1. Defination

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the “Internet connecting everything”, which is an extension and expansion of the Internet. It combines various information sensing devices with the network to form a huge network, realizing the interconnection of people, machines and things at any time and anywhere.

The Internet of Things is an important part of the new generation of information technology. IT industry is also called paninterconnection, which means connecting things and everything. Therefore, “The Internet of Things is the Internet of things connected”. This has two meanings: first, the core and foundation of the Internet of Things is still the Internet, which is an extended and expanded network on top of the Internet. Second, its client side extends and extends to any item between items for information exchange and communication. Therefore, the definition of Internet of things is through the radio frequency identification, infrared sensors, global positioning system (GPS), such as the laser scanner information sensing device, according to the contract agreement, to any item connected to the Internet, information exchange and communication, in order to realize to the intelligent identification, location, tracking and monitoring and management of a network.

2. Key Technology

2.1 Radio Frequency Identification

RFID is a simple wireless system that consists of an interrogator (or reader) and a number of transponders (or tags). Tags are composed of coupling components and chips. Each tag has a unique electronic code of extended entries, attached to the object to identify the target object. It transmits radio frequency information to the reader through the antenna, and the reader is the device that reads the information. RFID technology allows objects to “talk”. This gives the Internet of things a trackability feature. It means that people can know the exact location of objects and their surroundings at any time. Retail analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein estimate that this feature of Internet of Things RFID could save Wal-Mart $8.35 billion a year, much of it in labor costs that result from not having to manually check incoming codes. RFID has helped the retail industry solve two of its biggest problems: out-of-stock and wastage (products lost to theft and disruption of supply chains). Wal-mart loses nearly $2 billion a year on theft alone.

2.2 Micro – Electro – Mechanical Systems

MEMS stands for micro-electro-mechanical Systems. It is an integrated micro-device system composed of micro-sensor, micro-actuator, signal processing and control circuit, communication interface and power supply. Its goal is to integrate the acquisition, processing and execution of information into a multi-functional micro-system, integrated into a large-scale system, so as to greatly improve the level of automation, intelligence and reliability of the system. It’s a more general sensor. Because MEMS gives new life to ordinary objects, they have their own data transmission channels, storage functions, operating systems and specialized applications, thus forming a vast sensor network. This allows the Internet of Things to monitor and protect people through objects. In the case of drunk driving, if the car and the ignition key are implanted with tiny sensors, so that when the drunk driver takes out the car key, the key through the smell sensor can detect a whiff of alcohol, wireless signal immediately notify the car “stop starting”, the car will be in a state of rest. At the same time, he “ordered” the driver’s mobile phone to send text messages to his friends and relatives, informing them of the driver’s location and reminding them to deal with it as soon as possible. This is the result of being “things” in the Internet of Things world.

2.3 Machine-to-Machine/Man

M2M, short for machine-to-machine /Man, is a networked application and service with intelligent interaction of Machine terminals as the core. It will make the object realize intelligent control. M2M technology involves five important technical parts: machine, M2M hardware, communication network, middleware and application. Based on cloud computing platform and intelligent network, decisions can be made based on the data obtained by sensor network, and the behavior of objects can be changed for control and feedback. For example, the elderly at home wear watches embedded with smart sensors, children in other places can check their parents’ blood pressure, heartbeat is stable at any time through mobile phones; When the owner is at work, the sensor will automatically close the water, electricity and doors and Windows, and send messages to the owner’s mobile phone regularly to report the safety situation.

2.4 Could Computing

Cloud computing aims to integrate a number of relatively low-cost computing entities into a perfect system with powerful computing capacity through the network, and make use of advanced business models so that end users can get these powerful computing capacity services. One of the core concepts of cloud computing is to continuously improve the processing capacity of the “cloud”, reduce the processing burden of the user terminal, and finally simplify it into a simple input and output device, and enjoy the powerful computing and processing capacity of the “cloud” on demand. The awareness layer of the Internet of Things obtains a large amount of data information, and after transmission through the network layer, puts it on a standard platform, and then uses high-performance cloud computing to process it and give these data intelligence, so as to finally convert them into useful information for end users.

3. Application

3.1 Smart Home

Smart home is the basic application of the IoT in the home. With the popularity of broadband services, smart home products are involved in all aspects. No one at home, can use mobile phone and other product client remote operation of intelligent air conditioning, adjust the room temperature, even can learn the user’s habits, so as to achieve automatic temperature control operation, users can go home in the hot summer to enjoy the comfort of cool; Through the client to realize the switch of intelligent bulbs, control the brightness and color of bulbs, etc.; Socket built-in Wifi, can realize the remote control socket timing on or off the current, even can monitor the power consumption of equipment, generate electricity chart so that you can be clear about the power consumption, arrange the use of resources and budget; Smart scale for monitoring exercise results. Smart cameras, window/door sensors, smart doorbells, smoke detectors, smart alarms and other security monitoring equipment are indispensable for families. You can go out in time to check the real-time situation of any corner of the home at any time and place, and any security risks. The seemingly tedious household life has become more relaxed and beautiful thanks to the IoT.

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3.2 Intelligent Transportation

The application of Internet of Things technology in road traffic is relatively mature. With the increasing popularity of social vehicles, traffic congestion or even paralysis has become a major problem in cities. Real-time monitoring of road traffic conditions and timely transmission of information to drivers, so that drivers make timely travel adjustment, effectively relieve the traffic pressure; Automatic road charging system (ETC for short) is set up at highway intersections, which saves the time of getting and returning the card at the entrance and exit and improves the traffic efficiency of vehicles. The positioning system installed on the bus can timely understand the bus route and arrival time, and passengers can decide to travel according to the route, so as to avoid unnecessary time waste. With the increase of social vehicles, in addition to bringing traffic pressure, parking is also becoming a prominent problem. Many cities have launched smart roadside parking management system, which is based on cloud computing platform and combines Internet of Things technology and mobile payment technology to share parking resources and improve parking utilization rate and user convenience. The system can be compatible with mobile phone mode and RADIO frequency identification mode. Through the mobile APP software, it can realize timely understanding of parking information and parking position, make reservations in advance and realize payment and other operations, which largely solves the problem of “difficult parking, difficult parking”.

3.3  Public Security

In recent years, global climate anomalies occur frequently, and the suddenness and harmfulness of disasters are further increased. The Internet can monitor environmental insecurity in real time, prevent in advance, give early warning in real time and take timely measures to reduce the threat of disasters to human life and property. As early as 2013, the University at Buffalo proposed the deep-sea Internet project, which uses specially processed sensors placed in the deep sea to analyze underwater conditions, prevent Marine pollution, detect seabed resources, and even provide more reliable warnings for tsunamis. The project was successfully tested in a local lake, providing the basis for further expansion. The Internet of Things technology can intelligently perceive the index data of atmosphere, soil, forest, water resources and other aspects, which plays a huge role in improving human living environment.