Eli5: What is internet of things (IoT)?
In: Technology
“Internet of Things” or IoT is a marketing term that describes the new trend of connecting anything and everything to the internet. The idea is that every appliance in your home, every electric meter on every building, every streetlight, ever car, every computer, etc. are all connected to the internet at all times. It’s supposed to let devices communicate with one another in real time. Say, your Air Conditioner only runs when it communicates with your electric meter and determines that electricity currently costs a lower rate than usual. Or your fridge can send you an alert on your phone that you’re out of milk and you need to pick some up while you’re at the store. Or that your car needs an oil change soon, and that you need to schedule a service appointment.
In reality, it’s moreso that a ton of “Smart Home” products are popping up. Things like internet connected lightbulbs and internet connected toasters. The term is mostly used as a joke amongst people that work in the technology field, because the standard of what constitutes an “Internet of Things” device is so poorly defined that each individual manufacturer of device has their own mobile app that often doesn’t work very well, and the promise of “Everything works with everything” was never fully realized.
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