Explainer

The Internet of Things connects physical devices so they can collect information, exchange it and act on it. Sensors give those systems a way to notice temperature, movement, sound and other conditions in the real world. The useful result depends on what the system does with that information, from adjusting a room to helping manage a factory.

The key ideas

  • Sensors connect software to physical conditions.
  • Connected devices can exchange data and trigger actions.
  • IoT uses many protocols and platforms.

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Original recording: TikTok, 2020-08-30.

Video transcript

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Automatically transcribed from the original recording. Small transcription errors may remain.

What is IoT? IoT stands for the Internet of Things, and in its most straightforward concept, it's merely computing devices connected to collect and exchange data. They can range from light bulbs, robot vacuums, air conditioners, virtual assistants like your Amazon Echo, smartwatches, and even autonomous cars. So the primary method for these devices collecting data is from sensors that range from thermometers, GPSs, microphones, barcode scanners, pedometers, and so much more. So to keep things relatively sane, think of IoT as a standard as well. It provides a platform for all of these devices to dump their data to, and a common language to talk to each other.

This data collected is used for various things like helping make a smart home more personalized for its inhabitants, providing better scope for data scientists, and speeding up supply chains and manufacturing processes. So, in a nutshell, it's all about obtaining and processing as much data as possible to find trends, patterns, and make calculated assumptions to make better sense of the world and us as individuals.