The Internet of Things (IoT) now has an Impact across Industries

The sheer volume of data and network traffic generated is today helped a lot by IoT, making it more and more popular regarding customers in the present day.

Not only from the customers’ point of view, but IoT is also proving to be a revolution for business operations. These operations do not have the same kind of appeal for the customers but are real in every way, be it the logistics or even the marketing aspect of things.

In the words of Marketo, a marketing automation vendor, IoT is “the interconnectivity of our digital services that provides endless opportunities for brands to listen and respond to the needs of their customers- with the right message, at the right time, on the right device.”

The Internet of Things (IoT) also has a significant effect on the overall customer experience and the data collected with the help of all connected devices through analytics. When it comes to the context of marketing and analytics, predictive analysis and Big Data go pretty much together.

Marketo also expects that the entire marketing scenario will get changed by the immense impact of IoT by the year 2020.

Marketers will take the help of IoT in some of the following ways in the marketing context-

• Analyze the buying behavior of customers from all the platforms they use regularly.
• Collect more data in volume, previously not collectible, to make a note of the methods about how customers make communication with products and devices.
• Get a detailed insight of the whole purchasing process and determining the stage where a customer currently is, while making a purchase.
• Live interactions, notifications customer targeted ads too.

Impacts of IoT on Marketing

Easy Exchange of Sales Data

Sales data is easily one of the most crucial factors for any business. With easy access to information as to how, why and when regarding the use of products, it will be much easier for a business enterprise to make changes in marketing strategies towards specific customers.

With a plethora of smart devices available today, the collection and supply of data takes place in real-time, without the need of expert IT professionals look after this procedure. It helps the business make informed decisions for marketing, boosting their future sales.

More importantly, customers can give instant feedback about their experience. Therefore, if a product is unable to meet the customer expectations, a business will not have to wait for a long time to let the responses flow. This will help in reducing the costs to a large degree sooner, rather than later.

Devices are Self Sustainable

This is one of the most amazing attributes of IoT. Devices with IoT can run their maintenance and diagnostic procedures. Cars, for instance, have been self- diagnosing for quite some time. Unfortunately, the results were not satisfactory enough and were dependent on the wrong signals.

Through IoT, every component in a device becomes smarter, getting the ability to identify any issue and even come up with solutions for the same. This process is rapid in comparison to an external diagnostic mechanism.

When it comes to the usual devices, the initial sign that something is not right becomes known when the machine stops working suddenly. If this happens, you cannot do anything but get it repaired or get a new one, and that is bound to take some time.

IoT enabled devices can eliminate this waiting time through constant monitoring of their functions, and get in touch with technical support if the need comes up for it.

Instant Customer Analysis with Smarter CRM

When used in collaboration with a reliable CRM or customer relationship management tool, IoT becomes capable enough to do a lot more than collect and organize customer data. It can accurately and correctly analyze that data as well, paving the way for the further actions needed in the context of said customer data.

For marketers, this data is priceless as the chain of buyers is generally long and making sound decisions take more time. The entire process is streamlined through IoT devices by helping people figure out if the prospect is in the purchase journey.

If that comes to be the case, businesses can make every second of a work day count for solving the issues and providing clients with accurate information, ultimately helping them to close a deal successfully.

Supports Social Media

When social platforms like Facebook and Twitter arrived at the scene a few years earlier, marketers were not entirely convinced if these sites were good enough to be targeted.

Fast forward to the present and a majority of marketers speak out that the traffic considerably increased after investing a constant time in social media marketing. IoT has already been optimized for usage along with social media, helping automated posts consistently generated with the help of smart devices themselves.

IoT also helps to prepare for the development of new online communities, reaching out to new potential customers, who were not connected earlier. Similarly, when merged with social media, IoT devices will assist the marketers to identify and derive benefits from the latest market trends.

A Hundred Percent Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

The ultimate objective of IoT in Marketing is enabling a smarter, more relevant brand of advertising. With the growing number of devices once unconnected, they are being provided with sensors and consistent network accessibility, changing the advertising scenario for both marketers and customers as well.

Marketers no more depend on popup ads and banners on a website. What is also true is that IoT devices will never be able to process such dated marketing tactics even.

Conclusion:

To put in a single phrase, IoT lets the marketers always keep a step ahead of their customers regularly. It is correct that IoT makes the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies more comfortable than ever before.

Improvements in productivity, increased capacity, enhanced worker safety, and lesser costs

If the latest numbers from the National Safety Council are considered, more than 4,500,000 injuries occur at workplaces every year. This also results in a lot of added costs. While organizations in the present scenario make it a point to implement a lot of safety rules in a workplace, accidents still do happen with the lesser numbers. The most significant amount of help is increasingly coming through the Internet of Things (IoT), which can bring a lot of substantial improvements in the area of workplace safety.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a subset of IoT, which primarily refers to the interconnectivity of industrial equipment, facilities, processes, and personnel. The potential for improvement in costs, productivity, capacity and workplace safety has never been so believably high.

The collaboration of IoT with Advanced Tools

Data collection today is being facilitated by wrist watches, implants, chest bands, and electrodes among the likes. However, there is a change underway. For instance, Florida- based firm Karlsson Robotics has been successfully able to develop textile fabrics which were built by fibers with the ability to perform electrical charges.

These fabrics, most of which use silver-based fibers get combined with sensors to gather the personnel’s physical conditions and also to predict the safety issues at a workplace. This firm also has optical fiber fabrics on offer which can generate images on materials, like on the backs and sleeves of shirts for work. In addition to this, text messaging, emails, work instructions and other kinds of images seem like they will be at the scene sooner, rather than later.

With the assistance of such collection methods, exoskeleton vests have also been a significant development to reduce worker fatigue and injury. Many e-textiles with the presence of nanosensors, inks, and fibers, and conductive polymers consistently monitor a worker’s body conditions like temperature, heart rate, fatigue, and blood oxygen level.
The presence of these constituents can analyze many unsafe situations for the workforce in a particular workplace.

Best Instances from the Construction Field

The construction industry is accountable for most of the injuries at a workplace, and this is why it is not surprising at all to see the progress for safety in this field as well. In the presently available ‘accessories,’ there are hard hats containing sensors to monitor the physical condition of workers like heart rates, temperature, fatigue, stresses, and oxygen levels.
The “smart hats” also collect data on working conditions like dust, equipment temperatures, toxic environment, and sudden accelerations as well.

The sensors inside the hat get connected with a communication network responsible for transmitting this data to analytical software, which can predict hazardous conditions before the time they get critical for everyone. What results is an improved safety of workers at a construction site.

Encompassed with IIoT, many crucial technologies are arriving together for the collection and analysis of this mass of equipment and user data used for predicting unsafe working conditions, or even production information like out of spec procedures.
Different combinations of five interconnected technologies work cohesively for processing and identifying trends which are not a subject for simple human review.

These technologies include-
Interconnected devices
Cloud storage
Artificial Intelligence
Deep dive analytics
Big data processing

The amount and the kind of data collected from these interconnected technologies are potentially so huge that presently, a complete analysis for identifying the patterns and trends in forecasting is challenging, also being a restricting factor in use.
However, as data analytics continue on the way to improvement, a better understanding of what data means will have to be documented, as more and more of the increasing benefits will get realized.

Improvements in Safety with the Help of Predictive Maintenance

Monitoring the working conditions and workers are not the only sectors where IIoT is leading the improvement in workplace safety. Future-oriented companies are implementing IIoT to improve the performance of equipment and uptime by the help of predictive maintenance.
It is easily imaginable as to how a potential malfunction in any machine leads to the generation of an unsafe working environment. If any part fails suddenly and a machine stops working, the operator will face a potentially hazardous situation. For example, some parts may fly into the air from the machine.

In other kinds of cases, if the equipment has deviated from a specified operating process, it can lead to the occurrence of unsafe working conditions. Because the collected data gets analyzed, potential situations of failure can be timely predicted so that maintenance personnel can be alerted to conduct the required maintenance.
If there are machines that operate in a top working condition though, you can be sure that they will not be the reason for any safety hurdle in your facility.

Soon, predictive maintenance will also involve the replacement of critical parts as per the analysis of machine operating conditions. The approach brings into recognition the fact that the failure of any part becomes subjective to a change in circumstances.
Through artificial intelligence (AI) and interconnected machines, identifying these failure situations can be easy, failed parts predicted, and even their maintenance scheduled. Predictive maintenance operates by analyzing the actual data from equipment operation that takes out the need for unnecessary support, improving the uptime and eliminating the chances of injury to workers as they operate on dangerous and sophisticated machines.

It is not incorrect to state that predictive maintenance and safety go together. The attribute of IIoT to correctly identify and predict the unsafe work conditions well in advance proves to be very important for a reduction in the number of workplace injuries. A program solidly based on predictive maintenance and identification of failure patterns helps to cut down on both unplanned repairs and equipment downtime as well.

Improvements in productivity, increased capacity, enhanced worker safety, and lesser costs only act as a few advantages which are in store for the future of IIoT.

To enable any such IoT driven automation program, one needs a robust application to centrally control the whole system. GoodWorkLbas is a pioneer in developing such IOT applications, for any such requirements feel free to write us at contact@goodworklabs.com

Internet of Things (IoT) Trends – The changing landscape

As you know very well, for a long time now, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been a prevalent medium for transferring data to and from cloud-connected sensors and the software which helps enterprises in performing analytics on the mentioned data. Expect that prices of IoT sensors will see a decline in 2019, empowering more companies to use them and get insights in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and many others.

There is also a constantly nagging issue which is related not to the technology, but rather concerns the name of it. Many people feel that the term is fundamental and generic, leading to confusion as to what IoT means. It also can be perceived that terms like ‘connected product’ or ‘connected operations’ will be used frequently. Specific and descriptive terms like ‘cold chain monitoring’ and ‘predictive maintenance’ too will be used extensively.

While deciding on a new name is something which will become more evident with time, IoT technology is witnessing development at a great pace, and most of the people agree that it will keep growing all through the year of 2019 as well.

Here are 7 IoT trends which you need to look out for in 2019:

1) Mobile device management will shield IoT from Ransomware 

Proper security is a critical shortcoming of IoT. The issue gathered more traction when 2018 saw a potent ransomware attack which mostly affected ticket payments and also water services in the city of Atlanta.

Experts in the field believe that more such ransomware attacks have the potential to hit smart city projects. Governments will require more investment in their security for taking care of such threats. Such kinds of ransomware attacks are significant threats to amenities like bright lights, public transport, and traffic controls as well.

Solutions of mobile device management like Samsung Knox, VMware AirWatch and SOTI MobiControl can prove decisive in avoiding attacks at the end of IoT devices.

2) IoT will be enabling smart cities 

There are many cities which are focusing on developing IoT services as a part of smart city projects. The town of Cary in South Carolina utilizes IoT data for connecting the traffic lights with their CRM platform for initiating alerts if the lights get faulty. San Diego in California uses electronic street meters and intelligent lighting as well.

With such a considerable increase in the number of smart city initiatives, the further introduction of the 5G network is expected to give a significant boost for bright city facilities like parking meters and derive less battery power from such IoT devices.

3) Food will be safer with IoT 

IoT will also be helpful to provide insights for the improvement of food safety. Smart industrial meters and a considerable number of sensors enabled with the Internet of Things connectivity assist food companies to monitor the temperature and humidity in cold storage facilities.

Such implementations are only expected to increase in 2019. Some companies help in efficiently using energy management in the different setting of food storage. They can handle heat maps, alerts and reports to monitor and analyze data on the environment and temperature in food storage units to make sure of excellent standards of food safety.

4) More IoT data will sell and be in demand

The year of 2019 will witness companies selling more IoT data through the practice known as infonomics. Soon, this procedure of selling data will become an essential part of many IoT enabled systems.

Companies that manufacture appliances will not only sell data as a means of extra revenue but will also help to prove that their products are great. This will be made possible with the help of IoT network management data and predictive maintenance as well.

As an example, data from smart water sensors that will be able to detect problems like leaks. This data, in turn, is sold to producers and service companies for their sales and digital marketing campaigns.

5) More IoT in CRM functions

Data from IoT devices will be used more prominently to automate customer service and sales efforts by customer relationship management software. Routine scenes will witness an IoT device providing information to companies when it feels like customers are facing some problem. It can work not only for appliance products but also generic utilities like cable services.

The IoT data can then be entered into the CRM software to be used in sales discussions after some time.

6) Improvement in Workforce Management 

Beacons are devices which have been around since a pretty long time for helping companies convey targeted messages on the smartphones of customers. With falling costs of these devices; however, they can prove to be useful in workforce management as well. The beacons can also be of help for employee monitoring, and the data can also be connected to various performance management software too. 2019 will witness the use of beacons on a larger scale as they have become more economical with prices expected to fall further shortly.  

7) IoT Tech will help to operate smart stores 

Market stores are getting smarter with every passing day. This has been made possible with radio frequency identification tags which provide a lot of useful insights on the product inventory at a particular store. The use of smart lighting can help stores figure out the time where specific customers keep looking around at the products on display.

This data can be analyzed from store video footages and also foot traffic monitoring software with Wi-Fi connectivity, further paving the way for retailers to make changes in their amount of merchandise or store layouts as well.

Conclusion

Just in a few years, IoT has made an enormous impact on the everyday lives of people. The further coming of 5G is sure to alter IoT space in the times to come. From the management of entire cities to the transformation of industries, IoT is trusted and expected to deliver industry altering outcomes in the future.

For any assistance with IoT, we have a great team of IoT experts with us. We will help you assess your requirements and build a suiting IoT solution for it. For more information, contact us here.

Benefits of outsourcing R&D for the Internet of Things

Let’s take a moment to recognize the importance of the R&D department in an organization and how they contribute greatly to the growth of the company by bringing innovations to the table.

Though R&D contributes greatly to organizational growth, it is agreeable that the apparatus that this department requires might be an unaffordable luxury for many businesses.

Also, with this issue identified, shift your focus to the fact that 21% of organizations are already ahead in the run of incorporating the IoT projects in their business while 28% are planning to succeed them in next year, as per a study by Red Hat.

In this race of incorporating IoT in the existing businesses, it will be difficult for companies to acquire appropriate in-house talents who can help them shape their dreams.

There is a single solution for both the aforementioned issues ‘Outsource the R&D for your IoT projects.’

To entail the flexibility of scaling up and down quickly, companies can choose which elements to outsource for an IoT project. In this blog post, we have highlighted the major benefits of outsourcing R&D for IoT projects.

1) Expertise and New Avenues for Innovation

It is a misconception that companies outsource R&D projects because it is economical. Companies rather prefer to outsource R&D projects to leverage the expertise of R&D vendors. It is a ready advantage by simply outsourcing and having the best engineers and marketing specialists to collaborate and work on your IoT projects. With their know-how of collecting and combining data, you will be able to bring order out of chaos at a very early stage. They will specifically work around the identified needs of your customers and gather data which is relevant for your IoT project.

It is a great opportunity to have conditioned data scientists to work on your projects at a relatively lower cost than an in-house team. When you outsource IoT project, you can get access to experts, better equipment, and innovative ideas which are otherwise out of your reach. The major achievement is pitched in creative ideas from rather a wide and diverse pool of talent.

2) Faster Lane to Market for IoT Projects

If you have worked on IoT projects before you would be well aware that it takes a lot of time to test your ideas through Proof of Concept (POC) or a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) before finally proceeding towards IoT development. There is one possible way to minimize the efforts and create a faster lane to the market: outsourcing R&D for IoT projects.

We live in a dynamic world where the window of opportunities open for a very short span of time. R&D vendors understand the time constraints involved and allow you a chance to build POC for testing the relevance of your IoT solution to the customers’ needs. This option enables you to analyze, test, and even reject the concept without much investment at your end.

The other option is building an MVP. R&D vendors can assist with that as well. They will build an MVP with the minimum features to cater to the basic requirements and showcase functionality. Also, these MVPs, if approved, can form a solid base for your future IoT project development.

3) Economical Option

Having an in-house R&D lab is a very experience affair, you will know if you own one. There are several overhead expenses involved apart from administrative costs and equipment costs. These overhead expenses majorly involve training costs of R&D engineers to suit their services to your organizational needs. These expenses can be mitigated by hiring R&D professionals and outsourcing the IoT projects to them.

Not only is this option less expensive but also allows you to spend less time and efforts in this area. The market for R&D services is quite developed and is open to all. They have entire departments dedicated to all the emerging technologies that you wish to try your hands on like IoT solutions, robotics, deep learning, and chatbots.

4) Managing Risks

As per the R&D magazine, 84% of outsourcing in the US is done to other US-based manufacturing companies, and in Asian and Europe also the trend of outsourcing is increasing.  Sustaining an in-house team is risky and there might be a lack of experience in the desired field.

GoodWorkLabs can help you conduct R&D services from its offices located in San Francisco and New York. We can help you mitigate these risks and get maximum output for limited and fixed investment. With an experienced team of R&D engineers, we know exactly how the testing of an IoT device should be carried out. The added benefit of assigning the R&D of your IoT project to us is that we can quickly scale up and adapt to the recent updates while pacing up with real-time data.

To Conclude…

Just like the other prevailing technologies, IoT solutions are required to be floated through a tough tunnel of research and development before launching them in the market. A simple loophole can cost you a fortune, hence it’s better to let professionals do the R&D for you.

Being professional IT partners for several organizations, we at GoodWorkLabs can bring value to your IoT project by keeping an eye for innovations and experimenting with alternative solutions. We help you optimize costs while cutting on the overheads of an entire department. Also, with a fast lane to market, you can minimize risks and limit your efforts. Step into the world of optimization with us. For more details, drop your contact details and we’ll have our experts get in touch with you  

IoT Trends in 2019

Did you know that in 2008 there were more things connected to the internet than people?

Don’t drop the jaw yet, the more interesting fact is by 2020 this number will touch the score of 50 billion. Also, the profits which are expected from this investment amounts to a whopping $19 trillion.

The internet of things (IoT) has re-defined the technological landscape in the last decade beyond our imagination. It has majorly aided us in improving the productivity of our routine tasks. This fact explains the reason as to why there is a steady rise in the number of connected gadgets in workplaces and homes across the globe. Knowing all that, the significance of IoT doesn’t demand any further explanation. So, let’s skip directly to the anticipated IoT trends that will rule in 2019.

1. Edge Computing

Edge computing means a method of distributed computing that is performed on distributed smart or edge devices instead of computation done in a centralized cloud environment. Edge computing reduces the cloud dependencies and data transfer volumes that provide extra agility and flexibility for business. It has a major effect on the industries where the decisions are based significantly on complex real-time data analysis and where there is restricted cloud connectivity.

The industries that depend on complex real-time data analysis are security, manufacturing, and public industry and the industries where cloud connectivity is mostly restricted are the logistics and shipping industry.

2. Greater stress on the security at endpoint

It’s no brainer that IoT gadgets are susceptible to hacks and security breaches. The greater the number of IoT devices you have, the more you are at risk. This is a major drawback with this technology, but this is taken care of in 2019. By the end of this year, endpoint security will increase significantly.

Hardware manufacture companies like Cisco and Dell have taken initiatives for creating specific infrastructure for the smart devices that are expected to be more durable and secure. Also, soon the security vendors will cover the edge domain and provide endpoint security functionalities along with the present list of offerings like providing insights into network health, avoiding data loss, application control, whitelisting, and privileged user control.

Increase in the endpoint security will prove to be a key to transformation in the IoT sector. The lag in the security of the endpoint devices has actually subdued widespread adoption of this technology.

3. Expansion into health care and manufacturing industry

Smart beacons, RFID tags, and sensors are proof that the manufacturing industry has leaped into the future with technological advancement. This is like another industrial revolution that is about to change the landscape of the manufacturing industry. It is anticipated by market analysts that the IoT devices will double between 2017 and 2020 in the manufacturing industry.

These devices are going to turn the tables for all the industry-specific processes like production, supply chain management, logistics, packaging, collection, distribution, and development. Manufacturers can seize this opportunity to enhance production numbers, manage inventory more effectively, avoid unwanted delays, and most of all minimize the equipment downtime. This industry will witness the next level of development and upside streak in the year 2019.

Apart from the manufacturing industry, the  IoT technology has significantly covered the healthcare industry as well. As per research conducted by Aruba Networks, 60% of healthcare organizations across the world have introduced IoT devices. The road to smart pills, Electronic Health Record (EHR), and personal healthcare management now seems an easy one.

4. The growth of consumer IoT industry

The siloed and narrow experiences offered by the smart homes clustered with the inability to function with other forms of services is a drawback that makes it difficult for the vendors to fetch a continued subscription from the users. To curb these issues, multiple industry players have come together to cater to several necessities of the users and form a one big lucrative subscription offering. These players include utilities, food, grocery companies, and insurance majorly. No doubt, the smart homes are about to become smarter in 2019.

5. Deeper Market Penetration of Connected Smart Cars

Say hello to the connected app that will show real-time diagnostic information about the car. All thanks to the IoT technology that has blown life in this concept of smart cars. This real-time diagnostic information of the smart cars includes not only the basic intel but also complex information such as oil level, fuel consumption, tire pressure and so on. The catch is, all this intel is available at your palm.

Feeling like Tony Stark from Avengers yet?

Well, it isn’t over! Beside diagnostic information, you will witness other IoT advancements as well in 2019. These advancements include connected apps, current traffic information, and voice search which are currently available in rudimentary forms.

6. A big welcome to the era of 5G

5G networks, the most awaited tech trend in the industry, is making its grand entry in 2019. 5G network will be the backbone of IoT technology by supporting the growing interconnectivity of the IoT devices. A high-speed 5G network will allow collecting, managing, and analyzing the data in real-time. Imagine a world where you won’t have to wait even for a minute!

The 5G network will soon become a reality of our lives and will significantly broaden the IoT market as well in the industries where real-time analyzing is very crucial.

Conclusion

In the coming years, IoT will become a part and parcel of our lives. The profounding impact that it has on our life currently, is revolutionary in all the aspects. The year 2019, will surely bring some major strokes on the IoT landscape, with the 5G network already in the pipeline. From smart homes to smart cars to the way business is done, everything around us is going through a major transformation and for good.

How to code for the Internet of Things (IoT)

The internet of things, or IoT, is the network of devices, vehicles and home appliances that are embedded, enabling them to send and receive data.

Ten years ago, did anyone know that a simple mobile phone would turn into a smartphone and it would help in navigating us in the direction that we want to go to?

Or will it control all our electronic devices – from television sets to air conditioners based on our preference?

Did we know that we’d be testing robots so that they are able to control traffic?

All these things have become a reality today because we made it possible through the internet of things (IoT). Every day, there are a number of devices waiting for our command and are connected to the internet everywhere. Handling devices through the internet is made possible through various languages that are being used.

IoT technology is used as a means to measure, collect, and analyze data to provide better customer experience and improve product quality. It helps us in making our business, work, cities, and homes easier and better.

Increasingly, organizations are using IoT to operate more efficiently, to better understand customers, to deliver enhanced customer service, to improve decision-making processes and to increase the value of the business.

These three stages—measurement, collection, and analysis—have different working environments with different sets of constraints.

For example, the data is measured via a sensor in the device which has limited capabilities. This data, later on, is aggregated and transmitted to the smartphone or a console using a gateway such as an app which has completely different computing power than the device. This data is then stored and analyzed using the cloud.

Therefore, each stage in the gamut of software development can have a different programming language for IoT.

Benefits of IoT

The internet of things offers a lot of benefits to the organizations, thus enabling them to:

• Improve customer experience
• Monitor business procedure
• Save time and money
• Take better decisions for business
• Generate more revenues
• Improvise employee productivity

So the important question is which language is the most suitable to learn for coding for IoT?

According to the latest IoT developer survey (which was conducted between January and March 2018), in which 502 individuals participated, it was concluded that JAVA is the topmost choice for developers preceding C, Javascript, Python, C++, and PHP.

Here is a list of the most preferred languages you should know for program development:

• JAVA:

Java is widely taught and used in the programming world. It has been the topmost choice in many surveys during 2018 by the experts and it is still known for “write once, and run everywhere.”

While using Java, developers can produce and debug code on their desktop and then move it to any chip with a Java Virtual Machine. As a result, it can be run not only in places where JVM’S are common but also in the smallest machines, thus making it ideal for IoT software.

Java has incorporated coding techniques from various languages such as Mesa, Eiffel, C, and C++. JAVA is an object-oriented programming language and has built-in capabilities useful for IoT application. It is highly portable and does not have to face hardware limitations.

JAVA ME or micro edition has been available on handsets and other embedded devices from the year 2000 when its specification was approved. It saved space with a very limited collection of class libraries and other tools. Today, most of the focus is on Java SE Embedded, which is much closer in capability to the Standard Edition. Developers can use the latest features of the Java 8 platform and then move their code to a smaller, embedded device.

2) C

C is one of the most important programming languages in the IoT system. It is considered a low-level programming language that is close to the hardware, but it fits the IoT needs perfectly. It is cluttered with punctuation and there are a lot of little mistakes you can make in it but still, it is the most widely accepted language after JAVA.

The language works with every tiny detail of the program so that you can make necessary changes in the coding to make the best out of an underpowered device. C has been the foundation for other coding languages for many years thus making it a basic necessity for anyone in IoT projects.

C is still preferred by devices which are bigger in size and more advanced with full operating systems. For example, big smartphone companies like Apple still uses C as a programming language. It is a procedural rather than an object-oriented language as it does not have built-in capabilities.

3) PYTHON:

It started as a scripting language but it is increasingly being used as the main language for many developers. Python is mainly used for writing web applications but nowadays it is being used for IoT systems as well. Today, Python is a high-level scripting language.

Python has a large number of useful libraries so it can get work done with a very limited line of codes. Python offers readability with syntax without compromising on size. It is ideal for Data Analysis, a part of the IoT system.

Python’s clean syntax is suitable for data arrangement and the source code is compact and readable. For many years, it has been the most preferred choice for managing and organizing complex data streams without having to maintain equally complex codebases. Python is suitable for an application which needs its data to be arranged in a database format or in tabular form.

4) JAVASCRIPT:

While many of us think of Javascript as a programming language used for popping up alert boxes on the webpage but it is used in all the web browsers and HTML. Its gaining popularity and is the 4th most preferred language for developers in the 2018 IoT Developer Survey.

Much of the work in Javascript is focused on the servers and gateways or hubs that gather the information and then store it. The sensors and smaller smart hubs that run Linux can usually run Node.js. It makes things easier as it makes devices interoperable.

5) SWIFT:

Swift is a programming language widely used for creating the apps for MacOS or Apple’s iOS devices. If you want to work with an iPhone or an iPad, you probably need to learn Swift as a programming language to build the app.

Apple is gently shifting from C to Swift because they want to make the iOS devices center of the home network of sensors. Therefore they are building libraries that can handle most of the work which will make it easier for the developers to focus on work while the home kit platform handles the integration.

Thus, these are the top five programming languages for IoT. If you are building an IoT connected device, make sure you use one of the above mentioned coding languages to have a seamless customer experience.

IoT and AI in Cancer Treatment

Cancer has become the dark reality of the contemporary world with an estimate of  1,688,780 new cancer cases and 600,920 cancer deaths in the United States in this year as stated in The American Cancer Society’s 2017 annual Cancer Facts and Figures report

With the quantum involved, curing cancer is a pertinent issue that has never gone off the desk of Healthcare practitioners or technology innovators. As of now, precision medicine is the highest level of aid that has been brought by the technology innovators for curing cancer besides advanced healthcare equipment.

Precision medicine is a form of medicine which uses information about the patient’s genes, proteins, and environment to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.

The Internet of Things (IoT) also has the potential to bring a huge transformation to the Healthcare industry. For the starters, it promises to reduce the emergency room wait time, track patient data accurately, and manage healthcare inventory.

All these functions will improve the efficiency of the healthcare sector to an unimaginable extent.

Artificial intelligence also holds a fair share in the future of technology in the healthcare sector. It is predicted that in future AI could assist doctors with cancer research, detection, and care.

Opportunities in Diagnosis and Treatment

The combined forces of AI and IoT can help to cure cancer and save a considerable number of lives each year. Currently,  AI and IoT are not functioning together in the cancer treatment space.

IoT has brought revolutionary change in the healthcare ecosystem with its potential to aid with early detection of breast cancer: ‘iTBra’.

The term is coined by the inventor of the connected bra – Rob Royea, CEO of Cyrcadia Health. In the era of wearable technology, this connected bra has revolutionary embedded temperature sensors which track changes in the temperature of breast tissue over time.

This device uses machine learning and predictive analytics to analyze the collected data and classify abnormal patterns that could indicate early stage breast cancer. Women only require to wear it once a month for 2-12 hours while they carry on with their daily chores. No radiation or prodding involved. The iTBra can be worn beneath any normal bra and the results of the test will be transmitted to a smartphone.

This device is a remarkable innovation and is far better than the traditional mammography which tends to detect the presence of cancer at usually at Stage 3 or 4. Also, the mammography produces a high number of both false-negative and false-positive results which makes it highly unreliable.

This test is primitive and misses the presence of cancer in women with dense breast tissue more than 50% of the time.  This false negative rate is reduced to 17.3% by the iTBra for all the tissue types.

Apart from the breast cancer, a variety of early-stage cancer symptoms are vague and unrecognizable in other kinds of cancer. Clearly, the rate at which cancer goes undetected is very high. If the IoT systems work in tandem with the AI technology there will be a great jump in deciphering cancer systems and the patients will receive treatment before it’s too late.

The intervention of AI is very important in the detection of cancers like mesothelioma which goes undetected in preliminary stages. Mesothelioma develops over a period of decades and is challenging to detect because early symptoms may manifest as a cough or discomfort in the chest or abdomen.

With the help of AI, such trivial symptoms can be tracked over decades and the patients will be able to receive timely treatment. The patient’s journey can be made less painful and the life expectancy can be lengthened. While IoT can be used to generate sensor-driven data and insight, AI could be put to work with the metrics and predictions in safe drug delivery.

How AI and IoT can improve Cancer Treatment

The advent of latest technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, and IoT has brought hope in the healthcare sector for better treatment ways.

The first step is already taken when the consumer technology companies have started creating wearable technology that can help detect and diagnose cancer.

Also, governing authorities all over the world have taken initiatives at varying scales to support the flourishing technologies. Government-supported programs like the “Cancer Moonshot Initiative” is the best example of government initiatives towards finding a better cure for Cancer.

With financial aid available, researchers are working on developing new treatments collaboratively.

The National Cancer Institute has launched the Cancer Moonshot program which has brought together a big faction of doctors, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and others. This program is expected to bring positive results and accelerate the cancer research by 2020.

Conclusion

MarketResearch.com says that the healthcare Internet of Things market is predicted to hit $117 billion by 2020. In the same year, the combined IoT market will hit much more than $117 billion. By 2025, the same figure is expected to jump to $2.5 trillion for Healthcare industry, followed closely by the manufacturing industry at $2.3 trillion, says Intel.

These are some promising figures which are showing the bright future of the Healthcare industry. The fusion of AI and IoT technologies would empower patients and healthcare professionals more than we have imagined.

Thus, with the aid in metrics and predictions, AI will help doctors to make better data-driven decisions and IoT will provide the necessary technology to connect devices, data, and action which will assist in optimized drug delivery systems and early detection mechanisms.

IoT in the Logistics Industry

Every business sector or enterprise needs supply chain in its foundation. From a farmer to a manufacturer, organized supply chain is a necessity.

This demand has made third-party supply chain service provider important. However, service seekers still face inefficiencies and face troubles due to invisible procedures.

Thanks to some big players, IoT is now changing the game in the supply chain industry. Better revenue and operational efficiencies have become possible with modern-age tracking.

Here is how IoT can and is influencing the supply chain industry:

1 – Management of fleets

For a large supply chain company, connected fleets are imperative. Every carrier has to stay visible, so that, the company can efficiently manage delivery. Manufacturers need to collect data regarding their delivery trucks, shipment, and other fleets. This data helps in planning product deliveries faster.

Connected fleets make management easier as well. For instance, a company like FedEx has to manage their delivery trucks according to traffic, weather conditions, workers’ availability and other variables. Knowing where your fleets are, makes management easier.

Thanks to cloud platforms, the fleet connection becomes possible. Advanced technologies are being used to analyze weather reports, check traffic conditions and provide an efficient route for the fleets. And operation officials can stay connected with the fleets during the whole route.

2 – Tracking assets

A supply chain manager has to help customers and clients with accurate information. For that, the manager needs accessible information about the location of products in real-time.

The location of the product, shipping container or truck is an important data that changes with every second. With relevant data analytics and cloud software, the manager can monitor who is getting product deliveries and when. The same data helps to know which products are not available in the inventory. Assets become efficiently manageable, which increases the revenue of the company.

3 – Building a stronger vendor relation

Using the asset tracking data, companies can handle their production schedules. But that’s not the only advantage. A company can also leverage asset tracking to build stronger vendor relations. For instance, IBM leverages AI to decipher their suppliers’ needs.

Product quality is the prime requirement of any industry. And if you can incorporate efficient customer experience, revenues can skyrocket in a short span of time. Modern IoT solutions allow a better understanding of what your vendors are looking for and what products are required by customers.

4 – Forecasting production needs

It is time taking for humans to manage inventories. They can’t accurately describe the production or stock requirements. IoT sensors can do that for supply chain inventories. Amazon is using IoT with WiFi robots. They scan codes and track products in the inventory. This way, managers can predict which products are required in the future.

Accurate inventory reports can save from facing deadlines and losing customers altogether. Plus, if a product goes out of stock very often, managers can predict production requirements for the manufacturing department of the company.

IoT does deliver phenomenal value

From management to revenue, IoT technologies are offering new opportunities for the supply chain industry. The efficiency is another advantage that big players are achieving with modern-age technologies.

How IoT can help to maintain Food Safety Standards

Out of the many sectors of daily life revolutionized by IoT (Internet of Things), the food industry seems to be a sparkling example. This would not come by as much of a surprise considering the vast potential that comes with IoT. Not using the resources provided by IoT would ensure a lag in progress.

How IoT adds value to food production/distribution?

Food industry seems to have benefited largely due to IoT. Considering how globalized the food industry has become, regulating and maintaining food safety standard has become all the more essential. But this is no easy task. The scope of error is always there in every industry. However, in the food industry, the smallest error could lead to life-threatening consequences.

There is an increased demand from consumers, which mean that technological advancements need to be brought into action to meet these demands faster and better. Ensuring high standards of food safety the becomes difficult but just cannot be overlooked.

This is when IoT comes into the picture and makes things better for an industry that aims to keep the world fed.

How IoT elevates the efficacy of food safety standards?

Here is how IoT makes managing and maintaining food safety standards easier:

1 – Tracking and tracing goods

When it comes to any kind of food, its shelf life is of prime importance. When you are able to track and trace goods that go into making your most relished delicacies, you ensure that only the freshest of the goods are used.

This tracking and tracing of goods also enable industries to narrow down on the origins of the goods that come in, thereby ensuring there is no contaminant present in the ingredients used.

2 – Data allows predictions

The best feature that IoT allows is the prediction of the most possible outcomes using the vast amount of data at hand. When you bring terabytes of information regarding suppliers, pest control companies and average shelf life of goods, you can predict accurately the most plausible outcomes.

You can foresee potential pest infestations and allow you to take evasive measures before it happens.

3 – Improving inventory settings

A good inventory is essential in the food industry. Applying the vastness of data that comes with IoT can be used to optimize inventories. IoT is a resourceful tool. It tells you when you would need to order the stock and what would you need to store them efficiently.

This also avoids food wastage as smart inventories would notify the officials about certain thresholds approaching and when restocking would be necessary.

4 – Optimising logistics

Being on time is a mandate when handling foodstuff. IoT optimizes logistics. Timely and safe transportation of ingredients is now a possibility. All this without hampering the quality of its shelf life. This also adds to its cost-efficiency.

5 – Accurate reporting

Keeping a track of all the resources used could be a taxing affair in the food industry. IoT not only makes the environment paperless, but it also makes the whole deal a lot more accurate. You would never miss a track about the resources you use to maintain healthy food standards.

IoT may have its applications across a variety of sectors, but its implications in the food industry have made a possibility of optimizing the production and distribution of food worldwide.

How IoT and Smart Office applications can improve productivity

In an office setting, everything counts. The smallest bit of increase in efficiency gets amplified manifold times in a competitive environment. Installing features in order to make office space smarter can be considered as one of the many responsibilities of IoT (Internet of Things).

Adoption of smart office technologies is a trend that is increasingly catching up. Using the internet of things gives you an insight into the things that are eating up most of your resources. Increase in office productivity is a definite outcome of using smart offices and workspaces. Not only that, but one can also streamline routines and make the work environment far safer for employees. And safer work environments contribute to better productivity by leaps and bounds.

What is a smart office?

For those who are not well introduced to the concept of a smart office, this is what it is.

A smart office is a workspace equipped with IoT devices. All these devices have an IP address of their own. These devices transmit and receive information over the net. It is a smart ecosystem that relies on multiple devices. This makes controlling and managing office conditions easy.

How can IoT boost smart office efficiency?

Some of the ways in which smart offices contribute to better productivity are:

1. Energy consumption

It is a common sight to see appliances left on even when nobody seems to be using them. IoT manages to makes office spaces smart enough to detect a change in a certain space and automatically puts off appliances that are not in use. This cuts down on electricity bills thereby cutting down on extravagant utility expenses.

2. Safer workspaces

Installation of safety cameras, sensors, and access control systems ensure that the device you are using is safe from malware and any sort of informational theft. IoT acknowledges that privacy is important and hence contributes to making office spaces safer. IoT provides proof in case of any criminal activity in the workspace.

3. Resource management

Many a times it so happens that companies end up investing asset resources to perform trivial tasks due to the lack of employees. IoT allows the determination of patterns and devices algorithms that perform the tasks faster. This helps you to invest your asset resources into more productive tasks and get more important things done.

4. Conditioned climate

IoT also manages to regulate the temperature of the workspace by estimating the ideal requirement. This makes the work environment comfortable enough for employees and they no longer seem distracted. A comfortable work environment consequently aids focus and efficiency, which in turn brings about enhanced productivity.

5. Space management

Owing to IoT’s ability to store tons and tons of data, your workspace becomes a paperless environment. This leaves more space in the office and makes the space more breathable. Good and productive office work requires a spacious workspace.

In conclusion, IoT and its many implications is an endless topic to speak over. However, anything that has IoT as its core functionality has an immense scope of survival in the digitalized future.