Internet of Things is described as a digitally connected universe of everyday devices which are embedded with internet connectivity, sensors and other hardware which allow communication through web. From health tracking Fitbits to Smart blackboards, IoT has made everything around us smart. On a smaller scale, it would be switching on a TV using your phone and on a larger scale planning smart cities with sensors all over.

Why is IoT so important?

The sensors installed are capable of sending information and/or receiving information and acting upon it. These are beneficial as they help improve and innovate lives of customers, businesses and society at large. Businesses have invested extensively in R&D to innovate and develop out-of-the -box products.

Read more at:  https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-the-internet-of-things-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-iot-right-now/

The newest development in the technical world today is smart buildings, buildings. This development has been riding the wave of IOT. It has been expected that demand for such buildings will increase to 70% by 2050. Smart cities are also a possibility, using linking devices to communicate with each other thus making it possible to analyze huge amounts of data in real time. Efficient infrastructure and storage for the information is a necessity. This set of IOT solutions has huge potential which seek to improve quality of life and well-being clubbed with increased efficiency, productivity and economic growth. Similarly, the transport sector can also be upgraded by IOT. Smart transport for these smart cities can soon be a reality. To know more, please follow: http://www.dataversity.net/how-cities-will-benefit-from-the-smart-buildings/

Uncontrolled urbanization is posing as a great threat as it puts immense pressure on the resources available. Some of the issues that will be faced in this scenario are clean water, clean air, power, waste management and living space.
Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT) are some of the technological forces which are pushing towards smart cities. With the help of Big Data a range of applications are being made available with the help of which smart cities can be made more livable. Applications like smart street lights are already being used in smart cities like Birmingham. Street lights are attached with sensors which monitor footfall and noise levels and based on this data, the light turns on or off. Cities like Bristol, England are installing an infrastructural network that will support the data generated through Big Data and IoT.
These examples are minor steps in building of Smart cities which can sustain growing population without hampering the quality of life. Read more at: https://icrunchdatanews.com/big-data-building-smart-cities/

We are all very used to Power outages in our daily lives but little do we know about the impact it causes on a large scale. Power outages have the potential to put an economy on a downward trend. Addressing the issue of Power outages are being done lately through various technology advancements.One such advancement in this field is to use grids that are smart and automated. Smart grid technologies are enhanced with grid communication by employing grid radios, which are connected in mesh type of layout. They automatically switch lines and isolate faults in few seconds which otherwise take hours to restore power. The selection criterion in accepting these communication technologies is based on their reliability, performance and future proofing. 

In order to build a complete smart electrical network we have different technology suites employed at different stages, and these technology suites are may not n\be from the same company, which means the companies must ensure that their products are capable of running simultaneously side by side. 

Read more at http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/opinion/opinion/126074-how-smart-city-technology-will-reduce-the-impact-of-black-outs

We have come across the word "Smart city" frequently in recent times and we will see it more frequently in coming years. What exactly is a Smart City and how is it created?  The idea of smart City is to embed the technologically advanced devices which are making the Internet of things a reality into our surroundings. Once the technology is hard wired with the infrastructure, we can interact with these devices using our smart phones or computers and also devices can interact among themselves. For example, a car will be guided to an empty parking space without any human intervention.

In order to realize these smart cities, software and hardware applications for the internet of things are being encouraged. Some of the applications planned for smart cities are intelligent street lighting systems to conserve energy, mapping energy use around the city to understand demand and mapping how people maximize use of bicycle and foot paths. People are also raising caution over this new technology as it will hurt privacy.Read more at:http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/05/19/how-big-data-and-the-internet-of-things-create-smarter-cities/2/