With connected devices, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, the future is now
After the Industrial Revolution of the 1920s, the ground is now set for the next revolution. This time it is not heavy-machinery that is spearheading the revolution, but instead, tiny sensor fixated devices are the main characters here. We are at the verge of a revolution led by internet-connected things.
What is the internet of things? Why is it so hyped?
The internet-of-things (popularly referred to as IoT) is a concept that has been in the works since the 1990s. In fact, the ATM machines that we use frequently are all early stage prototypes of IoT use cases.
IoT enables users to connect, communicate, and control their devices from remote locations. Tiny sensors work behind the screens of IoT devices to turn them into gateways for Internet connectivity.
Cisco estimates that by 2020 at least 4.9 Billion devices will become connected
Apart from the sheer number of devices that will become connected, it is the digital transformation in the way we live that makes IoT so hyped.
With time, like the growth of smartphones, IoT devices will become a constant presence in our lives. From connected homes to smart cities and automated city traffic controls, the possibilities are literally infinite.
Also read: Real estate industry ushers in a new Smart Nation era with Blockchain tech
Internet-of-things use cases across industries
IoT can turn around routine processes for several tech-intensive industries. Manufacturing, retail, smart cities, and healthcare are some of the pivotal industries where a positive impact can be expected.
Manufacturing
Smart city
IoT is going to be the propelling force behind the futuristic concept of smart cities. Cities connected with IoT sensors can merge digital and physical environments to make urban living conditions safer, easier, and more convenient for inhabitants. Singapore is considered to be the first country that has taken an advanced step towards smart city development using IoT.
Also read: Singapore govt establishes Smart Nation and Digital Government Group in the Prime Minister’s Office
Singapore: the world’s first Smart Nation
Singapore has positioned itself technologically, economically, and socially to the ride the IoT wave. According to Chan Cheow Hoe, Singapore’s CIO, IoT is used to catalyse Singapore’s healthcare, urban transportation and environmental sustainability.
The city is using a mesh network of sensor-connected urban infrastructure, CCTV cameras, smartphones, and other common appliances. In fact, the IoT adoption of this scale is deemed to make Singapore the world’s first Smart Nation.
Healthcare
IoT will fill the void in several processes that were earlier inefficient or inaccurate because of manual processes or for want of technology. Real-time monitoring services help nurses and personal attendants oversee patient health conditions on a regular basis.
Patient wearables can fetch and deliver patient health status like blood pressure, temperature, and physical activity to doctors on a periodical basis. Further, advanced patient wearables can also track possible disease symptoms and alert for immediate or timely preventive health care action.
Retail
IoT in retail can bring to reality several possibilities that retailers were unable to implement until now. IoT app development for retail can reshape the customer experience, deliver new revenue models, and even engage customers in an intimate manner like in an one-to-one discussion.
Some of the IoT use cases in retail include:
- Smart vending of products based on customer preferences
- Supply chain management
- Smart shelves that alert low stock levels
- Push notifications and geofencing that facilitate better shopping experience for customers
Also read: IoT is growing exponentially, and Asia Pacific takes top market share
Frontrunning IoT development companies
Since IoT development is in its nascent stages, there are very few companies who have gained an expertise in a global scale. Here are three such IoT development companies with high-level competencies:
1. Apphitect
Apphitect is a Dubai, UAE-based IoT development company that has several areas of enterprise mobility expertise under its belt. The company has worked alongside global brands to develop mobility solutions that plug operational difficulties. IoT is one among the prominent capabilities of Apphitect, aside from app development, cloud solutions, e-commerce development, and many others.
2. R-Style Lab
R-Style Lab is a long-standing and reputed IT development company with experience sprawling over custom enterprise software development, e-commerce & mobile solutions, and native & cross-platform app development. Given its diverse development capabilities, IoT development comes to R-Style Lab naturally without any effort. The company is also working along the lines of Augmented Reality and middleware for IoT devices.
3. Contus
Contus is a SMAC based digital transformations company that helps small, medium, and large scale enterprises upgrade themselves to digital enterprises. The company has deployed several IoT based mobility solutions for global brands. Contus’ client portfolio includes industry heavyweights like Mahindra, The World Bank, Daimler, etc.
Bringing it all together
IoT has come to the foray as a tool for plugging the inaccuracies felt across industries. IoT will turn into reality several of the technological possibilities previously considered to be fictional. It will usher a digital-enabled future that will revamp the way humans and machines co-exist in this planet.
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