These days, technologies have had greater impacts on everyday life. Both government and private sectors have adopted emerging technologies in order to enable more organizational efficiency. Internet of Things or IoT is one developing technology that is currently applied to various areas, namely Building & Home Automation, Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing, Automotive, Wearables, Healthcare and Agriculture, where sensors and networks are being used to collect and proceed large amount of data.
IoT technology has gained attention in Thailand and was mentioned as one topic in IT Trends 2018 Asia’s Rising Power seminar. Many case studies were shared and discussed during the seminar. Digital Pills technology from a Japanese Otsuka Pharmaceutical firm is one interesting case that was recently granted an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration agency. Once pills are taken, an implanted mineral chip in tablets transmits signal to receiver devices, and this medication is used treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.
Beacon technology is another example of IoT which is widely adopted for a couple of years. The technology functions similarly to GPS but it uses Bluetooth signal to identify and connect single user location, as well as to provide communication to each user through this channel. The Beacon technology is popularly applied to retail businesses in order to provide promotions and discounts to customers at different spots to enhance customer engagement by delivering product information offerings for individual to personalize shopping experience. The capability of this technology also allows retail business to collect information about customer buying behaviors for further analysis.
At this point, it is illustrated that the IoT technology is customized to access and focus on personalized information with an aim to maximize benefits for technology users. Telematics technology is another innovation developed under the aforementioned concept. It’s designed to process remote transmitting data, and has been generally implemented for vehicle insurance business. The IoT appliance will be installed and gather vehicle records, directions, distance, time, speed, and also driving risk factors like harsh braking, harsh cornering and acceleration. Driving behaviors will be scored and used for appropriate insurance calculation.
Different equipment and tools are creatively applied with Internet of Things technology. One well-known example which produces high impacts on business is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The number of UAV company is increasing and more than 500 firms had joined and proposed their unique solutions at The China International Internet of Things Exhibition in Shenzhen. Apart from UAV, there were other devices and technology showcases like sensors, network equipment, RFID, short-range communication, financial payment, big data processing, cloud and real-time locating technology developed to co-operate with IoT to serve various industry demands.
The aforesaid information could demonstrate a clearer picture of how Internet of Things technology is being developed and consistently expanded to support customer-centric business model in each industry. One important issue that requires close attention along with the development is the IoT security systems that prevent potential attacks in the future.
Source: IT Trends 2018 Asia’s Rising Power Seminar organized by IMC Institute and Optimus