IOT: BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND APPLICATIONS

Transcription

1 IOT: BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND APPLICATIONS Mr. Rampur Srinath 1 and Chaitra Acharya 2 1,2 Department of Information Science and Engineering, The National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru, India Abstract The Internet of Things (IoT) is an important topic in today s world and can be seen in various fields like home, technology, industry, policy, and engineering circles. This technology is being utilized in a diverse range of networked products, systems, and sensors, which take advantage of advancements in computing power, electronics miniaturization, and network interconnections to offer new uses not previously allowed or heard. The large-scale implementation of IoT devices in virtually all fields promises to revolutionize our way of life. In this paper, I have outlined the basic factors which promote IoT usage in daily life along with the benefits, challenges faced and the most popular applications of IOT. Keywords IoT, Factors, Challenges, Benefits, Applications. I. INTRODUCTION IoT is a future-facing development of the internet where objects and systems are embedded with the sensors and computing power. The main intention is to be able to communicate with each other and devices over the net. Even though the original concept of IoT puts excessive emphasis on machine-to-machine communications, the real change is the diversification of people-to-people communications in an increasingly indirect way. The ever-increasing networking capabilities of machines and daily use devices used in the home, office and industrial equipment, mobile and wearable technologies even in hospitals, vehicles, entire factories and even urban infrastructure, open up a whole host of opportunities for business improvement and customer satisfaction. Most IoT devices will use sensor-based technologies where the sensors will identify or measure any change in position or movement and these sensors will transmit data to a particular device or server, which in turn will analyze the data to generate information for the user. In business terms it can be said that the sensors act as raw data gatherers; cloud computing as a platform for storing and analyzing the data which will be converted by Big Data analytics to knowledge or insights. II. FACTORS FACILITATING THE USE OF IOT Some of the primary factors which are driving the adoption of IoT are: New business opportunities: The web of connected devices, people and data will provide business opportunities to many sectors. Organizations will be able to use IoT data to gain a better understanding of their customers requirements and can improve processes, such as supply chain/inventory coordination, investments and public safety. Potential for business revenue growth: There are multiple untapped opportunities for economic impact by finding creative ways to deploy IoT technology and to drive top-line revenue growth and value creation through expense reduction and by improving asset productivity. Improved decision-making: Personal computing smart devices are on the rise, leading to wider choice, real-time updates, enhanced facilities, more accurate fact finding and thus leading to more informed decision-making. Cost reductions: The costs of IoT components, such as cloud services, sensors, GPS devices and microchips, have fallen, meaning that the cost of IoT-linked devices is getting more affordable every All rights Reserved 419

2 International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Research (IJMTER) Safety and security: With the help of cameras and sensors, there is the possibility to guard against, or avoid, physical threats, which might occur at the workplace or home. In time, even disaster management or recovery systems will get help from IoT. Improved citizen experience: The citizen experience could improve considerably due to ease of access, ease of living and ease of communication. Some such instances are where a person can pay taxes or bills remotely, book a parking slot from office, run household devices remotely, monitor health using wearable devices and many more. Improved infrastructure: IoT can help turn infrastructure into a living entity, especially since major metropolitan cities transform into smart cities. Large population inflow in urban areas and depleted non-renewable energy sources are making resource management a challenge, but intelligent infrastructure and interconnected networks provide solutions with concepts, such as smart grid, smart waste management, smart traffic control, smart utilities and sustainable city. Microcomputer-enabled automated citizen services will also make future smart cities more secure and more efficient [1]. III. BENEFITS OF IOT While there are many interesting applications of networking physical objects, they need a strong value proposition to customers for their wide adoption and acceptance. Their potential benefits are: Improved performance, visibility & scalability of business process automation Providing better, more cost effective service through real-time high resolution visibility /capture and analysis of real-time product performance information. This is useful for efficient decision making. Better transparency of physical flows and detailed status information. This is also important for regulatory compliance and public dissemination. Creation/transformation of new and existing business[2]. IV. CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING THE IOT A brief list of challenges faced in IoT is given below. These include mainly security concerns and network constraints. Standards and interoperability: Standards are important in creating markets for new technologies. If devices from different manufacturers do not use same standards, interoperability will be more difficult, requiring extra gateways to translate from one standard to another. Differing data standards can also tend to lock consumers into one family of products. The European Commission has stressed the need to develop technological standards to support the IoT. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is working to establishing standards for M2M communications over mobile cellular-based networks [3]. Silo IOT solutions The commonly observed trend in today s IOT domain is the emergence of a variety of solutions targeted at specific application domains. These application developments have limited interoperability between systems and technologies, and they do not adopt a common standardization and understanding of the IOT domain. Network Capacity Constraints: With convergences brought about by connected machines and smart mobile devices, there is an increasing demand for network infrastructure to support multiple devices with a certain level of expected Quality of Service. This may affect latency and bandwidth of the network. Cost versus Usability: IOT uses technology to connect physical objects to the Internet. For IOT adoption to grow, the cost of components that are needed to support capabilities such as sensing, tracking and control mechanisms need to be relatively inexpensive in the coming years. Radio spectrum: The anticipated growth in the number of wireless devices used currently will require more radio spectrum. However the type of use allocated to a specific spectrum All rights Reserved 420

3 International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Research (IJMTER) on the largely unknown extent to which different technologies such as mobile wireless or Wi-Fi will be employed in the IoT. For economies of scale in the manufacture of devices, spectrum allocation should be harmonized, not just within Europe, but also across the globe. A major complication making spectrum decisions even more challenging is that IoT devices tend to have a long lifetime (around 30 years) as opposed to the much shorter average lifespan of mobile telephones (5 to 7 years). Insufficient authentication and authorization An attacker can use vulnerabilities such as weak passwords, insecure password recovery mechanisms, poorly protected credentials, etc. to gain access to a device. Security: The IoT presents a number of security risks to both consumers and businesses. Cybercriminals could get unauthorized access to devices or intercept local wireless communications in order to capture sensitive data. They may also attack servers or cloud-based servers where the large quantities of aggregated data are an alluring target. Malicious hackers could take control of local networks or devices to cause uncontrollable harm. Encrypting data can help to reduce security risks, but many of the sensor devices currently on market lack the necessary equipment to implement sophisticated encryption techniques. While there is currently no perfect solution, IoT companies can minimize security risks by taking security issues into account during the design of their products; collecting only essential data; implementing multiple layers of defense against threats; building in access controls to limit access to their device; and updating software regularly to patch vulnerabilities. Privacy and data protection: IoT consumer devices often collect private and personal data. This data may be transmitted to central servers, or shared with other devices or third parties, without the opportunity for the user to review that data. Many devices such as wearable bracelets lack large displays or touchscreens, making it difficult to provide information to the consumer about possible uses and get necessary user consent. Making data anonymous as early as possible in the data transmission and processing chain can help to reduce risks. However, not all IoT devices will have the processing capabilities to do so and data may be so comprehensive that rendering it completely anonymous may be technically difficult or impossible. Lack of transport encryption: Transport encryption is crucial given that many of these devices are collecting and transmitting data that can be considered sensitive in nature. A majority of the devices failed to encrypt network services transmitting data via the Internet and the local network [4]. V. APPLICATIONS OF IOT A brief use of IOT in some popular fields is shown in Figure 3[5]. Fig 1: Popular Applications of All rights Reserved 421

4 International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Research (IJMTER) Some of the IOT applications which are the most popular are: Smart Cities: This category includes smart parking, Structural health overseeing, Noise Urban Maps, Smartphone Detection, Electromagnetic Field Levels measurement, Preventing Traffic Congestion, Smart Lighting, Waste Management, Smart Roads. Smart Environment: This includes Forest Fire Detection, Air Pollution control, Snow Level Monitoring, Landslide and Avalanche Prevention, Earthquake Early Detection. Smart Water: Potable water monitoring, chemical leakage detection in rivers, Swimming pool remote measurement, Pollution levels in the sea monitoring, Water Leakages detection. Smart Metering: Smart Grid, Tank level monitoring, Photovoltaic Installations monitoring, Water Flow Measurement, Silos Stock Calculation. Security & Emergencies: Perimeter Access Control, Liquid Presence detection, Radiation Levels monitoring, Explosive and Hazardous Gases detection. Retail: Supply Chain Control, NFC Payment processing, Intelligent Shopping Applications, Smart Product Management. Logistics: Quality of Shipment Conditions monitoring, Item Location search, Storage Incompatibility Detection, Fleet Tracking. Industrial Control: M2M Applications diagnosis and control, Indoor Air Quality monitoring, Temperature Monitoring, Ozone Presence monitoring, Indoor Location detection, Vehicle Autodiagnosis. Smart Agriculture: Wine Quality Enhancing, Green Houses, Meteorological Station Network, Compost creation. Smart Animal Farming: Hydroponics, Offspring Care, Animal Tracking, Toxic Gas Levels monitoring[6]. Home Automation: Energy and Water Use, Remote Control Appliances, Intrusion Detection Systems, Art and Goods Preservation in homes, museums and warehouses. ehealth: Fall Detection, Medical Fridges control, Sportsmen Care monitoring, Patients Surveillance, Ultraviolet Radiation monitoring. Fig 2: Home Automation System. VI. CONCLUSION IoT is playing a vital role in our life. It provides ease of use, simplicity and remote access to devices at the touch of a button. In some cases, it also provides remote monitoring of devices. IoT has completely transformed our lives for the better and is continuing to do so. In this tech savvy world, new IoT applications are being created every day. One can only hope that ultimately technology does not become master of All rights Reserved 422

5 International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Research (IJMTER) REFERENCES [1] [2] abstract.pdf [3] /2015 /557012/EPRS_BRI(2015)557012_EN.pdf [4] ENW.pdf [5] Technologies_for_Smart_Environments_and_ Integrated _ Ecosystems_IERC_Book_Open_Access_2013.pdf [6] Libelium, 50 Sensor Applications for a SmarterWorld, online at applications_ranking# Author s Profile and Image Mr. Rampur Srinath is an Associate Professor in the department of Information Science & Engineering in The National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru. He has received his M.Tech from VTU, Belgaum & B.E. from Kuvempu University, Shimoga. His teaching and research interests are in the field of Data Structures, Object Oriented Programming and Computer Networks. He is also interested in Sensor Networks and Cloud Computing. Ms. Chaitra Acharya completed her B.E. from Vivekananda College of Engineering and Technology, Puttur and is currently doing M.Tech in Computer Network Engineering in The National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru. Her research interests are in Wireless Sensor Networks, Computer Networks, NS2, NS3 and Internet-of- All rights Reserved 423