Sensors, Connectivity and Processes
The IoT model is driven by a combination of sensors, connectivity, people and processes. In some definitions, people are also ‘things’ as they are often the intelligent decision making component at the heart of the system.

Sensors

IoT relies on sensors to provide data about their environment they are the central nervous system of the IoT network. These sensors can be the eyes and ears, cameras and microphones, or provide details of the environment through humidity, temperature, chemical, liquid level and pressure sensors. They can provide information on objects such as acceleration, proximity, motion and velocity. In short there are sensors to just about anything you want and that you want and what is more they are miniaturized to such an extent that a fully functional microprocessor with a radio antennae can be constructed to be only 1mm x 1mm x 1mm. Similarly, a fully functional camera with radio antennae is of the same dimensions. It is the advance in sensor miniaturization, which has enabled IoT to be feasible in applications such as medicine and science.

Connectivity

Another technical enabler to IoT is advances in connectivity through both wired and wireless technology. Wi-Fi is now ubiquitous in the home and workplace. However, it is the longer distance GSM/3G/LTE radio networks, which enable long distance, and wide coverage connectivity that is necessary for data backhaul and remote access.
However, sensors need lightweight IP protocols to communicate over short distances andthe choice of connectivity typically is:
- RFID
- Zigbee
- NFC
- Bluetooth

Different devices from vendors use different technologies so hubs are necessary to interconnect diverse protocols however these can be simply home routers or even smartphones.

People and Processes

Sensors and connectivity provide the technology foundation to create bi-directional systems that integrate data, people and processes to enable better decision making.
People driven applications are typically CRM, Financial, Logistics, Maintenance, Asset Management, Retail, Building Management, Fleet Management and Analytics. Process driven applications, are in control & automation, supply chain management, security, environmental control, energy efficiency and traffic management.
The combination of sensors, connectivity and people & processes has lead to some distinct vertical markets such as:

Home Consumer – infotainment, lights, heating/AC, pet feeding, refrigerators, cookers …
Transport – trains, planes, cars, buses, telemetric, shipping, parking, traffic control …
Health – elderly monitoring, remote diagnostic, bio-wearable’s, equipmentmonitoring …
Buildings – HVAC, Lighting, Occupancy, structural integrity, emergency alerts,elevator …
Cities – emergency services, surveillance, maintenance, waste management,signage …