The Internet of Things (IoT) enables physical items to be connected to the internet and to report various information about their state or the state of the environment around them. IoT technology primarily uses communications standards and protocols that are used in networking. The major enabling technologies are low-energy Bluetooth, WiFi and radio protocols as well as mobile communications standards (LTE-A) and WiFi-Direct.
These enable IoT-enabled devices to communicate with the internet over long periods of time and with pervasive connectivity. This is because these devices are ‘always-on’ while reporting data and must be able to do so without having to be recharged constantly. Low energy communications technologies are one of the most important because they enable IoT devices to be constantly in listening mode. Technologies like WiFi-Direct eliminate the need for IoT devices to be in proximity to a wireless access point by allowing peer-to-peer connections that have low latency.
