Why Internet of Things (IoT) has immense potential in India?

The Internet of Things is generating enormous interest in the telecom world nowadays. IoT is expected to digitize our lives while making us more efficient and dependent on technology. For the telecom operators in the saturated developed markets, it could also be the next big source of revenue. Let me try to define this technology first. Internet of Things is a seamless network of uniquely identifiable everyday devices and objects that are connected to each other and the Internet with the purpose of making the daily life smarter and efficient through exchange of data between these connected machines without requiring any human intervention. Some have even called it the Internet of Everything.

Without violating an individual’s privacy, I believe IoT has tremendous potential in a fast-developing country like India. Seamless Internet connectivity through either Wi-Fi or high-speed cellular network is a prerequisite for this technology and India is getting there, albeit slowly. Mobile revolution has taken a solid foothold in the country. Smartphones are becoming increasingly common and possibilities of what can be achieved through a few finger touches on a mobile app are mind-boggling. The government’s latest push towards ideas like Digital India and Smart Cities is targeted primarily towards making people’s lives hassle-free and efficient. IoT fits very well in such a scenario and could be a growth driver for the country. In a vision document released by the government last October, an objective has been set to create a $15 billion IoT industry in India by 2020. Investments have started flowing in already. Cisco has committed $40 million to the Indian IoT space. Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and many other VC firms are also investing millions of dollars in this industry. With such major push, here are some applications of IoT that can be implemented in India –

• Home Security – Security of homes in the absence of occupants is a major issue in many parts of India. IoT has a solution here. A set of strategically placed cameras connected to the Internet can provide a live feed of activities in and around a home on the owner’s device. Such systems are already in use nationwide. The next step would be to monitor the house through a mobile app with a built-in capability to immediately contact the police or local security authorities. A sensor that monitors opening of doors and windows, controls lighting smartly and detects unusual sounds when no one is home can help in preventing burglaries and intrusions. Godrej Security Solutions’ Eagle-I Pro is a wireless home alarm system that uses a mobile app and features many such IoT home security aspects.

• Automated Homes – The concept of smart appliances and devices within a home that inter-network with each other is more about convenience than anything else. Imagine a refrigerator that detects the grocery levels and sends a list of things to be ordered to the owner. Not only that, with a few touches on the mobile device, the order can be placed at a nearby store which delivers the products within a day or so. Next, how about a temperature control system that can be commanded remotely to keep the house at a certain comfortable level before the kids get back in? A recent product which accomplishes an interesting set of tasks in an automated home is TagPlug. It is basically a smart switch and plug that senses if a room is occupied and runs the equipment in the room accordingly. It even helps in saving electricity by automatically switching off – lights, phone charging or the water motor once the task is completed. Sounds cool? We will get to the ‘is this really needed’ part later.

• Sanitation and Cleanliness – With the current government’s latest Clean India initiative, there is a new found emphasis on keeping the surroundings clean. Commonly cited application is of a neighborhood smart trash collector that alerts the municipal authorities when full. If the sanitation crew does not respond within a certain time period, the trash collector can also send a message to the higher personnel in the department. Wireless sensors that detect dirt piles and unclean areas can be deployed in dense areas of a city. Pay as you throw model charges people on basis of how much garbage they throw and want to get collected. Such trash metering will discourage people from generating waste and hence would be very useful in India. Mumbai and Ahmedabad have conducted pilot projects using Vehicle Tracking Systems that track the movement of garbage trucks and help in route planning along with efficient allocation of sanitation staff.

• Healthcare – Tracking and remotely monitoring a patient’s health (with the patient’s permission) is another popular application of the Internet of Things. The technology has been applied in two ways. First, hospitals and doctors can track vulnerable patients and elderly people for any sudden changes in vital parameters. IoT devices can even include panic buttons in order to minimize emergency medical situations. Robert Bosch in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science has designed applications that achieve some of these objectives. Fitness app that measures exercise, weight, blood pressure and other vital statistics is also an emerging area of interest. The app sends data to either the healthcare provider over Internet or uploads it to a user’s database for storage. 2mpower and SenseGiz are two startups having products in this space.

• Traffic Control – Ever-growing traffic is a huge problem nationwide. IoT can help here too. Intelligent traffic management systems are the most obvious applications. A common scenario is the estimated time to reach a destination based on vehicle density ahead. Further step could be the delivery of live traffic feeds to a user’s phone or car that assist in making route decisions and avoiding congestion. Smart traffic signals can regulate the traffic flow at busy intersections. Improved parking is another focus area here. Wireless sensors that intelligently gather information on parking availability can directly connect to a driver’s phone. This makes it easier to find a vacant parking spot without driving around. Altiux Innovations is a company that has come up with a smart parking solution.

• Transportation Logistics – Fleet tracking and monitoring could improve the overall performance of goods transportation. Wireless tags inside trucks can provide the owners with a real-time capability to scrutinize the use of vehicles on road. Freight theft and driver behavior can be checked too. Tata Motors is empowering its trucks with such technology. Telematics4u is a company that works with state governments to prevent illegal trading of minerals. Their system puts smarts tags in trucks that keep a check on supply, truck routes and unlawful distribution of minerals before reaching the intended destination. All this can greatly reduce losses for the industries while controlling corruption.

• Agriculture – Internet of Things is not just a technology for urban areas. Farmers can also benefit from it by modifying their procedures based on collected data. This could include precise weather monitoring, updates on soil moisture levels, ability to customize climatic conditions for healthy production of fruits and vegetables and temperature monitoring in the grain storage areas. Health analysis of livestock and remote pest monitoring are other possible applications. An improvement in the efficiency of agriculture will have a direct positive impact on the economy of India.

• Individual Safety – IoT finds use in enforcing law and order too. Wearable devices for women and elderly can help prevent trouble. Such embedded devices will come equipped with a high-pitched alarm and panic button. They will draw public attention and will also send a text message through the cellular or satellite network with the user’s location to certain contacts from the phone. The capability to contact the police or security authorities can also be built into the wearable. All this will reduce crime by discouraging attackers and provide more confidence to women if they venture out alone or after dark. Many such gadgets are in developmental stages in India.

• River Management – Another big project being undertaken currently is cleaning of rivers, especially the longest river in the country, Ganga. Wireless sensors at various locations on the banks of the river can detect chemical and biological contaminants that are dumped into the river from various factories and cities. All such data will be collected at the local server that further sends it to the regional monitoring site. This helps in identifying polluters and repeat offenders. Tracking the water level in rivers and dams can avoid flooding disasters. L&T Technology Services has delivered products in this field of water management.

• Smart Cities – Many of the above IoT concepts tie into the bigger idea of a smart city, which is again a huge project in the government’s future plan. Smart cities are information technology backed urban areas in which everything from essential services to luxurious amenities is based on the IT infrastructure. Wireless devices and sensors that feed data into central system are an important component of such cities. Basic amenities such as electricity and water and broader issues like traffic and parking are all controlled from a smart grid and this makes the whole mechanism very efficient. High speed Internet connectivity in these cities is ubiquitous. The government wants to establish 100 smart cities in India in the long term for which it has already allocated a budget of about $1.2 billion. Many countries have shown interest to participate in the development of these cities. Cisco is a big name among the companies that have developed blueprints and concrete plans for such intelligent dwellings. However there is not much clarity on the actual implementation yet and challenges remain before this dream can be turned into a reality.

These are just some applications of the revolution called IoT. There is absolutely no dearth of cool stuff happening in this space. A startup named CarIQ has developed a plug & play device that connects to the car and continuously runs the cars’ diagnostics. The collected data is sent to the cloud that processes the information and sends it to the owner’s phone via a mobile app mainly in the form of alerts. SmartBuildings offers an innovative technology that provides monitoring, control and analytics solutions to make office buildings more efficient and comfortable. The solution offers energy conservation and temperature/lightning control apart from a powerful data analytics tool that processes all the information and displays it in the form of real-time dashboards.

However, there is another way to look at IoT. Is it required to begin with? Whenever there is a discussion on Machine-to-Machine communications, this is a popular counter-argument. Will intrusive technology take complete control of our lives and make us lazy? Although the extent of an individual’s dependency on Internet and mobile is variable, in many ways we have already ceded much space to technology with round the clock usage of smartphones, laptops and social media. It is quite clear that if implemented efficiently, IoT can work wonders for India given the extensive burden on infrastructure and increasingly busy lifestyle of the common man. And that is why India is fast emerging as a hotbed of IoT startups nowadays like the ones listed above. Only time will tell if this is a promise that fails to realize its full potential. But possibilities of how IoT can make life easier are enormous.