IoT or Internet of things is one of the most promising fields which has developed manifolds since its inception. Due to the ongoing pandemic, its utility has been on a boom. Most of the sectors have started applying IoT and Machine learning to boost their productivity. In this article we will talk about the top IoT trends 2021.
Healthcare investment in IoT to skyrocket
Healthcare sector is one of the most prominent sectors where IoT is very well deployed and it is not coming down any day soon. From smart wearables like heart monitoring devices to fitbits, these small devices are the actual carriers of IoT in healthcare. IoT can be used to take care of people with infectious diseases. This not only lowers down the chances of infection spread but also protects the medical staff and regular patients.
The ongoing pandemic has given a boost to some sectors, telemedicine being one of those sectors.Giving consultation over the call and video conferencing is a great way for those who are deprived of proper medical facilities. Mental health and day to day normal illnesses can be easily tackled using this form of consultation.
Devices for elderly and differently abled are playing a pivotal role in making them feel independent and secure. Now they are able to schedule their appointments and access help without any help. Devices like these ensure that the patient is under good care. Sensors keep a tab on their day to day movements and maintain their health charts. These charts are then easily shared to the doctors so that their treatment can be carried out without any hassle.
New normal work from homes powered by IoT
Now that physical offices are out of the question, new work techniques are being devised. Work from home is one such alternative. It keeps the work going on smoothly. But many times it is necessary to have proctoring for professional work sessions. Such a thing can be achieved with the use of IoT. Sensors can not only keep a tab on the employees work, but also on his/ her productivity. This will mean more intelligent automated scheduling and calendar tools, as well as better quality, more interactive video conferencing, and virtual meeting technology. Microsoft’s Virtual Stage platform, for example, uses its Azure Kinect sensors to enable immersive, AI-powered presentations that keep an interactive air around the meeting. Thus making the employees interact and share more, and removing the possibilities of laziness altogether. With extensive use of VR and IoT we can achieve goals in a much smoother way and faster pace
For those under the 9 to 6 job, it is important to maintain the record of their daily presence. In the WFH scenario, normal attendance sheets can fail miserably.IoT powered attendance systems can bring clarity and help in maintaining proper attendance of the employee. Below is the schematic of the same:
IoT and the Edge Computing
When we talk about edge computing we know that it is related to innovation and much of research. Hence edge computing is not going to fade away in the post covid era. But much to the scientists’ expectation, it is going on a boom. Edge computing makes extensive use of IoT and can help in improving the efficiency of smart devices.
With the edge computing, IoT devices do not require to send all the data they collect to the cloud. This work is administered directly by the devices themselves. One clear advantage is very large savings in bandwidth usage. Therefore, the reduced cost, both financially and environmentally. However, it is vital during post-Covid world. There are going to be immense advantages to privacy and data stewardship. Many proactive and reactive initiatives, like outbreak detection and contact-tracing, take in account some highly personal data like health or location data. New ways of processing and taking action on this information will leverage edge computing techniques to scale back the danger posed by sending this information backwards and forward between personal devices and cloud servers.
Hence edge computing can prove to be a key player in privacy maintenance and help IoT to progress according to the needs of society.
Smart Cities with IoT
The concept of smart cities is not newly conceived. The planning has been going on since the last decade. The implementation has been done on a miniscule level, in different parts of the world. In simplest terms smart cities solve the problems of cities with the help of IoT and Machine learning. Such problems include traffic issues, sanitation issues, pedestrian and parking problems. Many of these can simply be solved under the schema of smart cities. Below diagram displays the solution of parking problems with the help of IoT:
In this year and the upcoming years, we can expect a huge surge of resources. This will go into building digital capabilities within municipal authorities to enable them to utilize new technologies that are being provided. This might be essential, when it involves tackling the challenges of a changing society. With safety concerns around the conveyance, city-center offices, and recreational facilities like leisure centers and parks. The IoT technology will allow authorities and businesses to understand patterns of usage to more efficiently planned safety measures, and emergency response strategies.
IoT in retail – safer and more efficient stores and supermarkets
Social distancing norms have ruined the normal grocery shopping methods. It has proved to be a bane for the shopkeepers. To solve this problem IoT has been implemented by many owners. This can be applied on a large scale in 2021 as use of IoT is a much safer way of shopping. It is mostly on a no contact basis and can be used to enhance the efficiency of service. A basic structure that can be utilised by shopkeepers is shown below:
Over the next year, Amazon’s fully-automated supermarkets will make their way in our normal lives, it will cut down on the need for non-vital human interaction as we stock our homes with food and other essentials. Automation via IoT-enabled devices will grow manifolds with no or little human help, where the main focus will be inventory to shop without much human intervention. The motto of “cashless” shopping will be applied through major application of machine learning and IoT, to ensure no contact.
Other developments in retail will include the utilization of RFID tags to trace the movement of consumers around stores. As before, this may be to make decisions over the stock placement. Also, the replenishment by recording, how and when customers interact with displays and products on the shelves. In the light of this year’s changes to society, now it’ll also be increasingly used to monitor social distancing and protect every visitor against the danger of overcrowding in the particularly busy areas of stores, supermarkets, and shopping malls.
