What is IoT?
Internet of Things
It is the Internet of Things network that enables physical devices to exchange data with each other via sensors and the internet.
Overview
Internet of Things (IoT) is the technology of connecting everyday physical objects to the internet by equipping them with sensors, software, and network connectivity. These devices collect data from the environment, transmit the collected data to servers for analysis, and can receive remote commands. Thus, they communicate with each other without the need for human intervention to create smart systems.
How it works
The microcontroller or processor on the physical device reads data such as temperature, motion, or energy coming from sensors. This data is transferred to a gateway or cloud server over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular networks using lightweight protocols like MQTT. The system reacts automatically according to predetermined rules or provides status information to the user via a mobile application.
Where it is used
It is used in smart home systems, monitoring industrial production lines (IIoT), tracking soil moisture in agriculture, and smart city lighting networks.
Commonly confused with
Home automation is just a home-scale application area of IoT technology, whereas IoT is the general umbrella covering all device networks from factories to medicine.
Questions and answers
What is the biggest risk for IoT devices?
Since most devices have limited processing power, security measures can remain weak, which can pave the way for cyber attackers to infiltrate the network.
How does IoT combine with artificial intelligence?
Massive data flowing from sensors is fed into artificial intelligence models to make smart decisions such as predictive maintenance and energy optimization.
Related terms
Related tools
This explanation was written in plain language for TreScout with AI and machine-translated from the Turkish original · the Turkish version prevails. If something looks wrong or missing, write to hello@trescout.com. Read in Turkish →