Internet of Things (IoT) Summit at RWW2018
14-15 January 2018 – Anaheim, California

Examples of IoT Applications

As mentioned above IoT has relevance to almost all verticals and to illustrate the range of applications we mention a few that are characteristic and convey how different the requirements can be for each.

The first of these are for critical functions that have the most exacting requirements. The premium is on latency and jitter enabling real time operations. Examples include:

  • Connected vehicles where the communications are applied to: safety, vehicle maintenance and monitoring, traffic and travel information systems, and lastly entertainment;
  • Unmanned aerial vehicle beyond line of sight control systems and data gathering systems. This includes predictable operations, safety, and avoidance of collisions;
  • Smart grid for electrical utilities and power delivery and control, automated load shedding, incident and fault recovery;
  • Healthcare – emergency medicine, telemedicine, and management of chronic disease.
  • Law enforcement and emergency response – where IoT can be an important ingredient in achieving situational awareness, performing damage assessment, and coordinating and organizing response plans.

The second are for functions that require high availability and reliability where IoT performs monitoring functions, fault and anomaly detection, root cause isolation, and automated corrective action. These include among others:

  • Infrastructure operation and maintenance in “Smart Cities” ranging from utilities such as water, gas, power, and communications, to services such as waste management, street repair, lighting, parking systems, and maintenance of bridges and tunnels, as well as recreational facilities, parks, and civic buildings and monuments;
  • Logistics where IoT is used to monitor goods in transit, management of maintenance regimes for multi-modal transportation, tracking data, and the automated stocking and distribution goods.
  • Retailing where IoT is used to automate stocking and labeling, automated checkout, location services, and may also provide the Virtual Reality or Augmented reality functions to enable a rich customers experience;
  • Construction where IoT can be used to track progress, capture as built aspects at the construction site, track, coordinate and schedule the delivery of material, and help monitor and maintain on site equipment;

The third are less exacting yet valuable applications that are much less stringent in their requirements but are likely to deliver value to a large fraction of the population. These include:

  • Personal health and lifestyle – tracking of activity, exercise, caloric intake, individual habits, events and notifications, and social interactions;
  • Smart home – management of everything from utilities, to the many systems that comprise a modern residence – heating, cooling, security, lighting, appliances, utilities, and environmental conditions.
  • Sports, where IoT can be used for training – recording performance, motion sequences, stance and style, and other measures of effectiveness.