Nuts and Volts - February 2016

58 February 2016

OPEN COMMUNICATION n BY LOU FRENZEL W5LEF

With everyone writing or talking about the Io T, you would have to say this is the next big technological thing. After all, it allows for a host of “interconnecting.” Do you want your refrigerator to communicate with your HVAC thermostat? Or, do you care if you can turn your sprinkler system off and on while you are on vacation? How about sharing your fitness data from your smartwatch with your trainer over the unsecured Internet? That all sounds pretty amazing.

The fact is Io T is happening right now. Potentially, there could be as many as 50 billion or so devices connected by 2020, according to recent research. That will affect you, me, and just about everyone else. So, be prepared.

Io T Defined

Io T is the concept that a device can be monitored or controlled remotely from anywhere by way of an Internet connection. The basic idea is illustrated in Figure 1. A device such as a sensor talks to a remote server that, in turn, is connected to a tablet or smartphone. The computer could just collect the sensor data over time for later analysis. Or, someone with a smartphone could be monitoring the sensor output in real time. There are all sorts of other variations and scenarios.

One of the largest application areas is the smart home. This is a home where many devices can be connected. The HVAC thermostat is one key target (Figure 2 is a good example). So are major appliances like the refrigerator, the washing machine, or the coffee maker. The reason for the interconnection has yet to be determined in some cases, but as an example, the refrigerator may report its physical status back to the manufacturer or you may want to be able to turn the coffee maker off or on remotely.

Other applications in the smart home are security systems, door locks, video cameras, or baby monitors. Pool pumps, sprinkler systems, garage doors, lighting, and other stuff are additional examples.

I will admit to buying a video camera that I can monitor on my iPhone. The video cam talks to my Wi-Fi router which has an Internet connection via my cable company.

y now, you have probably heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). Also called the Internet of Everything, this is the concept of connecting every sort of device or product to one another or to a human via the Internet. Now that most of the affluent world is connected to the Internet, why not connect everything else? We have the power and the technology, so let’s do this. But is this a good idea?