The Internet of Things (IoT) has already begun making an impact in businesses and your daily lives. Whether it’s connecting devices in your house and controlling them with your phone or using your car’s Bluetooth capabilities, many of us are already connected to the IoT. However, we’re still early on in the stages of it and many developments can yet be made and are in the process of being released to the public. We’re becoming more and more connected and are able to link various devices to make using them more convenient. Even if you aren’t currently taking advantage of the Internet of Things, here are some ways it will affect you.
Easier collaboration
With the Internet of Things, it’ll be easier to collaborate with other people than ever before. Since all your devices are connected and can share information instantly with little hassle, using your phone to pull a file off of your computer and then send it to a coworker in a different city or country should take a matter of seconds. To a large extent, we have these capabilities now, but it’s not universal across platforms and it’s sometimes not very easy. Since it’ll be easier to share and collaborate with others, ideas and projects can be completed more efficiently and with better input.
More control of your home
Many people look forward to the possibility of living in a smart home, where they can control their lights, televisions, thermostats, and kitchen appliances with their smartphones. Once smart homes are more affordable and have more features, they’ll become the common default in real estate. Being able to control features of your home with a single device will save energy and time because you won’t have to worry about turning everything on and off or manually setting it.
Safer driving conditions
With the Internet of Things, driving conditions will become safer as cars are more connected to each other and updates on weather and traffic conditions. Many cars already have features like backup cameras and some even have the ability to stop if the driver is at risk of hitting something in front of them. With this technology, less accidents will occur and traffic should move more smoothly.
More efficient production
Many factories and production lines already use some degree of automated machinery that requires little input from humans, besides setting the controls. Soon, this trend will be widespread and will prevent accidents from human error and wasted time. While it may impact the amount of production jobs available, with proper education, people can be trained to take programming roles with machinery and there will also be more jobs with computers and machines.
Precise healthcare
Finally, the Internet of Things gives you access to more precise healthcare. With the rise of popularity of wearable tech, people can track their vitals, exercise, and soon even how medication affects their bodies. This information can be easily transmitted to doctors and give them a more complete picture of a patient’s health, which leads to better healthcare decisions and more effective treatments.