Technology is always full of new buzz words and abbreviations. Some don’t stick around for long while others like AI become part of everyday language even if what it does isn’t always understood. AIoT is the combination of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, two incredibly popular acronyms that have emerged as disruptive forces within the technological world.
What does AIoT do, is it just another marketing term or is it here to stay? Before answering these questions, it’s important to understand what the two technologies do in their own right.
Firstly IoT, IoT stands for the Internet of Things. This includes the network of “things” that have sensors, software and other technologies that can connect and exchange data with other devices over the internet. The devices included in the Internet of Things range from smart locks to cameras, mobile phones to medical devices. There are currently around 30 billion IoT connected devices and will increase to around 75 billion connected devices in 2025. These devices play an important role in society and will play an even bigger role when combined with Artificial Intelligence.
The second half of this technology is artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence involves using computers to do things that traditionally require human intelligence. This means creating algorithms to classify, analyze, and draw predictions from data. It also involves acting on data, learning from new data, and improving over time. The most important technologies that makeup AI are machine learning deep learning and natural language processing. There are lots of everyday examples of people using AI, such as chatbots, facial detection and recognition, autocorrect, digital assistants and search recommendations.
When we combine AI with the IoT it’s commonly said the device is made “smart”. AI allows IoT devices to use the data it has gathered to learn, analyze, develop insights and make decisions based on the data collected without the involvement of humans. If data analysis takes place in the IoT that is the AIoT. These devices become “smart” and communicative.
There are lots of stages when it comes to the development of AIoT. The first stage is something we are all very familiar with, connecting one device to another and allowing the device to be controlled by a remote control. The second stage involves connecting to the cloud to provide automatic AI inference. Stage 3, no cloud connection is needed, devices are endowed with its own intelligence, think of WALL-E. The final stage is peer to peer device communication. Devices are “smart”, can communicate with each other, share information and work together to complete tasks. These final two stages require an AI chip.
There are already lots of examples of AIoT being used today in many different industries. Many office buildings install sensor technologies to help save energy and electricity costs.
