Learn the IoT basics in minutes. This glossary explains 180+ IoT terms and acronyms in plain English — covering communications, connections, security, and the market — so you can move from buzzwords to real understanding.
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IoT (The Internet of Things) is where devices are connected to the internet that can be controlled or can be used to send information. This includes devices in households, businesses, factories, farms and cities that are accessible online. These devices can include anything from “smart” fridges, printers, webcams, meters, speakers, cellphones, washing machines, headphones to wearables.
These devices create a network whereby these physical objects – “things” – are connected and can ‘talk’ by sending information from sensors, software, and other technologies and exchange this data with other devices and systems over the internet.
Billions of connected devices send data via sensors and software to other devices and systems, powering everything from smart meters to connected vehicles.
The physical devices of the Internet of Things around the world all collect and share data. Thanks to the arrival of super-cheap computer chips and the omni presence of wireless networks, it’s possible to turn anything, from something as small as a dental implant to something as big as a tractor, into a part of the IoT. Connecting all these different objects and adding sensors to them adds a level of digital intelligence, enabling them to communicate real-time data without involving a human being.
Ultimately, the Internet of Things is making the fabric of the world around us even more smarter and more responsive, merging the digital and physical universes.
