The potential of IoT for instrumentation and measurement

Abstract

It is rare for someone in the engineering or science fields not to have heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT has been disrupting many industries by providing an unprecedented approach for a (potentially large) number of distributed components connected over a network to collect data, collaborate, and perform tasks with almost no human intervention. Spending in IoT is forecasted to reach US $1 trillion by 2022 [1] and is considered to be one of the core enabling technologies behind the fourth industrial revolution. But what is IoT really? The deep understanding of IoT and therefore its definition are still evolving. Meanwhile, IEEE defines an IoT system as “a system of entities (including cyber-physical devices, information resources, and people) that exchange information and interact with the physical world by sensing, processing information, and actuating” [2]. Furthermore, the “Thing” in IoT can be defined as “an IoT component or IoT system that has functions, properties and ways of information exchange” [2]. The exact interpretation of the “Thing,” and not the “Internet” part which has existed for many years, is causing IoT's definition to still evolve [3]. In essence, the components of an IoT system interact with each other to fulfill the goal for which the system has been designed. For example, in a smart home, an IoT system consisting of interconnected thermostats, switches, alarms, triggers, cameras, sensors, and actuators can autonomously control lighting, temperature, ambience, and security based on the inhabitants' observed behaviors, leading to more efficiency, comfort, and energy savings. Our transportation systems can benefit from an IoT consisting of connected vehicles, drivers, pedestrians, and traffic infrastructure (signs, lights, roads, etc.) for more efficient traffic routing, road assistance, emergency response, parking support, and toll collection. Or, in an industrial setting, IoT can enable the integration of manufacturing machines or robots equipped with instrumentation, sensing, processing, communication, and collaboration, leading to more efficiency and profitability in the management of equipment, assets, processes, and produced goods. This Industrial IoT, also known as IIoT, is of particular interest, since it is a core enabling technology behind Industry 4.0, estimated to generate a US $12 trillion market by 2030 [4].