The Anatomy of the IoT

The IoT functions are determined at each level:
Event – this is a happening in the physical world that has been chosen to be monitored by a sensor or thing (temperature)
Mining – the thing detects an event and records a physical quality ( a rise in temperature)
Logging – this is the storage of the recorded data collected by the thing when observing the event ( it records the rise in temperature)
Upload – this is the transfer of the stored data from the thing to a center location or repository
Analysis – the uploaded data is collated and aggregated before being analyzed to extract information and knowledge ( the event is collated with all the other temperature readings and analyzed looking for a trend or pattern)
Report – share and disseminate information and knowledge through reporting (publish temperature reports)
Action – trigger an action in response to the information and knowledge extracted from the data (trigger an actuator to activate a thermostat to stabilize the temperature)

So we can see from the steps above, the sensors observe and capture data which is then passed for temporary local storage before being uploaded to a centralized processing unit. The raw data is aggregated and analyzed, and information or knowledge extracted. This processed data can then be acted upon, either it triggers an action, or be used in reporting, through the dissemination of information or knowledge to interested parties.

However, there is something else we have to consider, not all thing are created equally, and some things are simple devices others have advanced features and can even create or destroy other things. Therefore, we categorize things by their functionality and inherent abilities.