“The internet of things”. This is the network of physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices over the internet.
What is the internet? We all have a lot of ideas about what the internet is or can be. Most people say it’s where people get answers, some say it’s a global village where you interact, share and get information, and someone said its waves going into the phone and out.
Well according to the oxford dictionary, the internet is a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols.
Many years ago in the early 1970’s Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn began working on the design we now call the internet, it was the result of another experiment called ARPANET (Advance research projects agency Network). This served as a backbone for interconnection of regional academic and military networks in the 1970’s.
Then Paul Baran a computer network pioneer was trying to figure out how to build a communication system to actually survive, then he developed this idea of breaking them into blocks and sending it as fast as possible in every possible direction which is known as a Distributed packet- switched Network.
Then later built a nationwide experimental packet network and it worked. The first ever Email was sent in 1971. It is estimated that over 4 billion out of the 7 billion people on earth are online. The internet is inevitable because the world currently revolves around the internet, in order words you can’t run away from the internet.
Who is in charge of the internet?
A very perpetually question….this kind of question generates a lot of interesting answers, well some say the government is in charge, some say those that are in charge of the WI-FI cause no Wi-Fi equals no internet, some say Bill Gates.
The answer is actually no one and everybody how? The internet is made up of a large number of independently operated networks, it is fully distributed there is no central control deciding how packages are main to be or where its main to go or even who interconnects with whom; these are all decisions made by the operators.
How does the internet work
Have u ever wondered how the internet works? For the internet to work you must have:
- A computer or any device that is connected to the internet.
- Once the connection is established
- Visit the website using a browser, then type whatever you want to find
- Then send if the internet is fast within seconds your answers will pop out.
Now let’s talk about how the internet really really works like what actually goes on and how messages are being sent and received.
There is something called a router. It is a networking device that helps in the transfer of data packets between computer networks in other words from the sender to the receiver. But how is this achieved? Well it is done with the help of an internet protocol or an IP address, every server has its unique address known as the IP address which allows a system to be recognized by other systems connected via internet protocol, when the packets are received by the router, the router reads the IP address information mentioned on the package and then sends it to the correct path to reach its destination by following certain rules.
Just like schools, homes and roads have rules and regulations so does the internet.
Its rules are called the TCP (Transmission control protocol) are a set of protocols developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another and by following these protocols the data gets delivered in the best way possible to its destination without any problem and issues.
When these packets finally arrive at the receiver’s router, they are put together according to the instructions and that’s how your message is received, and all these happen within a fraction of seconds.
Features of the internet
The internet has amazing features, features like:
- The Internet is a global village and it is accessible to all.
- It’s easy to use
- It makes communication easy
- Extensions of existing technology
- Comparatively low cost
So without the internet there wouldn’t be an internet of things such as connected appliances, wireless tracker, smart home security system and more, all transmitting valuable data that let us understand how these things work and work together but is it possible that all these devices share such large amounts of data and how does it work? Whether we are using the devices for health purposes or study purposes it’s the common internet of things platform that brings us all the information together and provides a common language for the devices and app to communicate with each other. The devices start the process which communicates with the internet of things platform. This platform integrates the data from many devices and applies analytics to share data.
For instance in AC manufacturing company all maunfracting machines and belt have sensors attached the counties send data about the machine health and production details to the manufacture to identify issues before hand, a barcode is attached to each product before leaving the belt which contains the product code, manufacturing details, special instructions and some other things. The manufacturer uses this data to identify where the product was distributed and tracks the retail inventory. Each retailer scans the barcode on the product to track the product coming from different manufactures and check inventory and many more.
This is just one of the many works of the internet of things. IOT is redefining our lifestyle and transforming the way we interact with technologies. The future of IOT is very huge, business insider intelligence estimates that over 24 billion IOT devices will be installed in the nearest future, thereby creating more job opportunities for those into IT jobs.