Capturing Data Needed for New Business Information with IoT Devices

The acronym "IoT" stands for Internet of Things.在这篇文章中, we discuss how IoT is a new type of compute platform which assumes all sorts of devices and sensors can get on a network, uniquely identify themselves to other devices on the same network, share data, and perform compute operations in the location the devices are physically located.

Organizations are already using IoT platforms to do things likecreating smart cities and buildingsthat reduce costs and improve productivity,secure industrial and manufacturing experiencesto cut risk and downtime,创造惊人的客户体验using location-based services, and设计医疗保健服务，以改善患者监测和降低成本。

The real value of IoT isn’t the connections or even the devices, but the ability to turn the enormous amounts of data generated by all of these devices and sensors into real-time information that enables just-in-time decision making by humans or other IoT devices.

Types of IoT Devices

What types of devices would be part of an IoT platform? This definition is very broad: an IoT device can be any device able to connect to a network and identify itself. Here are some examples of devices based on specific IoT workloads.

• Consumer connected devices包括诸如手表和其他可穿戴设备，智能门铃，智能设备，甚至自动化集线器等内容，以管理主机IOT平台。个人设备有助于监控健康，提醒佩戴者去运行，并在他们的生命体征不对时提醒他们。家居设备有助于提供安全性，自动控制温度和灯光，甚至可以编写杂货列表。
• Smart city devicesinclude things like smart parking meters, smart streetlights, and smart utility meters. Cities can determine what utilities and services would benefit from smart sensors and instrumentation and create IoT devices if necessary. When these are tied into larger city systems, city officials are able to provide better services as well as save money.
• Smart building devicesinclude things like smart plugs, smart CO2 devices (used to automate HVAC systems), and smart lights and security cameras. IoT devices and sensors such as these help building managers provide a better environment for occupants while at the same time improving building their visibility into things like building usage, security, and energy consumption.
• Healthcare and retail operations create better experienceswith IoT devices such as beacons that track the movement of people, GPS trackers for vehicles and packages, and mobile applications that allow mobile phones to become an IoT device that connects into the platform. Devices like these allow locational data to be used to understand where things are, for example,hospital workers can find a piece of equipmentor even a newborn baby. The same locational data can help individuals understand where they are in a physical space and can help retailers provide wayfinding services. For example, a shopper looking for an item can be guided directly to the product’s location in the store, improving their shopping experience.

IoT Architecture Considerations

In an IoT platform, the network is the foundation. It allows IoT devices to connect and share important device data. In addition to the IoT devices and sensors, basic platform elements include Wi-Fi networks for devices to log into, with Access Points in areas in which IoT devices are expected.

因为物联网设备可以是任何类型的传感器，所以identifying devices becomes paramount to maintain security.还了解设备流的数据变得重要，因为确定需要在本地上的数据上执行计算，以及是否需要将数据传输到中央数据中心以进行更强化的计算或长期保留。

Conclusion

IoT devices take many forms, but the one thing they have in common is the ability to collect data created by everyday activities. A well-designed IoT platform can help capture these data points and turn them into information that saves money and improves lives.