IoT Consumerism

Discuss About The Management Of Engineering And Technology?

Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology with the potential to be an essential part of the human environment and interaction in the near future. IoT can be defined in a technical way as the comprehensive network connecting the essential components around us to enable them to work together through sharing of the available human resources Management (Krishna & Verma, 2016). A simpler definition looks at IoT as a concept that allows objects or devices around the human environment to communicate with each other in a cooperative manner through a special laid out schemes to achieve a common predefined goal (Takano & Kajikawa, 2016). The rapid growth of IoT is attributed to the desire for smart homes that rely on an IoT framework. This framework is referred to as smart home if the environment utilizing it is at home. The report looks to explore the different smart home framework that might be developed from commonly used consumer products. Different sets/groups of smart home frameworks will be explored, the issues that might emerge from them, the advantages that might be experienced and the disadvantages of the setup. In addition, an explanation of why IoT is essential and its growth will be described. Figures may be used to demonstrate the different sets that will be explained.

As stated earlier, there has been a rapid interest to the application of IoT. The desired application of IoT in homes, academics, medicine, and the government has led to it to be an emerging technology (Takano & Kajikawa, 2016). However, the biggest share of application is in homes, the trend of IoT in personal and social life is largely attributed to the desire to automate processes around us in a smart way which brings with it three desirable parameters; comfort, management and security (Celtek, Durgun & Soy, 2017). The precision brought about by devices when controlling and managing our environment as well plays a big role in energy saving. For instance, having an automated system that will warm when cold and shut when hot, psychology up when dark and off when not and so on ensures that no unnecessary energy is lost. Studies have also shown that homes with automated systems pay lesser bills than those that control energy flow manually (Ray, 2015). As a result of these factors and many others, IoT consumerism is becoming a trending technology.

Framework of IoT

The framework consists of a number of components connected in a design that suits a specific home depending on the number of devices to be connected and the complexity of the connection. These components are held together to form a ring that delivers the basic concept of Interaction, Things, Process, and Data (ITPD) which provides the power to fuel the IoT process (Ray, 2015). Fig. 1 below shows an ITPD ring with all the components that provide enhancement over the functioning of the IoT. A 6C’s verdict consisting of Convergence in the system, Connectivity and Communication among the different components, Collection of Content and Computing are used to gauge the efficacy of the entire system (Ray, 2015). The core IoT system is surrounded by a number of interactivity between different high-level factors. These factors are IoT platforms such as e-government, a vertical application such as those used at home, technologies such as the entire smart system, infrastructure systems such as the mobile phones used, network topologies such as the wireless LAN to be used and foundation enablers such as cloud computing (Ray, 2015).

Any gadget in the house that has a connectivity possibility is suitable for an Internet of Things network. Many modern consumer appliances have the ability to connect to network models like the LAN. The simulation in this report will consist of a central server that will function as a monitor and a controller for all the other devices that will be connected. The other devices will include a smart refrigerator, biometric security sensors, windows and smart air conditioners, an indoor lighting circuit controller, a smart television, motion sensors, smartphone, and thermostats.

The server facilitates the coordination between the different components of the system and the database. The server plays a vital role in providing access and encrypting of information to ensure unauthorized access are barred. Request and configuration messages from the smartphone go through the server before they are forwarded the other components of the system.

The smart refrigerator stores food and keeps track of its freshness by monitoring the temperature of the environment in the refrigerator. A camera is embedded inside the refrigerator that sends occasional data to the user’s smartphone. Data such as the status of the temperature of the environment is sent to the smartphone. In addition, alerts can also be sent in case of authorized access to the refrigerator.

The smart television is connected to the server and the internet. Request such as playback, pause, switching off and program schedule can be sent via the smartphone to the smart television through the server.

Device Components for the IoT

Air conditioners are controlled through requests sent by the smartphone through the server. Adjustment of their conditioner can be regulated by setting an automated temperature regulated operation using the smartphone. In addition, motion sensors use infrared to detect the presence and absence of people in the house hence facilitating automatic switch on/off whenever necessary. The smartphone is also used to control the movement of chromatic filters on the outer layer of the windows to control the amount of sunlight coming into the house (Krishna & Verma, 2016).

The lighting system consists of a number of light bulbs. The bulbs have a smart component that allows them to vary the amount of light depending on the weather and daytime. The smartphone is used to send a request to control the switching of on and off of the lights as desirable by the user.

The thermostat controls the temperature. The thermostat controls the operation of the air conditioner. It ensures that the AC is operating at the optimal temperature by constantly comparing the temperature within and without the house. The thermostat is as well connected to the motion sensor to monitor the presence and the absence of people in the house. In the case, there are no people in the house the power consuming gadgets are switched to low power mode.

• Smart Phone

Used by the occupants to send requests to the server for services from the system. Users of the smartphone are verified through a number of methods including a pin, biometric and password. The smartphone provides the user with the ability to control who can access the system. The activity of the smartphone is consistently monitored by the central server.

• Biometric Security System

This component facilitates the addition and removal of users from the server. The alteration of security features of the servers as well is facilitated through this component. The main security component is interconnected with all the external security door which is fitted with a camera for monitoring of the external environment. The component is in a constant interaction with the server to record all the transaction that determine the status of the entire system. Fig 2. Below shows a deployment of an IoT

Although the IoT system is a great system is a desirable system to automate the connection between the different appliances within the household, there are many factors that may prove a challenge to the users of IoT. Some of these challenges come as a result of trying to balance between load distribution between the different aspects of the infrastructure laid out. For instance, features such as security, controlling, connectivity and privacy are challenges that arise as a result of executing a crucial process within the system. The following is a detailed analysis of the various challenges that may be experienced during the usage or implementation of the system

The Server

Security is a major challenge during the execution of a smart home IoT framework due to several reasons. One of these is because of the difference in the design of the different devices on the same system. Since the different components of an IoT framework come from different manufacturers, there may be no consistency in the way in which the systems are designed and work. Therefore, there may be loopholes in some of the devices connected to the entire network which may act as an open port for the breach of the system. Ensuring that the devices connected to your server meet the required market standard of excellence is the first step towards battling the security challenge. In addition, using a firewall to protect the server from the other components may be a necessity to prevent potential breaches.

An IoT is an automated system. Which means that the occupant may not have the possibility to manually control the movement of the processes. This may be necessary in the case where speed is required. A manual interference in the flow of the processes may disrupt the entire system leading to it malfunctioning. The issue is controlling can be solved by incorporating both manual and automation in the system. Allowing the utilization of both methods will; ensure that the most viable solution gets to be employed whenever necessary.

Automated systems may prove to be complex in the way they are operated. Although they may seem simple, they are at the same time sophisticated and may take time to learn how they work and how they are supposed to be maintained. A comprehensive guide can be published to help new occupants with the operation of the system as well as a regular technical inspection to be done to ensure the system works properly.

The privacy of the system in part on the security of the system and largely on the information disseminated on the system. A tight security ensures that the privacy of the users of the system is guaranteed of their privacy. However, some cautious steps must be taken to ensure that the paramount privacy of the system’s users is not breached. One of these steps is to minimize the amount of sensitive information passed on the system. For instance, the occupants might decide to have a separate smartphone that is specifically for the control of the system and different from the one used for communication. Another step is to only allow trusted people to control the system. This will limit the number of people accessing any sensitive information available on the system.

Another major important challenge is the dynamism of the various components of the system. For instance, software and hardware parts of the several components may be subjected to being outdated and waring off respectively. The software part of the components will need regular updates to ensure that the system operates on an up to date software while the hardware part will require to replacement which may mean coming in with a different software. Such challenges may lead to incompatibility issues. Providing a common platform, regular automated system updates might provide a solution to software update challenge.

Conclusion

Implementation of IoT is a complex process that comprises of several heterogeneous components that work together to deliver a common goal. This paper has explored the different aspects of the process, the components that form the framework that powers the IoT as well as the various major challenges that may face the framework during operation. This small simulation can be used as a simple model to facilitate the development of more complex system that includes the application of cloud and bigger databases and more components that are suitable to for big smart homes. Further research should be done to identify the various factors that would affect implementation of bigger and more complex system.

References

Celtek, S., Durgun, M., & Soy, H. (2017). Internet of Things based smart home system design through wireless sensor/actuator networks. 2017 2Nd International Conference On Accounting Information And Communication Technologies (AICT). https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/aiact.2017.8020054

Krishna, M., & Verma, A. (2016). A framework of smart homes connected devices using Internet of Things. 2016 2Nd International Conference On Contemporary Computing And Informatics (IC3I). https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ic3i.2016.7918794

Ray, P. (2015). Generic Internet of Things architecture for smart sports. 2015 International Conference On Control, Instrumentation, Communication And Computational Technologies (ICCICCT). https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/iccicct.2015.7475313

Reddy, N., & Rajeshwari, K. (2016). Interactive clothes based on Internet of Things using NFC and mobile application. 2016 Management And Innovation Technology International Conference (Miticon). https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/miticon.2016.8025237

Takano, Y., & Kajikawa, Y. (2016). OppOrtunities and Potential of the Internet of Things for solving social issues. 2016 Portland International Conference On Management Of Engineering And Technology (PICMET). https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/picmet.2016.7806659