The internet of Things (IoT): Uses and opportunities

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Connected and intelligent, objects today have their own digital identity. Their use involves as many challenges as they do possibilities.

Definition and examples of uses

The Internet of Things (IoT) characterizes the connection of an object to its digital identity. Technically, this interconnectivity digitally identifies an object through a wireless communication system such as wifi or Bluetooth.

Connected watches, baby monitors, industrial machines, televisions and refrigerators, almost all objects today can be connected via the internet. In a mobility report published in 2021, Ericsson estimates that in 2027, 41.7 billion devices will be interconnected including 30.2 billion IoT objects and 11.5 billion traditional devices (PCs, smartphones and landline phones).

These connected objects then produce a large amount of structured data that can be used for analysis and optimization purposes. In fact, it is one of the largest providers of Big Data.

Opportunities for Swiss companies

All areas of society, from transport to energy, health, trade and even the primary sector are concerned with the Internet of Things. In the industry, connected objects can optimize logistics, production maintenance or planning since this type of system provides real time visibility of asset performance and monitoring.

Useful, connected objects are increasingly sought by the public who is now looking for this type of features including home automation. Today, a house can be equipped with controllable heating, door locks connected to smartphones or personal assistants who will manage lights or background music on demand. Another example: sport. More t-shirts and shoes are equipped with sensors that allow the athlete to have feedback on the best possible series of movements, to control his/her heartbeat as well as see and share on his/her phone progress made in each training session.

However, IoTs must be secure and updated regularly to prevent cyber-attacks.

For more

"L'Internet des objets et la data - L'intelligence artificielle comme rupture stratégique", Frédéric Scibetta, Yvon Moysan, Eric Dosquet, Frédéric Dosquet (2018), Editions Dunod.

"Digital Tools and Uses SET – Volume 4, Internet of Things – Evolutions and Innovations", Nasreddine Bouhai, Imad Saleh (2017), ISTE Edition.

"L'Internet des objets: la 3e révolution informatique - Imaginons les usages des échanges d'information de système à système", Gérard Haas, Jean-Paul Crenn, Myriam Quéméner (2017), Editions Kawa.

NCSC article "Security in the internet of things (IoT)"

SECO article "Dialogpapier zeigt Herausforderungen der Digitalisierung in der Energiewelt" (2019)


Informations

Last modification 16.03.2023

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