What is IoT? How it works?

Internet of Things, in short IoT, is an upcoming technology that transforms everyday objects into an ecosystem that would enrich our lives and make it simpler. IoT is the latest technology that can transform any electronic device into a smarter one. IoT uses the power of data and provides valuable insights to the users which can be used to improve operational efficiency and productivity.

From washing machines, ventilators, TV systems to vehicle garages, everything can be transformed into a smarter device with the help of IoT. IoT technology is bringing a large number of day-to-day objects into the digital fold to make us live our lives smarter and more efficiently.

Which are the components that makes IoT efficient?

IoT system has the following components which make it work more efficient:

Microcontroller: This acts as the brain of the system and processes the data received from the sensor. You can program the microcontroller to carry out specific functionalities. The most commonly used microcontrollers are Arduino Uno & Raspberry Pi

Sensors: These are electrical devices that can monitor specific values real-time. For example, DHT (Digital Humidity and Temperature) sensor tracks the temperature and humidity differences in the environment in real-time and sends the data to the microcontroller. Other sensors include LDR (Light Dependent Resistor), Soil Moisture Sensor, PIR (Passive Infra-Red) sensor, Water Flow sensor, etc,

WiFi Module: This facilitates the connection between the device and the cloud platform. The data will be sent to the cloud platform with the help of this module. The most commonly used WiFi module is ESP-8266. Since Raspberry Pi has an inbuilt WiFi module, you don't require an additional one to establish the connection.

Cloud Platform: The feature that differentiates IoT from other technologies is the way the data is handled. IoT facilitates the transfer of data onto the cloud for storage and analysis with ease. For this, you need to link the project with any cloud platform. ThinkSpeak IoT platform is the most commonly used cloud platform.

Actuators: These are the devices that perform a specific action upon receiving the commands from the microcontroller. Actuators like water pumps, relay driver modules, and DC motors carry out variations actuations like irrigating a field, switching ON/OFF of devices, etc upon programming.

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