In this article by Muhammad Usama bin Aftab, the author of the book Building Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Systems, this article is a practical guide to the world of Internet of Things (IoT), where readers will not only learn the theoretical concepts of the Internet of Things but also will get a number of practical examples. The purpose of this article is to bridge the gap between the knowledge base and its interpretation. Much literature is available for the understanding of this domain but it is difficult to find something that follows a hands-on approach to the technology. In this article, the readers will get an introduction of Internet of Things with a special focus on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). There is no problem justifying that the most important technology for the Internet of Things is Bluetooth Low Energy as it is widely available throughout the world and almost every cell phone user keeps this technology in his pocket. The article will then go beyond Bluetooth Low Energy and will discuss many other technologies available for the Internet of Things.
In this article we’ll explore the following topics:
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The Internet is a system of interconnected devices which uses a full stack of protocols over a number of layers. In early 1960, the first packet-switched network ARPANET was introduced by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) which used a variety of protocols. Later, with the invention of TCP/IP protocols the possibilities were infinite. Many standards were evolved over time to facilitate the communication between devices over a network. Application layer protocols, routing layer protocols, access layer protocols, and physical layer protocols were designed to successfully transfer the Internet packets from the source address to the destination address. Security risks were also taken care of during this process and now we live in the world where the Internet is an essential part of our lives.
The world had progressed quite afar from ARPANET and the scientific communities had realized that the need of connecting more and more devices was inevitable. Thus came the need of more Internet addresses. The Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) was developed to give support to an almost infinite number of devices. It uses 128 bits’ address, allowing 2^128 (3.4 e38) devices to successfully transmit packets over the internet. With this powerful addressing mechanism, it was now possible to think beyond the traditional communication over the Internet. The availability of more addresses opened the way to connect more and more devices. Although, there are other limitations in expanding the number of connected devices, addressing scheme opened up significant ways.
The idea of modern day Internet of Things is not significantly old. In 2013, the perception of the Internet of Things evolved. The reasons being the merger of wireless technologies, increase the range of wireless communication and significant advancement in embedded technology. It was now possible to connect devices, buildings, light bulbs and theoretically any device which has a power source and can be connected wirelessly. The combination of electronics, software, and network connectivity has already shown enough marvels in the computer industry in the last century and Internet of Things is no different.
Internet of Things is a network of connected devices that are aware of their surrounding. Those devices are constantly or eventually transferring data to its neighboring devices in order to fulfil certain responsibility. These devices can be automobiles, sensors, lights, solar panels, refrigerators, heart monitoring implants or any day-to-day device. These things have their dedicated software and electronics to support the wireless connectivity. It also implements the protocol stack and the application level programming to achieve the required functionality:
An illustration of connected devices in the Internet of Things
Internet of Things is fascinatingly spread in our surroundings and the best way to check it is to go to a shopping mall and turn on your Bluetooth. The devices you will see are merely a drop in the bucket of the Internet of Things. Cars, watches, printers, jackets, cameras, light bulbs, street lights, and other devices that were too simple before are now connected and continuously transferring data. It is to keep in mind that this progress in the Internet of Things is only 3 years old and it is not improbable to expect that the adoption rate of this technology will be something that we have never seen before.
Last decade tells us that the increase in the internet users was exponential where it reached the first billion in 2005, second in 2010 and third in 2014. Currently, there are 3.4 billion internet users present in the world. Although this trend looks unrealistic, the adoption rate of the Internet of Things is even more excessive. The reports say that by 2020, there will be 50 billion connected devices in the world and 90 percent of the vehicles will be connected to the Internet. This expansion will bring $19 trillion in profits by the same year. By the end of this year, wearables will become a $6 billion market with 171 million devices sold.
As the article suggests, we will discuss different kinds of IoT devices available in the market today. The article will not cover them all, but to an extent where the reader will get an idea about the possibilities in future. The reader will also be able to define and identify the potential candidates for future IoT devices.
The most important and widely recognized form of Internet of Things is wearables. In the traditional definition, wearables can be any item that can be worn. Wearables technology can range from fashion accessories to smart watches. The Apple Watch is a prime example of wearable technology. It contains fitness tracking and health-oriented sensors/apps which work with iOS and other Apple products. A competitor of Apple Watch is Samsung Gear S2 which provides compatibility with Android devices and fitness sensors. Likewise, there are many other manufacturers who are building smart watches including, Motorola, Pebble, Sony, Huawei, Asus, LG and Tag Heuer. These devices are more than just watches as they form a part of the Internet of Things—they can now transfer data, talk to your phone, read your heart rate and connect directly to Wi-Fi. For example, a watch can now keep track of your steps and transfer this information to the cellphone:
Fitbit Blaze and Apple Watch
The fitness tracker is another important example of the Internet of Things where the physical activities of an athlete are monitored and maintained. Fitness wearables are not confined to the bands, there are smart shirts that monitor the fitness goals and progress of the athlete. We will discuss two examples of fitness trackers in this article. Fitbit and Athos smart apparel. The Blaze is a new product from Fitbit which resembles a smart watch. Although it resembles a smart watch, it a fitness-first watch targeted at the fitness market. It provides step tracking, sleep monitoring, and 24/7 heart rate monitoring. Some of Fitbit’s competitors like Garmin’s vívoactive watch provide a built-in GPS capability as well. Athos apparel is another example of a fitness wearable which provides heart rate and EMG sensors. Unlike watch fitness tracker, their sensors are spread across the apparel.
The theoretical definition of wearables may include augmented and virtual reality headsets and Bluetooth earphones/headphones in the list.
The evolution of the Internet of Things is transforming the way we live our daily lives as people use wearables and other Internet of Things devices in their daily lives. Another growing technology in the field of the Internet of Things is the smart home. Home automation, sometimes referred to as smart homes, results from extending the home by including automated controls to the things like heating, ventilation, lighting, air-conditioning, and security. This concept is fully supported by the Internet of Things which demands the connection of devices in an environment. Although the concept of smart homes has already existed for several decades 1900s, it remained a niche technology that was either too expensive to deploy or with limited capabilities. In the last decade, many smart home devices have been introduced into the market by major technology companies, lowering costs and opening the doors to mass adoption.
A significant development in the world of home automation was the launch of Amazon Echo in late 2014. The Amazon Echo is a voice enabled device that performs tasks just by recognizing voice commands. The device responds to the name Alexa, a key word that can be used to wake up the device and perform an number of tasks. This keyword can be used followed by a command to perform specific tasks. Some basic commands that can be used to fulfil home automation tasks are:
With these voice commands, Alexa is fully operable:
Amazon Echo, Amazon Tap and Amazon Dot (From left to right)
Amazon Echo’s main connectivity is through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi connectivity enables it to connect to the Internet and to other devices present on the network or worldwide. Bluetooth Low Energy, on the other hand, is used to connect to other devices in the home which are Bluetooth Low Energy capable. For example, Philips Hue and Thermostat are controlled through Bluetooth Low Energy.
In Google IO 2016, Google announced a competing smart home device that will use Google as a backbone to perform various tasks, similar to Alexa. Google intends to use this device to further increase their presence in the smart home market, challenging Amazon and Alexa.
Amazon also launched Amazon Dot and Amazon Tap. Amazon Dot is a smaller version of Echo which does not have speakers. External speakers can be connected to the Dot in order to get full access to Alexa. Amazon Tap is a more affordable, cheaper and wireless version of Amazon Echo.
The Philips Hue wireless bulb is another example of a smart home device. It is a Bluetooth Low Energy connected light bulb that’s give full control to the user through his smartphone. These colored bulbs can display millions of colors and can be also controlled remotely through the away from home feature. The lights are also smart enough to sync with music:
Illustration of controlling Philips Hue bulbs with smartphones
Our discussion of home automation would not be complete incomplete without discussing kitchen and other house electronics, as several major vendors such as Samsung have begun offering smart appliances for a smarter home. The Family Hub refrigerator is a smart fridge that lets you access the Internet and runs applications. It is also categorized in the Internet of Things devices as it is fully connected to the Internet and provides various controls to the users:
Samsung Family Hub refrigerator with touch controls
In this article we spoke about the Internet of Things technology and how it is rooting in our real lives. The introduction of the Internet of Things discussed wearable devices, autonomous vehicles, smart light bulbs, and portable media streaming devices. Internet of Things technologies like Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) and Zigbee was discussed in order to have a better understanding of the available choices in the IoT.
Further resources on this subject:
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