The Internet of Things are objects that humans are in connection with and have use of that exchange information and that are connected to the Internet. This goes beyond computers and smartphones. Initially, I thought the Internet of Things specifically meant computers of cell phones as I never heard of this term before. IOT goes further and these Internet things are objects that collect data for various reasons like health, safety, financially and economically that will eventually help humans in the long run. An example of some Internet of Things is the fit watch. The fit bit, the Apple watch and the Garmin watch are devices that track your information like your weight, heartbeat, steps and calories for health tracking purposes. This device is connected to the Internet collects all your data and every now and then you can update your information by updating the watch on your computer by plugging in your USB cable. These are everyday objects that are great to have to keep up with our everyday activities and living better. In the reading, As Objects Go Online the author stated, “When embedded in everyday objects, these small computers can send and receive information via the Internet so that a coffeemaker can turn on when a person gets out of bed and turn off when a cup is loaded into a dishwasher, a stoplight can communicate with roads to route cars around traffic, a building can operate more efficiently by knowing where people are and what they’re doing, and even the health of the whole planet can be monitored in real time by aggregating the data from all such devices.” (Gershenfeld, Vasseur Pg. 1) In this reading it is stating that there are good and bad things about the IOT and both are equally important. For example, the IOT should learn from the “history of the Internet” (Gershenfeld, Vasseur Pg. 2) in which I agree so that less mistakes are made and that technology will help the IOT grow and we will be able to achieve more things with this concept that will continue to help humans and also businesses.
I am thinking that more needs to happen then items like a fit watch. Technology is increasing and expanding day by day and we need more things that are efficient that can help us on a higher level. In the reading, Why Things Matter, it was stated, “The promising, exciting news around the Internet of Things cannot possibly be the “cool” factor of having my toothbrush connected to the network so that the Proctor & Gamble people knew when I was low on toothpaste.” We need “Things” that can help the war on rats in NYC as an example. My Alexa home device is cute but to me it isn’t all that helpful but it looks like it’s a step in the right direction so I am excited and hopeful. This is why I believe that connecting physical objects to the Internet is beneficial because it will help humans with things like health and safety concerns and even financially by collecting data and using it to elevate us. It would be great for one day to have a device that can track other people who have smartphones that may have a gun on them and can alert us and give us a warning that someone in the vicinity has a gun the same way how they have GPS tracking systems for cars that alert people when there is an up an coming accident or gridlock.
