What exactly is the Internet of Things?

If you take a second to really think about it, it wasn’t that long ago that accessing the Internet involved waiting for a phone line to go free, typing in your username and password, listening to that horrible dial-up sound, and then being relieved to hear a robot voice say “you have mail”.

Things developed so quickly and a few decades later almost all of our daily activities – from work to socializing – involve the web, at least to some extent.

Enter the “Internet of Things”. The Internet of Things is by no means a new concept, but over the past few years IoT devices have become a regular part of most people’s daily lives. Sure, you’ve probably heard of the “Internet of Things” or IoT, and you probably use IoT devices on a regular basis, but you might be wondering what exactly IoT is?

We will break it.

What exactly is the Internet of Things?

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By definition, IoT is “the interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.” In other words, IoT connects your things to the Internet or to other things so that they can do new things beyond the things they can already do. For example, an IoT device can be controlled remotely, or you may be able to receive alerts and status updates on your IoT devices.

What are IoT devices?

Things like smart light switches, smart thermostats, smart locks, and smart appliances are IoT devices. Smart home products, from robotic vacuum cleaners to smart pressure cookers, are all IoT devices.

Think about it this way: if it can connect to the Internet or some other device or network of devices that connect to the Internet, and it’s not a computing device that serves as a means of accessing the Internet for you (humans), it probably fits the bill.

IoT devices can transmit data over the network without human input. Your smart thermostat can send status reports, your security camera can send motion alerts, and your robot vacuum can send an alert when it’s time to change the filter, for example.

How do voice assistants like Alexa fit into the equation?

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Devices like the Amazon Echo are IoT devices powered by a voice assistant connected to the internet. However, the voice assistant inside the Echo device, Alexa, would be better described as an IoT service. The Alexa voice service and its companion app let you control compatible IoT devices (such as smart lights, smart thermostats, robot vacuums, and more) in one place where you can control the power and functions of IoT devices, create routines, and more. Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is one of the more comprehensive IoT services, as it can control more smart home products than Google Assistant or Siri. Alexa is present in Echo devices, as well as in other gadgets like headphones and thermostats.

Amazon seems to be racing to make Alexa the primary IoT operating system where most smart home users control their lights, locks, vacuums, cameras and home appliances, all in one place.

What’s next for IoT?

Some estimates suggest that by 2025 there will be more than 21 billion IoT devices. Other estimates suggest that this number will be even higher. As more and more IoT products hit the market, people are starting to expect household items—vacuum cleaners, appliances, lights—to be able to connect to Wi-Fi, and to be able to do so seamlessly and affordably.

Google Duplex can already carry out real-world conversations. As assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant evolve into true AI, they will likely support more IoT devices and the features on those devices. That doesn’t mean all of our homes will be like Tony Stark’s, run by a Jarvis-like assistant. But hey, you never know. When we were first connecting to dial-up internet, most of us didn’t think we’d have speakers like Alexa and voice-controlled robot vacuum cleaners.

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