Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic provided a much-needed sanity check for IoT-inspired frameworks and solutions. IoT solutions such as remote health monitoring and contact tracing provided support for authorities to successfully manage the spread of the coronavirus. This article provides the first comprehensive review of key IoT solutions that have had an impact on COVID-19 in healthcare, contact tracing, and transportation during the pandemic. Each sector is investigated in depth; and potential applications, social and economic impact, and barriers for mass adaptation are discussed in detail. Furthermore, it elaborates on the challenges and opportunities for IoT framework solutions in the immediate post-COVID-19 era. To this end, privacy and security concerns of IoT applications are analyzed in depth and emerging standards and code of practices for mass adaptation are also discussed. The main contribution of this review paper is the in-depth analysis and categorization of sector-wise IoT technologies, which have the potential to be prominent applications in the new normal. IoT applications in each selected sector are rated for their potential economic and social impact, timeline for mass adaptation, and Technology Readiness Level (TRL). In addition, this article outlines potential research directions for next-generation IoT applications that would facilitate improved performance with preserved privacy and security, as well as wider adaptation by the population at large.
Highlights
Rapid development was made in the Internet of Things (IoT) industry due to both Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) that enables the communication between devices and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which allows the labelling of devices [1]
coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 enabled emerging IoT applications to be tested in different application domains, as discussed in this review paper
Some of the IoT solutions provided much-needed support to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas some IoT-based technologies are deployed as pilots and experiments
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. IoT technologies with RFID, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and GPS help provide better solutions for the aforementioned cases. These technologies are infused with small, wearable, and portable devices. Our paper focuses on the role of IoT during COVID-19, IoT-based solutions for COVID19 in different industries, challenges, and threat mitigation practices for IoT. It was found that IoT provided solutions for many applications and systems in different industries (healthcare, transportation, entertainment, retail, education, and communication) during the COVID-19 pandemic and there is more potential in the post-COVID-19 era.
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