How Internet of Things is Improving Modern Life

The Internet of Things (IoT) industry has seen a massive growth over the last few years and for good reason.

15:53 25 June 2018

Humans have always been keen to make their lives easier, and the concept of houses and appliances operating themselves is a dream come true. This is what IoT promises and it is already changing lives in developed countries and regions. Today, we’ll be looking at how the concept has improved modern life for many people in urban environments.

 

Before getting into that, however, it’s worth defining what IoT is to start with in order to avoid confusion. Basically, IoT is anything that is integrated into a network that controls the functionality of gadgets, appliances, or even entire computer systems without much human input. A good example of this is how one network controls the security system a house, its lights, its appliances, and even its utilities. There are even instances where website traffic is affected by IoT.

Also, this list pertains only to places where IoT already has a huge presence.

 

Better Traffic Flows

Some cities such as Las Vegas are already experimenting with IoT technology in order to improve the traffic flows in their cities. This not only helps in easing congestion, which is one of modern life’s terrible terrors, it also prevents them in many cases. The concept here is fairly simple. By making sure that the flow of traffic through management points such as traffic lights and traffic cameras are as smooth as possible, there will be fewer instances of traffic jams.

 

Naturally, with the technology being in its early stages, there are still going to be a few issues. You can learn plenty about the subject from sites like alternatives.co. However, initial results are already showing a lot of promise. As IoT evolves and advances, there might even come a time when traffic is just a long-forgotten memory.

 

Cleaner Air

All right, so this part requires some unwrapping to make the main point. Basically, air quality is reduced when there is a high concentration of vehicles in one area that are spending a lot of time with the engine on. By making sure that there are fewer running vehicles on the road, air quality is improved. This is where IoT comes in.

A huge contributor to vehicles spending more time than necessary with the engine running is the search for a parking spot. In Barcelona, for example, IoT technology is employed reduce the number of vehicles circling one area to look for a parking spot. Once this technology spreads to other cities and countries, air quality can potentially improve by a substantial margin.

 

Easier Government Service Access

Trying to access government services is one of the most frustrating things about modern life that most people can probably agree on. They are often slow, stressful, confusing, and a lot of the times, the people trying to access said services don’t even get what they are there for. IoT is showing promise in alleviating this particular issue.

 

In the case of San Antonio, a network of cameras is being used to ease the stress of appearing in court, which is often caused by the long drives between each location. This can make a huge difference, especially for public defenders who need to get to different courts in time.

 

Life Improvements for Seniors

Those who have reached a more advanced age should live easier lives with their only occupations being to decide what to do with all the time they have. Unfortunately, many elderly people are often subjected to sad, often humiliating situations. Thanks to IoT, a lot of seniors are seeing an improvement with regards to their living conditions.

 

For example, those who would prefer to live on their own for as long as they are able can rely on camera and sensor networks to maintain their independence. IoT is also being employed in public transport, healthcare facilities, and private institutes to make the experience of providing services to seniors as frictionless as possible.

 

Even managing their finances and payments can be done automatically, so they won’t have to go out as often to pay bills or go to the bank.

 

Improved Healthcare Systems

Any healthcare system can be improved and IoT can be a huge help in achieving this goal. This is already happening in cases where health tracking gadgets are directly connected to networks that healthcare professionals can access. Some doctors, for example, assign patients medical tracking devices that send data to online services. These doctors will then use that data to monitor their health and come up with more effective healthcare plans.

 

There are also instances where people use interconnected devices to plan out their exercises, health supplements, diet, and medical check-ups. The advantages of such arrangements is obvious. With a more efficient system of maintaining your health, you're less likely to get off track and are thus less prone to becoming sick. Of course, some diseases are unavoidable, but exerting every effort to be as healthy as possible is still worth it.