2015/7/22 0:35:46
Source: Web
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The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a
technological trend that is becoming extremely prevalent in the world we live. The IoT market
is expected to grow at a rate of 31.72% from 2014-2019. The
exponential pick up of IoT is largely due to newly developed technologies that
have allowed connected devices to become easily integrated into everyday life.
Enabling
the IoT comes down to seamless communication of small amounts of information to
a diverse set of gadgets. In addition, users need to be empowered to build up
their own personalised systems over time, adding to the matrix of connected
devices that make up Internet of Things.
A
number of technologies have attempted to become the standard for smart home and
connected building automation – ZigBee, Z-Wave, and a number of more recent
specifications from organisations such as Thread, are competing to be the go-to
technology to connect the IoT. Even still, no one platform has been able to
support mass adoption of the Internet of Things solution.
In
2012, ABI Research
predicted that Bluetooth Smart was on a “collision course” with
ZigBee in the battleground for the connected home and only one year later
published a report predicting
Bluetooth will surpass ZigBee’s market share by the end of 2015. This can
largely be attributed to two factors where Bluetooth has a distinct advantage
over its competitors: low cost and interoperability.
Vendors
who buy into a technology on a large scale need the lowest cost way of
delivering billions of sensors. Bluetooth Smart is not only the least expensive
option per radio, but the cost of the sensors’ batteries has also been
massively reduced by the minimal power requirements and longer battery life.
Further, billions of consumers already own devices with Bluetooth Smart
connectivity, creating massive scalability for vendors. If we were to think of
the ideal controller for IoT, it would probably come in the form of a smartphone.
According to IHS Research,
more than 96% of Bluetooth-enabled smartphones will support Bluetooth Smart by
2018.
Enter, mesh technology
When
applications, like lighting or heating control, need coverage that can extend
to the limits of an entire building and beyond, mesh networks comes into play.
Mesh technology is what allows Bluetooth Smart devices to not only receive
messages and act upon them, but also distribute those messages to surrounding
devices and in doing so, extend the Bluetooth Smart range – mesh technology
takes the Internet of Things into warp speed.
Developing
a fully interconnected IoT is possible only through using an ad hoc mesh
networking technology, that doesn’t have a single gateway capable of breaking
or an Internet connection that IT technicians don’t want to route devices
through. A Bluetooth mesh technology provides exactly this.
The
human brain has about one hundred billion nerve cells on average, and each cell
has ten thousand connections. It’s those connections that make us smart and
similarly, it is the strong and prevalent connections between devices that
enable the Internet of Things to enhance our lives. Mesh connectivity is this
connection. It’s simple and robust but at the same time very efficient in
sending communications between devices.
The
Internet of Things is on the tip of every tongue in the tech world because it
is finally becoming reality. Mesh technologies have taken IoT into warp speed
so that communications can get more places, faster and Bluetooth Smart is set
to be the catalyst that sparks wide-spread consumer adoption.
(Credit: Web)