Updated March 20, 2023
Introduction to IoT Standards
- The fact that any of the electronic devices we are using these days is way smarter than the devices used a decade back. On one side people had to leave their sofa to change the TV channel or to press their AC button, on the other side manually, they can speak to give instructions to their TV or AC on what to do, and this is how the technology has changed the way we are using the devices.
- To make the devices work more efficiently or to offer more functionality, the concept of IoT has been introduced. The implementation of this technology has changed the life of mankind. It is concerned with getting the devices together with the other devices so that they can contribute to enhancing their functionality. To manage this, off course, there exists some standard to make sure everything is happening in a controlled way, and here we will be focusing on those standards. So let’s get started!
What is IoT?
IoT stands for the internet of things. It can be defined as the approach of connecting the embedded devices with each other or with the servers on the internet to make it communicate. The main purpose of IoT is to improve the way an electronic device could be used. Making communication with the other devices on the internet can gather the information to make it work more efficiently. The introduction of IoT has taken the functionalities of the embedded device to the next level. The connection between devices is mainly there in IoT to supply ample information that can help the device understand the situation precisely to take further action based on that information.
Though it sounds very interesting and something that could bring a lot, it has some disadvantages. The good part about using the devices enabled by IoT is that one can monitor things remotely and give the devices the command without being around. If the device is leveraging the internet of things concept, it could be handled from any part of the globe as the other main purpose of this concept is to mitigate the limitation of using the devices from a distance. On the other hand, it has to follow some standards that have been described below. All those standards are developed specifically for IoT so that they can ensure a common way of working.
IoT Standards
Below are some of the important standards for IoT that helps to ensure the common standards that the IoT enabled devices are supposed to be complied with.
- Bluetooth Smart – Bluetooth smart is one of the most important standards of IoT. This standard provides the devices to work using Bluetooth connectivity. Moreover, it makes it possible for the device and the users to communicate or share the instructions using Bluetooth’s simple connection.
- ULE – ULE stands for Ultra-low emission. The amount of power involved in this is way too less, as stated by its name. The common telephone network we use at our homework using this standard and the embedded devices leverages it wherever possible in order to facilitate communication with other devices.
- IEEE 802.11ah – These standards are concerned with the wifi connectivity that runs on low power. In the internet of things, the devices preferably work with low power consumption mechanism involvement. Though Wifi doesn’t fall under the low power consumption part, this standard is concerned with the lower power consumption of devices. This standard has been considered as the most effective one as the availability of wifi is very common.
- Thread – Thread may be considered the best standard that provides the opportunity to leverage IPV6 to make communication over the internet. The ownership of this standard is held by Alpha that is the parent company of Google. It makes the interaction between devices very convenient and smooth. Being handled by Alpha, this standard consists of most of the parts that are concerned with the secure and efficient working of the IoT enabled devices.
- ZigBee – This is the other standard that helps to take the IoT to the next level. It has been developed by an organization called the ZigBee industry. The main purpose of this standard is to offer a network of devices that consume less power to function. The common devices that are being used in houses leverage this standard in order to communicate with low power requirements.
- Z-Wave – Z-Wave is the most commonly used standard. Similar to the other standards, it is also concerned with working devices that use less power to work well in the network. Sigma Designs own this standard, and the changes or improvements in this standard are taken by this organization only. The outcome of this standard is the low power mesh technology of networking. In almost all smart devices or IoT enabled devices in the USA, this standard is de facto.
- 6LoWPAN – This is another standard influenced by IEEE. It is concerned with creating the IoT system that consists of devices that are connected to the internet and use less power to facilitate communication. IPV6 has been used in this standard when it comes to connecting the devices that are available on the internet. All of the standards for IoT are concerned about the way devices interact with each other to create the network of the devices.
Conclusion
- The Internet of things is the way to facilitate communication between devices, especially embedded devices, by creating a network. Moreover, it helps the devices to exchange data among themselves for various purposes.
- The purpose might be to share information, get the command on what has to be done, send the instruction to any device seeking any particular information, and so on.
- The introduction of this technology has changed the way we interact with devices to make them work. The interesting part is that it doesn’t use much power as all the devices supposed to leverage IoT have to consume less power for their communication with the other devices.
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