Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices,

mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are
provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a
network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer
interaction.

A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor

implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has
built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low -- or any other
natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and
provided with the ability to transfer data over a network.

IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-

electromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices and the internet. The
convergence has helped tear down the silo walls between operational
technology (OT) and information technology (IT), allowing
unstructured machine-generated data to be analyzed for insights that will
drive improvements.

Kevin Ashton, cofounder and executive director of the Auto-ID Center at

MIT, first mentioned the Internet of Things in a presentation he made to
Procter & Gamble in 1999. Here’s how Ashton explains the potential of the
Internet of Things:

“Today computers -- and, therefore, the internet -- are almost wholly

dependent on human beings for information. Nearly all of the roughly
50 petabytes (a petabyte is 1,024 terabytes) of data available on the
internet were first captured and created by human beings by typing,
pressing a record button, taking a digital picture or scanning a bar code.

The problem is, people have limited time, attention and accuracy -- all of
which means they are not very good at capturing data about things in the
real world. If we had computers that knew everything there was to know
about things -- using data they gathered without any help from us -- we
 would be able to track and count everything and greatly reduce waste,
loss and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing
or recalling and whether they were fresh or past their best.”

IPv6’s huge increase in address space is an important factor in the

development of the Internet of Things. According to Steve Leibson, who
identifies himself as “occasional docent at the Computer History Museum,”
the address space expansion means that we could “assign an IPV6
address to every atom on the surface of the earth, and still have enough
addresses left to do another 100+ earths.” In other words, humans could
easily assign an IP address to every "thing" on the planet. An increase in
the number of smart nodes, as well as the amount of upstream data the
nodes generate, is expected to raise new concerns about data
privacy, data sovereignty and security.

Practical applications of IoT technology can be found in many industries

today, including precision agriculture, building
management, healthcare, energy and transportation. Connectivity options
for electronics engineers and application developers working on products
and systems for the Internet of Things include:

Although the concept wasn't named until 1999, the Internet of Things has
been in development for decades. The first internet appliance, for example,
was a Coke machine at Carnegie Melon University in the early 1980s. The
programmers could connect to the machine over the internet, check the
status of the machine and determine whether or not there would be a cold
drink awaiting them, should they decide to make the trip down to the
machine.

The Internet of things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to
as "connected devices" and "smart devices"), buildings, and other items—
embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable
these objects to collect and exchange data.[1][2][3] In 2013 the Global Standards Initiative on
Internet of Things (IoT-GSI) defined the IoT as "the infrastructure of the information
society."[3] The IoT allows objects to be sensed or controlled remotely across existing network
infrastructure,[4] creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into
computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit in
addition to reduced human intervention.[5][6][7][8][9][10] When IoT is augmented with sensors and
actuators, the technology becomes an instance of the more general class of cyber-physical
systems, which also encompasses technologies such as smart grids, virtual power plants, smart
homes, intelligent transportation and smart cities. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its
embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure.
Experts estimate that the IoT will consist of almost 50 billion objects by 2020.[11]
Typically, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that
goes beyond machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and covers a variety of protocols,
domains, and applications.[12] The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart
objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced
applications like a smart grid,[13] and expanding to areas such as smart cities.[14][15]
"Things," in the IoT sense, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring
implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, electric clams in coastal waters,[16]automobiles
with built-in sensors, DNA analysis devices for environmental/food/pathogen monitoring[17] or field
operation devices that assist firefighters in search and rescue operations.[18] Legal scholars
suggest to look at "Things" as an "inextricable mixture of hardware, software, data and
service".[19] These devices collect useful data with the help of various existing technologies and
then autonomously flow the data between other devices.[20] Current market examples
include home automation (also known as smart home devices) such as the control and
automation of lighting, heating (like smart thermostat), ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC)
systems, and appliances such as washer/dryers, robotic vacuums, air purifiers, ovens or
refrigerators/freezers that use Wi-Fi for remote monitoring.
As well as the expansion of Internet-connected automation into a plethora of new application
areas, IoT is also expected to generate large amounts of data from diverse locations, with the
consequent necessity for quick aggregation of the data, and an increase in the need to index,
store, and process such data more effectively. IoT is one of the platforms of today's Smart City,
and Smart Energy Management Systems.[21][22]
The term "the Internet of Things" was coined by Kevin Ashton of Procter & Gamble, later MIT's
Auto-ID Center, in 1999.

Low-power WAN (LPWAN) is a wireless wide area network technology that

is specialized for interconnecting devices with low-bandwidth connectivity,
focusing on range and power efficiency.

Low-power WAN technologies are designed for machine-to-machine (M2M)

networking environments. With decreased power requirements, longer
range and lower cost than a mobile network, LPWANs are thought to
enable a much wider range of M2M and Internet of Things (IoT)
applications, which have been constrained by budgets and power issues.

LPWAN data transfer rates are very low, as is the power consumption of
connected devices. LPWAN enables connectivity for networks of devices
that require less bandwidth than what the standard home equipment
provides. Furthermore, LPWANs can operate at a lower cost, with greater
power efficiency. The networks can also support more devices over a
larger coverage area than consumer mobile technologies and have better
bi-directionality.

Bluetooth, ZigBee and Wi-Fi are adequate for consumer-level IoT

implementations. The need for a technology such as LPWAN is much
greater in industrial IoT, civic and commercial applications. In these
environments, the huge numbers of connected devices can only be
supported if communications are efficient and power costs low.

LPWAN technologies include:

 Greenwaves, a low-power, long range offering.

 Haystack, a DASH7 low-power wireless network development platform.

 LoRaWAN, the LoRa Alliance’s Long Range WAN.

 LTE-MTC, a development of LTE communications for connected things.

 RPMA, On-Ramp Wireless’s Random Phase Multiple Access.

 Symphony Link from Link Lab.

 ThingPark Wireless, Actility’s development of the LoRaWAN.

 UNB (Ultra Narrow Band) from various companies including Telensa,

NWave and Sigfox.

 Weightless, from the Weightless SIG.

 WAVIoT Narrowband M2M protocol.

 The Internet of Things (IoT) may represent more innovation and
change than any other technological development in our lifetime. By
instrumenting the world with low-cost sensors, consumers,
businesses, cities and entire countries have the opportunity to
change the way value is created by providing ground truth data to
transform outcomes, markets, and economies.
With technology advancements and market opportunities of such
significance, one of the primary challenges introduced by the IoT is how to
best collect, transport, filter, and consume the vast amount of raw data that
will be generated and to apply it to the differing needs of
commercial, industrial, and civic IoT programs. Faced with this critical,
foundational task, decision makers should start by asking themselves one
fundamental question: Is it worth paying to collect and transmit data that is
more detailed than I need?
If the answer is “no” then you should consider using a low-power, wide-
area network (LPWAN) for your IoT initiatives.
Connecting the Internet of Things

The emergence of LPWANs has fundamentally changed the IoT

landscape. LPWANs are designed for sensors and applications that need
to send and receive small amounts of data over long distances a few times
per hour, or maybe only once a day. By collecting and transmitting only the
data that is needed to optimize specific applications or operations,
LPWANs offer value that cannot be achieved with other network
technologies, including:

 Substantially lower cost in both capital and operational expense

 The ability to deploy sensor solutions with an extended lifespan of more than 10 years
 Long range wireless coverage with a small number of gateways
 Accelerated time-to-market for end solution deployments

The market opportunity for LPWA-based solutions is rapidly emerging and

is quite significant. Because of the unique characteristics of LPWA
technologies, of the 50 billion devices estimated to be connected to the IoT
by the end of 2021, it is expected that more than 60 percent of these
devices will be connected with LPWANs[1].
LPWA communications: Standards, differentiation, and
deployment models

The gap left by high-cost, high-function cellular and low-cost, localized Wi-
Fi and Bluetooth connectivity will be dominated by public LPWANs, and not
surprisingly, LoRaWAN has emerged as a leading LPWA communications
technology for IoT by virtue of its open ecosystem and technical superiority.
LoRa networks are built using open standards, which provides a broad
vendor community to support applications – an essential aspect of driving
the adoption of any successful network technology. This open ecosystem is
instrumental in overcoming markets’ natural resistance to new
technologies, while technical advantages allow LoRaWAN to address more
use cases than legacy networks and competing LPWA solutions (Figure 1).

[Figure 1 | LoRaWAN
network architectures enable secure, reliable low-bandwidth data communications over wide areas
for Industrial IoT (IoT) deployments.]
Cellular networks, for example, are built for the needs of smartphone users,
delivering faster connections to support more data. While the idea of
piggybacking off of an existing cellular infrastructure may seem appealing,
the price to keep up with the evolution of cellular technologies doesn’t
make sense for most industrial and commercial IoT
applications. Wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, ZigBee, and Bluetooth
are also available for IoT applications, but these legacy technologies are
characterized by short-range, low-power communication capabilities, thus
restricting their usage to limited coverage areas. As compared to
proprietary LPWA networks, networks supporting the LoRaWAN protocol
foster unparalleled business continuity and deliver extreme flexibility.
Selecting LoRaWAN not only provides application portability and network
provider choice, but its operation can be conducted on a public network, in
a semi-private style or completely private depending on the market and
application requirements.
In addition to the benefits of LoRaWAN being an open standard, there are
critical security, reliability, and scalability benefits provided by the
architecture. The LoRaWAN protocol was designed with end-to-end
security as a fundamental element of the architecture. Communications on
the network between end nodes and the application server are secured
with AES-128 encryption. This end node ‘VPN-like’ service ensures data
integrity and security for sensitive application data.

Network reliability is supported by the ability to deploy redundant gateways

in a very cost-effective manner, minimizing communication disruption in the
event of a localized outage. In addition, end nodes are capable of sending
readings more often than required and can resend messages to increase
reception outcomes. Messages can also be sent requiring
acknowledgements, assuring the desired outcome is achieved.

Scalability is key to any commercial and Industrial IoT (IIoT) solution

deployment. The coverage provided via LoRaWAN gateways can easily be
right sized for the desired application. Commercially available Macro Cell
Gateways provide 10-20 miles of wireless coverage and connectivity for
tens of thousands of devices per gateway, while Micro Cell Gateways
provide 1-2 miles of coverage and hundreds of devices per gateway.
Through flexible and scalable deployment options, LoRaWANs deliver the
coverage and scalability necessary for a diverse set of monitoring and
control applications across agriculture, supply chain, asset tracking, smart
city, and other demanding markets and use cases. Smaller Pico Cell
Gateways are designed to support residential or commercial applications
and provide coverage for tens of devices per gateway. This option is ideal
for a range of intelligent building applications and even consumer solutions
such as home automationand assisted living.
Applications and use cases

LPWANs are playing an important role in connecting a range of devices

that require features such as low power consumption, low cost, and long
battery life. As noted above, these networks are ideal for a diverse range of
industries, such as agriculture, utilities, oil & gas, and smart buildings/smart
cities, and cover a range of applications and deployment scenarios that
cellular and short-range wireless network technologies are not suited for.

Another interesting aspect of LPWAN solutions is the ability to cost-

effectively support the efficient functioning of components and systems that
lead to opportunities that will massively impact resource conservation,
waste reduction, safety, and security. Waste management, for example, is
growing in importance for ecological sustainability in many countries.
LPWAN solutions can help with streamlining the collection process (i.e.,
collect bins only when full), route optimization, and resource planning.
LPWAN smart metering and resource management solutions represent a
paradigm shift in understanding energy consumption and conservation at
all the levels of upstream and downstream operations. Also, supporting the
efficient functioning of all components and systems of a building, such as
lighting, safety and security, emergency systems, HVAC, and other
systems, can enhance public safety and deliver energy savings with
marginal human involvement and cost.
The strategy of partnerships, alliances, and collaboration is the approach
adopted by industry leaders to achieve growth in the LPWAN market. In
March 2015 the LoRa Alliance was incorporated as a non-profit to maintain
and advance the LoRaWAN specification. The LoRa-Alliance has grown
since that time from 20 founding members to more than 400 today. The
LoRaWAN specification provides an open, secure protocol definition for the
operation of end devices and the networks that support them. The
openness of both the specification and the LoRa Alliance has nurtured an
ever-growing ecosystem of technology and solution providers that is
bringing a building momentum to IoT deployments around the globe.

Dave Kjendal is Chief Technology Officer at Senet