Getting started with IoT

Example application areas for IoT
Parking in cities
Food production and farming
Challenge:
To optimise the use of parking spaces in cities to
minimise congestion and maximise income
Could an IoT system solve this?
An IoT system could manage parking spaces to the
benefit of the land owners, drivers and the environment
Method:
Sensors are embedded into the ground or mounted on
nearby buildings to determine whether parking spaces
are empty.
Result:
Via a mobile device, drivers are directed to a space
without having to spend time looking for one.
Parking space owners (private or public sector)
manage land and space more effectively and
ensure maximum revenue. Vehicle emissions are
reduced when drivers no longer need to spend
time driving around looking for a parking space.
Challenge:
To optimise irrigation in agriculture and horticulture. Over
or under watering a crop can reduce yield quality and
potentially waste water, thereby impacting a farmer’s
profit margins.
Could an IoT system solve this?
An IoT system could ensure crops are grown in
optimum conditions.
Method:
Soil moisture sensors are placed around a field to measure
the level of water in the soil. At regular intervals, the soil
sensors wirelessly transmit readings to the cloud, where
the data is stored and information transmitted to a dashboard.
Result:
From the dashboard, the farmer sees the current soil moisture
and determines if the crops need to be watered.
If the cloud application detects that crops are underwatered,
it could turn on the irrigation system and water
the crops automatically, saving the farmer time.
If the system retrieves the local weather forecast it can also
disable watering if rain is forecast to prevent over watering.
Efficient buildings and hospitals
Home telecare and health monitoring
Challenge:
To monitor the ‘health’ of buildings and improve their
utilisation. Estate managers and building owners often
have little control over the heating, lighting and
occupancy of large buildings. This wastes energy and
increases costs.
Could an IoT system solve this?
An IoT system could help them better manage
their buildings.
Method:
Sensors placed in rooms assess when rooms are empty
or in use. At the same time, they monitor temperature
conditions, humidity and carbon dioxide, noise and
light levels.
Result:
Building managers adjust room comfort levels, save on
energy used for lights and heating and make better use
of their facilities. In social housing, this could identify
potential health issues for residents from damp.
Challenge:
To support older people to live independently for as long
as possible. The existing analogue telephone lines for
telecare - currently used by 170k people in Scotland - will
be turned off in 2025. This presents a major opportunity
for the introduction and application of IoT and other
digital solutions.
Could an IoT system solve this?
IoT systems will replace the current non-digital
infrastructure and will help monitor people’s health and
wellbeing in the home.
Method:
IoT sensors and communication hubs to be provided to
all people requiring services.
Result:
The IoT telecare hubs will provide alarm and health
monitoring services. This infrastructure will enable
advanced monitoring and help to keep people healthy
in their homes for longer.
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