Multiple IoT's

When trying to pin down a precise meaning for the term IoT (Internet of Things), it quickly becomes clear that the acronym has many meanings. This article will partially answer the question. At first, IoT meant things that communicate over the internet. But it was about things, not people reading materials that were designed to be read or listened to over the internet. The term has evolved to mean anything that is connected to the internet. It has seen usage to include any sophisticated electronic device, connected to the internet or not. I personally think this later, all-encompassing meaning renders the term useless. The most useful meaning, although not precise, may be to denote the wide range of electronics that communicate over the internet.

Some terminology that can be useful is labeling sub-groups of IoT products. The first is the CIoT, The Consumer Internet of Things. This is the area where everyday people directly interface with IoT products. It includes all the home products, such as control of home lighting, heating, safety, and monitoring. The CIoT also includes wearables, such as monitoring one's vital signs, tracking exercise, a device to locate car keys, and watching a personalized TV attached to one's glasses. It includes answering one's door remotely, monitoring children and pets, and lighting systems and sound systems.

Another sub-group is the MIoT, the Machine Internet of Things. This term usually refers to older remote control of machines, such as oil wells, monitoring and controlling traffic, signaling trains and rail switching. It is primarily using the internet to communicate between machines that were previously direct wired or connected with dedicated rf links.

Another sub-group is the IIot, the Industrial Internet of Things. This usually refers to industrial applications such as precision control of lathes, industrial robots, process monitoring, process control, industrial data analytics, employee monitoring, plant security, and employee safety. Yet another sub-group is the MIoT, the Mobile Internet of Things, primarily related to vehicles, which may not actually use the internet. Often, some type of rf link is used since data must travel between mobile devices. It includes self-driving cars and trucks. It can include large engine control and sensor communications that may not actually use the internet, such as display of tire pressure while the vehicle is moving. It includes many on board communications systems such as DVD players, radios and on board phone systems. It includes driver warning systems such as drifting out of lane warning and adaptive cruise control.

Still another sub-group is MIot the Medical Internet of Things which includes medical devices like the remote monitoring of a patient's heart, home measurement of sleep disorders, the control of diffusion pumps, and the pendant used when a person needs to summon medical assistance when alone.

Not only is there a lot of overlap in the sub-groupings of IoT, the same MIoT acronym has three different meanings. The same person may use the term in different ways in one conversation. When discussing IoT, it is important to try to get clarification of the meaning of the term for that particular dialog.