IoT based Digitalisation of Technologies for Better Outcome

India is home to ~ 17% of the world population. To feed such a mammoth number of populations, the farmers need to produce more with minimum resources possible keeping in mind the environmental and sustainability aspects. This is only possible if the farmers are equipped with the right tools and techniques especially digital technologies. And, it is being considered that the Internet of Things ( IoT ) will be key in this journey.

 “IoT is the network of physical objects (Things) embedded with software, network, electronics, sensors which allow these objects to collect and exchange data”- as it may be defined

 The goal of IoT is to extend the internet connection from the regular devices like computer, laptop, tablet to the non-regular items like say Solar Pumps. IoT makes everything smart by improving the aspects of our life through data collection, AI, and network. 

This technology has many applications like Pumps, Microgrids, Solar Street lights, farming, fisheries, animal food consumption, agri-food supply chain, greenhouse horticulture, livestock farming, etc.

The key benefits are as below: –

1. Technical Optimization: – IoT helps in improving technologies and making them better. Example, with IoT, a pump is switched off whenever there is a chance of dry running or when the solar panels are to be cleaned for better
2. Improved Data collection: – Traditional data collection has its limitations. IoT facilitates immediate data collection as per the choice. The information such as the quantity of water pumped, hrs of operation, etc. can be known at the set interval.
3. Reduced Waste: – IoT offers real-time information leading to effective decision making & management of resources. For example, to water crops, a farmer can deploy soil moisture sensors to automatically kickstart irrigation when the water-stress level reaches a given limit; water is pumped till the time the set moisture level is reached. This saves groundwater.
4. Improved Customer Engagement: – IoT allows to improve customer experience by detecting problems and improving the process thereby better operation & maintenance of the system
5. More Yield: IoT helps in better decision making with more and accurate data

IoT has the 04(four) fundamental Components: –

1. Sensors/ Devices: – Sensors or devices are a key component that helps to collect live data from the surrounding environment. It can be a simple temperature monitoring sensor, or in the form of the video feed.
2. Connectivity: – All the collected data is sent to a cloud infrastructure. The sensors are connected to the cloud using various mediums of communications. These communication mediums include mobile or satellite networks, Bluetooth, WI-FI, WAN, etc.
3. Data Processing: – Once that data is collected, and gets to the cloud, the software performs processing on the gathered data.
4. User Interface: – The information needs to be available to the end-user in some way which can be achieved by triggering alarms on their phones or sending them notification through email or text message. The user sometimes might need an interface which actively checks their IoT system. For example, the user has a camera installed in his home. He wants to access video recording and all the feeds with the help of a web server.

The challenges with IoT: –

There are always concerns about the following

1. Data security and privacy
2. Software complexity
3. Data volumes and interpretation
4. Integration with AI and automation
5. Devices require a constant power supply which is difficult.

It is imperative to keep in mind that IoT is inter-connectivity which is more than the connections between devices — it is about the connections between customers, partners, and suppliers. The approach should be let’s- work -together and not one- company -does -it -all model to have a success in this digital revolution journey with IoT.