Joe is a man nearing the age of 80 and he recently discovered he could control some parts of his home, like the thermostat, using his smartphone. Technology has gotten to the point where a person can turn the heat up or down in their home even if they’re far away in another state– now that is amazing if you think about it for a moment, right?
With names like Alexa, Echo Plus, Google Home, Siri, and Google Assistant, people are able to use the “Internet of Things” to accomplish certain household tasks. What is the Internet of Things? It’s technologies allowing networked devices to sense other devices and then interact/communicate with them. Anything that can have a sensor embedded within it can be a “thing” connected to the Internet.
The Internet of Things can involve a whole host of devices, from coffee machines to cars and even health monitoring devices.
How the Fiber Optics is Involved With the Internet of Things
How is this possible? Sensors are small and don’t need a lot of power… and they can be connected to wireless networks via wifi and/or Bluetooth. Smartphones with apps, in turn, give people a device that’s able to control/monitor various sensors.
Did you know that the Internet of Things involves fiber networks?
Home wireless networks help make all this possible and are a current driving force in the industry. Networks use bandwidth, and fiber helps add to bandwidth. The more devices sending and receiving messages, the more bandwidth that’ll be needed. Fiber networks carry those messages– they’re vital to quick, efficient communication between devices.
Also, fiber is going to play a critical role in helping factories and warehouses utilize the Internet of Things in the years to come. Controlling machines remotely, especially when environmental conditions make it hazardous to allow wireless networks to operate, will be a chief concern. Therefore, more fiber optic cables will need to be put in place to handle data transmission around various industrial facilities.
Finally, fibers can be used as actual sensors for the Internet of Things. Where sensitivity and high performance are needed, fibers offer decent light transmission performance with the ability to measure across a wide frequency band.
