Cloud and The Internet Of Things

The Internet of Things is what the foreseeable future has in store for technology on the whole. It is a complete set of constantly connected and controllable devices that need to be monitored. Simply put, everything from the brake fluid levels in cars to a digital thermometer used for monitoring health fall under the Internet of Things.

The next obvious question will be how do all these devices stay constantly connected and where is the enormous data thrown up by these devices computed? The answer is the Cloud, there are many cloud services that are now available to the general public.

The concept of the Internet of Things is not new and has been around since computers got connected to each other. With each passing year, computers got faster smaller, while the Internet’s reach continued to grow, permeating all corners of the globe. As the Internet (i.e. the Cloud), got getting faster and more powerful opportunities to connect became a reality. Now many daily devices offer some sort of connectivity option. Technology is even being implemented in many household items from TVs to coffee pots.

Where to next – Robots that think?

The real target, however is industrial monitoring; corrective action that takes place remotely, from another center of the corner of the globe. For example, consider an industrial robotic device – it works almost flawlessly, but is always associated with a margin for error. A cloud-powered robot can make constant calculations and predictions based on the current factors and variables, eventually making mathematically accurate predictions on when, where and how an error can happen. The robot will also know how to avoid the error and will take evasive action to prevent it. This is only a simple example.

Other applications for a cloud-powered robot might involve facilitating a way to work efficiently and streamline the processing and manufacturing work flow. Such is the power and ability of the Internet of Things and the main proponent to it is the Cloud.

Another development is the formation of industry-specific clouds that are special-purpose, making them far more capable and in a way making the machines and the clouds powering them more intelligent. Eventually, they lead to a situation that makes them not only more automated and self-sufficient, but also capable of self-repair while keeping them output-oriented.

If popular science fiction ever spoke about giving brains to machines, the closest parallel that could be drawn would be with the impact of the Cloud on our daily lives.