(Newswire.net — January 16, 2024) — Humanity is entering a new era — the Internet of Things. In the coming years, everyday objects: cars and household appliances — will be united into a single network to ensure our comfort. Technology already makes it possible to do this. However, the risks to the individual that innovation can bring force an active discussion about the boundaries of a person’s personal space where technology can invade.
Quantum Computing and IoT Synergy
The IoT is becoming increasingly popular, and this is not surprising. After all, it allows us to control our lives on a new level. We can monitor our home, car, workplace devices, portable devices, and even the things we wear on ourselves, such as watches, glasses, and clothing.
But what is quantum computing, and how can it impact the future of the Internet? This new approach to data processing allows it to be included in probability calculations. That is, we are talking not only about increasing power but also about fundamentally new opportunities. This feature helps to incorporate a tremendous amount of Internet of Things data and quickly perform the necessary calculations.
In addition, the new generation of computers will increase the security of data transmission. It is a crucial question because the Internet of Things uses personal information. Third-party access can have disastrous consequences, especially regarding smart homes or managing an entire transport system.
Quantum computing can also improve the efficiency of data processing. It means that computers will be able to analyze information from multiple sensors more accurately and extract all necessary information. For example, IoT and quantum synergy can be helpful in urban planning. In this area, data is located in different places, and a significant amount of time is required to analyze it. In addition, quantum computing can help avoid connection problems. For example, quantum communication between devices can prevent issues with connection loss.
Impact on Logistics and Asset Tracking
“Smart” technologies have not bypassed transport logistics. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic gave a strong impetus to the development of this area. Isolation, remote work, and shortages of food and household items have led to the need to reduce delivery times and increase delivery volumes, optimize production, and comply with social distancing and hygiene requirements. All this became possible thanks to the IoT technology. In simple words, IoT connects physical objects, devices, and systems through various wireless communication technologies for advanced supply chain management. It’s like controlling a coffee maker from a smartphone but on a larger scale.
Logistics was one of the first industries to experience IoT, appreciate its advantages, and identify its disadvantages. Traffic control, packaging integrity, accelerated delivery times, optimization of production, and storage of products in warehouses are always in the first place for product suppliers. It is what their profit, asset growth, and strengthening of their market position depend on.
Depending on a particular business’s needs, goals, and strategies, companies identify several areas where IoT technology is actively used. Supply chain visibility, Vehicle tracking, fleet management and route planning, inventory control, and road safety are priority business areas for IoT implementation. We consider each aspect in more detail to determine the relevance and identify future risks and problems in implementation.
Transport tracking is vital, especially with the help of Eelink. Every buyer must know where his parcel is and when it will be delivered “in person.” At the same time, each seller is interested in the integrity of the cargo, its safety, and proper transportation conditions. GPS and RFID tags successfully cope with such tasks as informing both parties to the transaction about the location and condition of the goods. We would like to note that it was with RFID tags that the digitalization of transport and warehouse logistics in the world began. It’s like a tiny beacon on a product that can transmit data about its location and condition, about the quantitative balances of this product in the supplier’s warehouse or units in a specific container. The presence and use of such tags make the path from seller to buyer completely transparent, which, in turn, increases the level of consumer confidence.
Fleet management allows you to optimize the process of transporting goods and control the company’s employees. Various GPS IoT sensors allow the responsible manager to monitor the entire delivery process in real time. Sensors can transmit information about the condition of the cargo (temperature, humidity level) and the driver’s location, compliance with traffic rules, and the given route. Using such technology will reduce costs associated with the dishonest behavior of employees during transportation.
Route planning: IoT will allow you to reduce the fuel consumed, correctly build a route, and reduce the risk of road accidents. It also includes monitoring the vehicle’s technical condition and the level of driver fatigue. It will significantly reduce fuel costs in the current economic situation, eliminate the “empty” movement of the vehicle and unexpected downtime, and prevent premature wear of parts and the car itself.
Inventory control and forecasting. In the context of current restrictions on the global market, suppliers and product manufacturers need to be on alert and promptly replenish stocks of components, raw materials, and fuel. Appropriate sensors will allow you to monitor production volumes and warehouse product balances. Innovative logistics technology will allow you to predict future production volumes and set a budget for purchasing raw materials and employee wages. At the same time, this will make inventory easier and eliminate errors and the “human factor.”
Real-World Applications and Speculative Scenarios
When we talk about the application of the IoT in real life, the first thing that comes to mind is a smart home and making everyday chores more manageable. The most affordable solutions in this area are the function of turning on/off a home alarm or car engine and air conditioner via a smartphone; refrigerators connected to the Internet, climate systems configured via the Internet using a smartphone, or home coffee makers (lucky owners of such devices can, without getting out of bed, for example, set a time for fresh hot coffee to be brewed in the morning or turn on the heating in the car through an application on their phone, wearing a jacket in the house in winter so that the vehicle has time to warm up before the driver gets to it from the apartment).
But these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Futurists and marketers are already saying that shortly, various sensors will be implanted even into the human body, which, without the participation of the owner, will be able to analyze data about his condition and mood, giving commands to things around the user, so that the owner feels excellent and comfortable.
For example, your neck is stiff. It hasn’t even started to hurt yet, but sensors in your body already know about problems with the blood supply to the neck muscles. You lean back on the chair, and it bends its back so your neck relaxes. Medical devices that can transfer data can not only prevent serious complications (since data is collected and sent to the doctor almost automatically and can be used to identify the causes of complications) but also save lives.
Next-gen IoT is developing especially actively in the agricultural, logistics, and Smart City sectors. That is, where there is a need for remote monitoring of the condition of objects or collection of big data for subsequent analysis.
The IoT helps monitor health: various sensors measure blood pressure, heart rate, and even breathing rate. IoT also makes it possible to save on equipment maintenance: sensors collect information about the equipment’s condition, so maintenance and repairs are done precisely when needed. Prevention is always cheaper than repair.
Challenges and Opportunities
The IoT, combined with quantum computing, has virtually unlimited potential. However, all these potential delights also have a downside: in the wake of recent data leaks, for example, from the social network Facebook, the issue of the possible transfer of your most private details to third parties is acute; the issue of general security in general (by hacking the alarm system in your house via the Internet, thieves will be able to feel at ease there, and a hired killer could hypothetically turn off the brakes in your “smart” car); There are also ethical issues of a more subtle nature that are already facing developers of IoT technologies.
Of course, experts worldwide are working to eliminate weaknesses of the quantum IoT future and develop the safest and most ethical solutions. Considering the potential discussed earlier, rejecting these future technologies is the worst option. We should not be afraid but rather find solutions that will allow us to safely introduce these innovations into our lives.
Conclusion
Very soon, the Internet of Things will be used in any industry where at least something can be automated. IoT is developing especially actively in the agricultural, logistics, and medicine sectors. That is, where there is a need for remote monitoring of the condition of objects or collection of big data for subsequent analysis. This solution allows it to save on equipment maintenance: sensors collect information about its condition, so maintenance and repairs are done when needed. Prevention is always cheaper than repair. Thus, this solution will revolutionize all sectors of industry and everyday life.