the beginner's guide to the internet of things
Post on 17-Oct-2014
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What is the Internet of Things? You've probably heard of the term, but don't know what it means. No worries. This is like "The Internet of Things 101" and will explain it all. Enjoy!TRANSCRIPT
THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE to the
Internet of Things
Starring…
ME!
We’ve got some challenges on our hands for the Internet of Things.
Managing "Big Data,” addressing a score of privacy concerns, scaling for the
enterprise…
…and of course…
…explaining what the hell the Internet of Things is.
So that’s what we’re going to cover today.
Ready?
Q: What is the Internet of Things?
Q: What is the Internet of Things?
A: The Internet of Things is a concept that means sensors placed on physical objects can connect those objects to the internet,
enabling them to communicate with other physical objects and with people.
Q: …so is that what IoT stands for?
Q: …so is that what IoT stands for?
A: Yes.
Q: What does “M2M” stand for?
Q: What does “M2M” stand for?
A: M2M stands for “Machine to Machine.” M2M originally came up when describing
wireless carriers and devices. It's grown since then. Some people use “Internet of
Things” and “M2M” interchangeably. Others feel they have different meanings. M2M is
the “plumbing” of the IoT - the connectivity that lets devices talk. The IoT is a broader
concept that M2M exists under.
Q: What is a “thing”?
Q: What is a “thing”?
A: A “thing” is can be a physical object, like an air conditioner, or it can be a living being
like a person or animal.
Q: Are “things” the same as “objects” or “devices”?
Q: Are “things” the same as “objects” or “devices”?
A: Yup.
Q: What is a “connected device?” I heard that term. It was from the guy that said “M2M.”
Q: What is a “connected device?” I heard that term. It was from the guy that said “M2M.”
A: Connected devices are physical objects that are connected to the internet through
sensors. Sometimes people call them “Smart devices.”
Q: What about “connected spaces?”
Q: What about “connected spaces?”
A: These are physical spaces that have sensors placed in them, allowing the space
to react based on data the space is tracking. Some people call them “Smart Spaces.”
Q: What is a sensor?
Q: What is a sensor?
A: Sensors are placed on physical objects or in physical spaces to connect them to the
internet and to other objects. Sensors convert real world data (temperature, sound) into things software and other
devices can use.
Q: What does a sensor look like?
This.
Q: What does a sensor look like?
This. This.
Q: What does a sensor look like?
This. This.
This.
Q: What does a sensor look like?
This. This.
This. Nope.
This is a baby fox. Not a sensor.
Q: What does a sensor look like?
Q: What can sensors do?
Q: What can sensors do?
A: Sensors track data about their surroundings. This data includes location, temperature, sound, and other variables. Sensors process that data to
trigger actions by the thing or space they are associated with. Actions can be alerts, like a text
message, or it can be an action related to the object itself (like lights turning on.)
Q: How do they do that?
Q: How do they do that?
A: Well…
Say there are five neighbors who all want to go to the mall.
Right now with the current set-up of the IoT, those people would all have to drive in
separate cars in order to get to the same place.
But if they could all carpool, they could get to the mall much more efficiently.
And then they could all talk to one another on the way to the mall and maybe do
something cooler other than just arriving at the mall at the same time.
They could make plans for lunch. They could have a discussion about tonight’s
plans and decide to go to a movie together.
lets objects carpool.
Sensors use a software backend like Robin to connect the object they are placed on to the internet. But right now, each object has to go through a separate API in order to do
that.
This makes it clunky to develop for the IoT.
It's a major barrier to progress in the space right now.
With Robin, there's a common API that all the objects can use and communicate to
each other on.
We’re helping them carpool to the internet, and because of this we support
some much more useful and sophisticated applications of the IoT.
Q: Cool. But why should I care about the IoT?
Q: Cool. But why should I care about the IoT?
A: When things can communicate digitally, they can be controlled from anywhere and they can
communicate from anywhere.
The Internet of Things helps people look up…
…and have more time and attention to give to real human interaction because of
the efficiencies provided by these connections.
Q: What if I like the world the way it is? I don’t need this.
A: When it comes to innovation, you have to conceive the answer to society's unspoken
need…
If Henry Ford had waited for someone to explicitly ask for car, we'd still be riding
horses.
If Steve Jobs had waited for someone to put the iPhone into a theoretical "Apple
Suggestion Box", we'd still be rocking Pink Razrs.
Q: Fair point. But isn’t the IoT just plants that Tweet?
Q: Fair point. But isn’t the IoT just plants that Tweet?
A: Nope. Read our post about 25 examples of the Internet of Things to see some use
cases: bit.ly/iotexamples
Q: I like this. How do I get involved?
Q: I like this. How do I get involved?
A: Subscribe to the Robin blog and learn more about the Internet of Things:
blog.getrobin.com We post about once a week. It’s going to be a blast.
Looking to bring the Internet of Things to your business? Let’s chat.
Email [email protected].
Visit to learn more: getrobin.com