Applications of IoT – Farming, Agriculture, Greenhouse, Industrial Automation, Smart Buildings and Supply Chain Management
The number of IoT consumers are increasing by the day and there is always some company launching a new IoT enabled product. Based on predictions, this trend will only increase in the future.
IoT is already allowing us to share and use valuable information in our daily life and some popular applications of IoT are farming, agriculture, greenhouse, industrial automation, smart buildings and supply chain management.
Farming
The way farmers work is being revolutionized by remote farming operations and remote monitoring of livestock enabled by the internet of things (IoT). An application of IoT that should not be underestimated, smart farming is expected to play a crucial role in the economy of predominantly agricultural-product exporting countries going forward.
Agriculture
An example of this IoT application is smart irrigation systems sensing the soil moisture and taking weather into account to ensure that they only water crops when needed, thus reducing the amount of water usage. This is an example of outdoor agriculture application of IoT. An example of IoT application in indoor agriculture would be IoT enabling monitoring and management of micro-climate conditions such as temperature, humidity and light to maximize production.
Greenhouse
A farming facility, connected greenhouse incorporates the internet of things microcontrollers, sensors and applications. The technology helps to automate and improve the management of greenhouse. Moreover, sensors can detect radiation, pathogens, and air quality to identify dangerous concentrations early and allow people to evacuate.
Industrial Automation
Perhaps, the most talked about application of IoT today is industrial automation. Industrial automation is empowering industries with sensors, software and big data analytics to create efficient processes and products. Industrial automation is revolutionizing industries by increasing manufacturing efficiency.
Sensors embedded in manufacturing equipment and placed throughout a factory can help identify bottlenecks in the manufacturing process. By addressing bottlenecks, manufacturing time and waste is reduced. Industrial automation enables ‘predictive maintenance’, which is using advanced sensing and analytics to predict exactly when machines will need maintenance. This ensures that machines are serviced only when they need it, which cuts total costs and the time machines spend idle.
Smart Buildings
From enhancing security to reducing energy and maintenance costs, a range of IoT solutions are available to control and monitor connected buildings. IoT enables automated processes that allow you to control the operations of a building from a remote destination. With IoT, you can control a building’s heating, air conditioning, security, lighting, ventilation and other systems.
Supply Chain Management
With IoT, you can track goods and exchange information with suppliers in real time. Offering a range of solutions, IoT is helping optimize packaging, inventory management, quality control, logistics and overall management of the supply chain. For example, by placing RFID or NFC tags on individual products, the exact location of single items in a large warehouse can be shared, thus saving search time and lowering labor costs.
Additionally, by allowing you to know exactly what’s in-stock and what isn’t, IoT ensures that you order new products only when needed. This reduces the cost of keeping extra inventory. Also, smart inventory management eliminates the need to manually check what’s on the shelves, reducing labor costs.
