Understanding the Internet of Things (IoT)

What is the internet of things? Since the 2010s, many startups have monopolized this market, just like multinationals who invest huge funds in what is also called Web 3.0. START tells you more.

In the shadow of artificial intelligence and blockchain, the Internet of Things continues to plunge its tentacles into the economy. Last week, US multinational Hewlett-Packard announced a $ 4 billion investment in the Internet of Things. A study, by the firm IDC, figures global spending in this same IoT sector at $ 1.2 trillion by 2022. You hear about it but you don’t know what it means? We take stock.

What is IoT?

There is no normative definition of the Internet of Things (IoT, anglicized in IoT for Internet of Things). Without being able to reduce it to a materiality or a technology as could be done respectively for the quantum computer or the blockchain, we prefer other formulations, such as “connected objects”. Although convenient for the general public, the name is reductive for the entire economic ecosystem concerned.

Let’s say that the IoT designates just as much physical objects capable of transmitting data thanks to sensors, the network through which this data passes, the platforms capable of collecting and analyzing them.

The value chain is wide (manufacturers of objects, sensors, networks, platform editors) and addresses all economic players. “We can understand the IoT as a new way of interacting with objects”, summarizes Eric Dosquet, chief innovation officer at Avanade (an American digital services company) and co-author of the book The Internet of Things and data at Dunod.

Which sectors are affected?

All. There is no limit to what you can connect by placing sensors on objects: from a cow to detect its heat, to a pillow to measure the quality of its owner’s sleep, via a production line to anticipate future repairs.

Some areas “connect” faster than others. You have certainly already heard of smart cities, connected homes or health. According to the book The Internet of Things and Data , the transport sector should be the one that generates the most value in Europe, followed by health, housing and industry.

Why is it going to explode?

Since 2010, market research has stepped up to the plate, announcing markets worth several trillion dollars for IoT. “It’s like the Internet in the 90s. The ratio is 1 to 10 between different studies. There is a problem of alignment with the definition of IoT and sometimes excessive optimism in relation to the reality of the market ”, says Eric Dosquet.

However, several factors suggest that mass market adoption is near:

Mature networks : For data to be usable at any time and in real time, a network is needed that can connect objects to each other and to software platforms. Many objects (connected watches, connected television, connected motorcycle helmets) work on traditional networks such as bluetooth, wifi, 4G.

But not all things need these high-speed, power-hungry, economically expensive networks designed to carry large volumes of data. In 2009, the Toulouse-based company Sigfox created a low-speed and therefore low-cost network to transport small volumes of data. While many telecom operators have since entered the market, this technological innovation has paved the way for countless potential use cases for the entire ecosystem.

A myriad of manufacturers : No demand without supply. Startups were the first to enter the segment by offering connected objects, mainly in the field of smart cities and smart homes. The massive investments of the industrial giants (Microsoft, Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, to name a few) also consolidate the ecosystem of manufacturing of objects and therefore of the offer.

Interoperability : Connected objects only have value if they are interconnected, both with a data processing platform, but also with other objects. “What is the point of buying a connected scale at 150 euros if it only gives you information on your weight or your fat mass”, asks Eric Dosquet. “Your scale must be connected with your fridge, which will make a suggestion based on the information transmitted by your scale.”

In the early years, the objects operated in a closed circuit. Since 2015, investments have been made to create cloud infrastructures (Azure IoT Suite, AWS IoT), which enable all data to be exploited on a single platform. And therefore to be able to make the objects dialogue with each other. A real added value for consumers and businesses alike.

Intelligence : “There is no IoT without artificial intelligence”, notes Eric Dosquet. “We know how to retrieve the information, and take it to the right place. What was lacking for a long time was the ability to process it. ” For the specialist, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible to release value, both in the B2B (business to business — business market) and B2C (business to consumer — individual market) sectors. ).

The IoT players offer more services associated with the use of objects thanks to the achievements of AI. “In the industry, we are starting to have significant feedback,” says the specialist. In particular, manufacturers measure the potential benefits in predictive maintenance, which makes it possible to anticipate repairs and therefore the cost of human intervention.

Some examples of IoT applications

• Industry with predictive maintenance, automated alert management, process optimization, improved yields and supplies, etc.
• The cities with parking management, traffic flow optimization, management of public lighting, management of energy consumption …
• The transport with passenger flow optimization, optimization of delivery routes …
• The Retail with reducing fraud, optimize inventory, managing automated stock …