Internet of Things

An automated word seemed the stuff of dreams. Not long ago, designers and engineers mocked up concepts of the world of tomorrow  designed to bring ease and comfort to homeowners and higher profits to businesses by freeing up chore time and automating the mundane.

Flying cars aside,  many aspects of the futuristic “Jetsons” aspirations are possible and growing thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT). That is, of course, so long as consumers have a quality internet connection and a smart phone.

Kanyon Payne, United’s internet products and services manager, described the Internet of Things as physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that can connect and exchange data with other devices through the internet or other communications network.

Now that United has brought high-speed internet to more than 14,000 members (adding more each day), several United members have discovered they can do more than just check email and play movies with their faster internet speeds, he said.

“One of the advantages of the Internet of Things and the devices that make up this ecosystem is the reduced effort and time-saving tasks usually carried out by humans,” Payne said. “These devices are connected to internet networks, allowing them to learn and automate tasks that are usually carried out by a human through manual intervention. An example of this would be a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat can learn what times you leave and come home and automate your heating and cooling schedule to meet your needs.”

Many people already are aware of IoT devices, such as smart speakers like the Amazon Echo smart speaker, Ring doorbell which can monitor your front door for security, and smart light bulbs like the Phillip Hue bulbs that can be scheduled, have their colors changed and even turned off and on by smartphone controller.

However, the list isn’t limited to in-home devices, he said. Larger applications can include industrial IoT machines that communicate with others, allowing their operators to learn more about systems and become more efficient in how infrastructure is operated. These industrial applications include smart power grids, smart digital supply chains and smart manufacturing.

“For smart manufacturing, machines can now monitor and analyze the products they are making and identify any quality defects proactively,” Payne said. “Energy companies can utilize transmission or distribution line monitoring with smart grids. Through IoT devices deployed as part of a smart grid system, companies can monitor faults and resolve these issues proactively.”  

As reliable high-speed internet becomes more available to citizens across the country and globe, IoT will be a way of life, Payne said. Businesses will implement these devices to have better insight into their business, and homeowners will look for a better quality of life by automating the tedious tasks of today.

“As more IoT devices are connected, I believe we will see more of these devices in our everyday lives and especially in the business sector,” Payne said. “For example, IoT for electric vehicles are allowing car owners to operate their cars remotely, or preheat or precool their cars by their phone. Healthcare providers will be able to monitor assets like wheelchairs, beds or IV pumps for quick deployment. Retail stores will have the ability to have shelves with weight sensors and can collect data to automatically trigger alerts if stock is running low. IoT will have the ability to automate the manual tasks of today by machine learning.”

There are a few disadvantages to IoT, Payne said. One is that these devices have a high dependency on the internet. Consumers without reliable internet will struggle with IoT devices that don’t work as intended. Security concerns are another possible disadvantage. Because IoT devices require an internet connection to communicate across networks, they’re open to cyber-attacks. One infected device could result in corrupting an entire system.

“To overcome these threats, consumers should make sure their home network is protected by some form of anti-virus software,” he said. “They should consider installing a smart home cybersecurity hub that prevents various internet connected devices from cyber-attacks as well.”

To find out how the Internet of Things technology paired with United’s world-class internet can help you have a better quality of life, call your local office and ask to speak with an internet products and services specialist today.