its own cloud service. In this way, the owner can access the statistics from anywhere on the planet where there is mobile internet

For pet owners, IoT technology offers an automatic feeder that provides their pet with uninterrupted access to food, even if the owners are on a long vacation. Unlike conventional automatic feeders, this gadget is equipped with a system of recognition of "faces" of animals, which is useful if there are several furry ones in the family. The Bistro is equipped with a Wi-Fi module and allows the owner to control the diet of their pet even while on a business trip or vacation.

Devices to provide the third function include an oven that stores thousands of recipes, a coffee machine that brews coffee from a tap on a smartphone screen, and conventional power outlets that are controlled by a mobile application.

Fitness bands, smart watches, and smart glasses have become indispensable during a morning run or gym workout. The most famous are Jawbone and Fitbit, which track the phases of your sleep and activity during the day, monitoring your heart rate and diet. All data is synchronized with an application on your smartphone, and it works great with third-party apps.

The Pebble series of smart watches and the recent introduction of the Apple Watch replicate the functionality of fitness bands but have more features due to the operating system and, of course, a larger display.

Thus, the concept of communication of objects (things) has been developed, which uses technologies for interaction between objects and with the environment. The concept involves the performance of certain actions by devices without human intervention. All devices in the house, in cars, and on the user perform information processing, analysis, and exchange with each other and, depending on the results, make decisions and perform certain actions.

Today, IoT technology controls billions of physical devices around the world that are connected to the Internet, providing analysis and processing of vast amounts of data. Researchers believe that in the future, Internet-things will become active participants in business, information, and social processes, where they will be able to interact with each other, exchanging information about the environment without the need for human intervention. The concept of the Internet of Things will have a significant impact on the development of the information society and will contribute to the implementation of a significant number of procedures without human intervention