Smarter IoT

When we use the term smart cities, a series of frames begin to run in front of our very eyes. The reason behind this is pretty simple; over the last few years, the definition of a ‘SMART CITY’ has changed drastically. However, amidst these series of definitions, two things have remained consistent: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet itself.

Here in this article, the latter is our primary point of discussion. As a tremendously growing urban population and various organizations have started to switch over to IoT, I presume that here that an important question arises:

What exactly is IoT in the first place?

Internet of Things, popularly known as IoT, is essentially a networked connection between physical objects to create a dynamic, smarter approach to just about everything we do in our daily lives.

Let us take an example: today, we have abundant access to the internet through our smartphones, tablets, PCs, televisions, etc. and are personally connected with each other through prominent social networking sites like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

While IoT is hard at work making our smart cities smarter, we can save a lot of time and effort, in converting an increasing amount of raw data into final useful information.

For some time now , it has been readily apparent that the use of IoT will not only help the private sector, but also the public sector.

In lieu of this paradigm shift, we have a couple of applications we will be rolling out to assist the cities in becoming smarter.

Mobile applications contributing to building IoT-powered smart cities

In this article, it was mentioned earlier that the IoT entails connectivity between anything and everything. There are certain mobile applications that have been introduced with the same ideas in mind, including:

• Tado: An application that will help you control your home heating. The application calculates the distance you have to travel and the time you’ll take to reach home. With the collected data, this gadget will adjust your room heating accordingly. You can more accurately understand how this technology works via the following screen-shot.

• Smart Lighting: This application allows you to control the lighting in your home or office directly through your smartphone. With this, you can have command over everything, starting from the brightness up to the color. Now, let your surroundings match your mood without any special effort on your part.

• SIM Tools: SIM is basically known as Smart Identity Management Tools. This application will prevent you from carrying keys all the time with you by giving you a smarter lock system. This gadget will allow you to leave all your worries behind linked with theft or losing/misplacing your keys.

• Bluesmart Suitcases: This piece of tech belongs to the same family as SIM tools, but this time it’s for your suitcase. With this application loaded in your mobile phone, you can lock and unlock your suitcase with the touch of a button.

• Flower Power H2O: Imagine having a personalized guide to show you how much water your plants need—all at the right time and in a right manner, and automatically tracked and monitored via your smartphone. Sounds exciting, does it not?

These are just a few members of the IoT family. Mobile apps are indeed a better way to make our IoT-powered smart cities smarter. Here are three benefits of such mobile apps:

1- Ease of Use: This undoubtedly stands first in the list, as smartness is all about doing things in a better way with the least amount of time, resources and effort. And as we all know that these three benefits most important requirements to live a truly smart life.

2- Security: Second on our list is the security that these applications provide. You’ll soon have all the commands in your password-protected smartphone that sits right nearby in your pocket. Be it your home, your locker, or your suitcase—each is waiting for a touch on your smartphone.

3- No more Irregularity: With these IoT applications around, you’ll have better, more consistent knowledge about the things which are not only related to your individual needs, but also with everything around you. With most events happening in real-time and in the way they were meant to, you will barely have to lift a finger and to keep track of things. I don’t think anyone could wish for something better—or rather smarter—than a nice dose of peace and relaxation.

So friends, at this point I must sign out; I trust that the information presented here is of immediate value and use. I hope you will have a smarter life in the (near) future.

By Shahid Mansuri