Finshaggy
Well-Known Member
Most people have heard of the Cloud, but many people do not understand what it is. The Cloud is Datacenters holding things for you so that Companies, Governments, Enterprises and Individuals do not have to have Data on site to be able to use it.
SaaS or Software as a Service is the best first example to explain this. When you download an app on your phone, there is no disk or anything needed in order to install the app, it is hosted in a datacenter and your phone just uses the Software.
Then there is PaaS or Platform as a Service, this is what Google and Droid offer app developers.
So that is the Cloud, now, the Internet of Things is an extension of the Cloud. It is called Ubiquitous Computing (there is also Fog Computing, etc), this is where multiple devices can work in concert. For example, if there were a factory that were staffed by Robots, the Robots would be computers, the Manufacturing Machinery would be computers, and there would also be some kind of mainframe that would operate it all (a Datacenter type thing). This could all operate together using the Cloud so that every Robot, every Machine, and the Mainframe are all in constant communication. This could also be maintained by an outside Datacenter that may be hosting multiple or hundreds/thousands of factories.
The goal is to have your phone, talking to your computer, talking to your TV, talking to your refrigerator, talking to your watch, all through the Cloud.
There are currently self Driving cars (Google, Tesla, 18 Wheelers, etc) and eventually self driving cars will have the front seats facing backwards so that the front and backseat passengers can all be facing each other while the car drives itself. And when most cars are self driving, the cars will all be in constant communication with each other, as well as with other devices such as phones, then there will be some kind of control center most likely or something like Google's Project Loon which is like Internet from weather Balloons.
That is the Internet of Things.
SaaS or Software as a Service is the best first example to explain this. When you download an app on your phone, there is no disk or anything needed in order to install the app, it is hosted in a datacenter and your phone just uses the Software.
Then there is PaaS or Platform as a Service, this is what Google and Droid offer app developers.
So that is the Cloud, now, the Internet of Things is an extension of the Cloud. It is called Ubiquitous Computing (there is also Fog Computing, etc), this is where multiple devices can work in concert. For example, if there were a factory that were staffed by Robots, the Robots would be computers, the Manufacturing Machinery would be computers, and there would also be some kind of mainframe that would operate it all (a Datacenter type thing). This could all operate together using the Cloud so that every Robot, every Machine, and the Mainframe are all in constant communication. This could also be maintained by an outside Datacenter that may be hosting multiple or hundreds/thousands of factories.
The goal is to have your phone, talking to your computer, talking to your TV, talking to your refrigerator, talking to your watch, all through the Cloud.
There are currently self Driving cars (Google, Tesla, 18 Wheelers, etc) and eventually self driving cars will have the front seats facing backwards so that the front and backseat passengers can all be facing each other while the car drives itself. And when most cars are self driving, the cars will all be in constant communication with each other, as well as with other devices such as phones, then there will be some kind of control center most likely or something like Google's Project Loon which is like Internet from weather Balloons.
That is the Internet of Things.
