Internet of Things (IoT) is the inter-linking of digital devices, machines, people and other objects etc with each other through wireless networks. It allows anything and everything to connect and communicate with each other. The basic idea behind IoT is that all the objects, people, and businesses etc. should be able to easily communicate with each other. The rapid development in the IoT is leading to the beginning of the next digital revolution. It has opened new frontiers in digital technology with multi-dimensional uses.

Evolution and Development of Internet of Things

• The IoT has evolved from the rapid development and boom in the wireless technologies and internet. This coupled with rapid increase and improvements in the speed of computing devices due to the developments of fast microprocessor chips has given birth to the IoT. It is filled with immense possibilities as it evolves further.
• In India, the first Internet of things India Congress 2016 was organized in Bengaluru. The second Internet of things India expo 2018 will be organized between 07-09 March 2018 in New Delhi. The Centre of Excellence for IoT will be developed in Vishakhapatnam to promote excellence in the field of IoT.

Applications of Internet of Things

Day to day lives

• There can be many I0T examples in our day to day lives. For example, a person returning home after his office hours can call his coffee-maker to make the coffee ready as soon as he reaches his home.
• One can use IoT to water the plants of his/her garden as soon as the moisture level falls below a certain level. We can use IoT to convert a normal home to smart home. It can be used in energy efficiency in homes and office places.

Industry

• In manufacturing industries, IoT can be used to improve its performance, reduce human-induced errors and ultimately improve the overall quality of the manufactured products. It can also be used to develop good quality internet of things products etc.
• In IT sector it can lead to improvements in its services, development of more sophisticated digital software and digital services etc. In totality, its effects would vary from industry to industry.

Agriculture

• IoT can be used to collect information about rainfall, soil moisture, nutrient content of the soil, pest infestation etc. It can help in talking informed decisions with app-based monitoring technologies to increase agricultural production and reduce associated risks of crop failures etc.
• It can promote smart techniques in agriculture and help in making it remunerative with better price-discovery for farmers.

Healthcare

• In healthcare, Medical practitioners and doctors can use IoT to develop remote health monitoring systems to remotely monitor the patient s health. Doctors can use IoT in the Smart Beds to detect when the patient is trying to get up etc.
• With the help of IoT specialized sensors can be developed for senior citizens. Wearable heart monitors can be helpful to track the heartbeats, blood pressure of patients. It can truly revolutionise telemedicine applications.

Media

• Corporate media houses can use IoT to detect consumer habits for behavioural targeting etc. This can help them to display consumer specific advertisements etc. They can use Big Data and Data Mining for this purpose.

Transportation

• In the Driverless cars, we can use IoT to improve the intra-vehicular communication to reduce accidents and traffic jams etc. We can use it for electronic toll collections, Smart parking, Smart traffic management etc. IoT can be helpful in logistics and fleet management, safety assistance etc.
• As automation gains ground in automobile manufacturing and there are experiments with driverless cars, the IoT can immensely help in efficient management of these new practices.

Smart Cities

• In Smart Cities, we can use IoT in solid waste management systems to improve the cleanliness of the city. We can use it in Smart energy management systems to develop Smart Power Grids which can improve energy efficiency and reduce transmission losses.
• We can use IoT to monitor the air pollution levels in the cities and give warning when it breaches prescribed safety levels. We can also use IoT to develop Smart transportation systems to reduce congestion in the cities.

Government policies and services

• The central government is going to bring a regulatory framework for the promotion and protection of Internet of things (IoT). Department of Telecommunication is going to bring Machine to Machine (M2M) roadmap standards for the industry as well as for individual users.
• The Union government has allowed 100 percent FDI in the telecom sector. This is expected to help in the development and growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). Department of electronics and information technology (DeITY) has brought a draft policy for IoT.
• Its target is to create a market of USD 15 billion by 2020 for IoT and having a share of 5-6 percent in the global IoT industry. The supportive ecosystem can really work wonders for this emerging sector.

Challenges and Concerns Due To Use of Internet of Things
Job losses

• The application of IoT in industries can cause loss of skilled and semi-skilled jobs in manufacturing and service sectors. India has a large labour force owing to its demographic dividend. We have to manage this problem to avoid the demographic dividend turning into a demographic disaster. There can be significant unemployment issues with automation in the automobile manufacturing units.
• We need to skill our labour force to deal with these challenges arising due to IoT. Skill India Mission can provide the platform for their skill development. Simultaneously there is a need to create new job opportunities in other sectors to absorb the extra labour force.

Safety and privacy issues

• There has been a concern over the safety and privacy due to activities like Data mining, use of big data etc. Issues like sharing and selling of personal data without permission by IT and internet companies has become a major concern.
• Digital surveillance using spy cameras, hacking smart homes to spy on people in their own homes has another major concern. Further ransomware attacks and hacking of bank accounts are becoming a big safety issue. This can further increase due to the rapid growth of internet of things (IoT).
• We need to have the Data privacy legislation and policy frameworks to deal with these issues. There is a need to improve the firewalls, develop software to deal with various issues arising due to growth in IoT.
• We need to promote knowledge and best practices among the users to reduce the associated risks arising due to IoT. Also, there is a need to improve the cyber policing by recruitment and training of professionals to deal with these issues. In our policing system, a dedicated cyber specialist personnels can be created with proper training.

Way Forward

• IoT is the next digital revolution which is inevitable and we cannot escape from it. We will have to adapt and prepare ourselves to deal with it to maximize our gains and minimize our losses.
• There is a need to improve cooperation between users, internet of things companies, civil society, government and all other stakeholders to deal with the challenges arising due to IoT.