Future Scope of IoT: Applications of IoT in Top Industries

Introduction

The concept of the Internet of Things or IoT has taken our lives by storm over the past few years. The only physical appliances or objects that you could connect to the internet were your PC or laptop and your smartphone in the yesteryears. However, with the advent of IoT, multiple devices in the same household, including a number of household appliances, can now be connected to the internet.

Given that it is a new technology and has already begun taking over large chunks of our lives, IoT’s future scope appears to be bright and varied. Let’s take a look at the fields in which we might find IoT being applied in the coming years.

Wearables

The introduction of IoT in wearable technology on the big stage started with the Samsung Gear watch. However, not only has wearable technology grown much more sophisticated but also developed a number of further applications.

The facility of tracking your heart health through ECG built into your watch has already started rolling out in some countries. Other features of smart wearables include the capability to take calls, send messages, and receive notifications on the go. Learn more about IoT Architecture.

Health

While wearable technology allows patients to self monitor their health in real-time, the sensors and variants used in the healthcare industry are significantly more sophisticated. As sensors’ accuracy and precision based on IoT increases, the share of manual errors in taking medical readings will decrease.

Alongside, using IoT devices can be associated with a decrease in the cost of a treatment since the same device can be used on scores of different patients. Through IoT devices, patients’ essential parameters can be mapped and sent to doctors even from remote locations where doctors might not physically be available.

Traffic Monitoring

Keeping track of traffic is really important, regardless of how short a distance you are looking to travel. In today’s smart cities, traffic monitoring has become an essential feature. Traffic monitoring systems are a part of the basic digital infrastructure of all new cities.

You can already monitor traffic using Google Maps, which uses electronic sensors inside your smartphone to determine the traffic density on a particular road or street. Your traffic woes will be brought to an end in the future through sensors and devices connected directly to satellites that give you precise traffic information in real-time.

Fleet Management

Fleet management has grown to be among the major applications of IoT. Among the applications governing the future scope of IoT, fleet management has a major part to play. The speeds at which lorries and ships are travelling can be calculated by fleet managers through sensors located in them. In the future, they will also be able to live stream the condition of valuables being transported and keep track of parameters such as weight, temperature, and moisture content, on the go.

Agriculture

The rise of IoT technology has led to the rise of the smart farms’ concept. While IoT devices for agriculture are only sparsely available currently, their coverage is likely to increase significantly in the future. IoT devices can help farmers assess the suitability of their soil for cropping. They can measure soil moisture levels, pH values, temperature, and a number of other different characteristics to help them decide which crop to plant and when.

Hospitality

The applications of IoT in the hospitality industry are immense. From automated check-in to the automation of tasks such as food ordering, laundry collection, room service and the likes, the hospitality industry in the coming few years is likely to be flush with IoT devices all across the board. A number of tasks in hotels can be made completely contactless with the aid of technology, making hospitality a major future scope of IoT.

Automotive

Among the most talked-about future applications of IoT is in the automotive industry. Self-driving cars contain not just one IoT device, but scores of devices that each performs a different task. However, even cars that aren’t self-driving are increasing the use of IoT devices. Such devices include automatic parking assist systems, lane detection systems, and collision avoidance systems. Over the next few years and before the eventual transition to self-driving cars, these devices are only likely to increase.

Smart Grid

Smart grid technology is another integral feature of smart cities. Smart grids contain sensors all the way from where the electricity is generated to the end consumer and allows all intermediaries to assess and analyze the amount of power being consumed.

It also allows for effective redistribution of power automatically to areas that are experiencing shortages. Smart grid technologies involve the usage of smart meters used in domestic households and industrial facilities and allow the user to analyze their power consumption in-depth.

Learn more about IoT Applications.

Water Supply

Much like smart grid technology, the use of IoT devices in water supply systems can also allow domestic and industrial users to analyze their water consumption patterns and reassess them appropriately. IoT devices being used in sewage treatment plants can help understand the constituents of the sewage before and after treatment as well.

Conclusion

IoT is bound to be an effective technology in the future, and IoT enabled devices are likely to be all-pervasive, from industry to households. The future scope of IoT is bright and varied, and it is only a matter of time before the above applications of the technology are realized.

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