With the advent of the internet, many new opportunities have opened up for us that we can enjoy. So we have the privilege of accessing information that is crucial in our daily lives thanks to the Internet. We can very easily connect with people who are dear to us and are located on the other side of the world, all the necessary information is easily available to us and all we have to do is open the search engine and search for the information that interests us. We use it every day at work, and it allows us to do work tasks quickly and easily, we use it in our free time as a way to have fun, and it is an integral part of everyday habits.
In the last period, we have the opportunity to face a new term, it is about the Internet of Things. What does this mean? To make it easier for you to understand this point, we will give you a very simple explanation, without complicated words so that you can more easily understand what it is about. IoT is a situation where many devices are connected, and they are connected to the network through the Internet. These devices manage software and sensors to exchange information and data with each other.
It may seem a bit complicated and confusing, but we will somehow be able to present this term to you through a series of examples. And for example, we will take transport and logistics. How IoT helps in these sectors, what are the benefits of its use and you will be able to learn much more in the continuation of this text.
So let’s start with transport
You have probably noticed if you live in a bigger city, how the number of cars is increasing every day. Streets and boulevards remain the same width, and there are only a few lanes that we can navigate by car. This can be a very frustrating situation, especially when we are on our way to work and back home. Chaos and congestion throughout the city further affect our mood and make us quite nervous. So how can this problem be solved? Through the use of IoT.
Let’s say you drive from home and you know that there is a part of the city where the traffic is too big and you will surely get stuck and late for work. IoT comes here as a savior. Imagine that there is an application that will take you from home to work without waiting in long columns. You run the app, it gives you all the information you need to know where traffic jams are and gives you a new route you can use to avoid traffic jams. The more people who use this application, the better they will deal with the crowds that are created on the streets of the central area.
Another way we can benefit from IoT is by requesting a parking space. Parking spaces are limited and it is difficult to know before we get to a location whether we will be able to find a free parking space there. This can be a huge problem as we will be wasting valuable time finding a free parking space. Imagine if there was an application that would contain all the parking lots in the city and take us to exactly the place that is free. If you can not find a free place through the application, you would choose to go by public transport to the same location and you will manage not to succumb to the risk of parking incorrectly or wandering for hours looking for a free place.
Having already mentioned public transport, IoT applications will play an important role in this part of transport as well. Many people avoid driving because they either do not have a driver’s license or want to reduce pollution. City transport would be much easier if there was an application that would show us in real-time the location of buses, trains, or trams and we would know how long it would take for the transport to arrive at the station we are waiting on.
IoT would also prove to be good when it comes to car maintenance or servicing and replacement of parts. As a person who is not experienced enough with cars, I need an application with which I can very easily take timely actions that will help me keep the car in good condition. I would not like to be in a situation where my car breaks down when I go on the road. An application that would warn me that it is time to change the oil, or to change the tires because the ones I use have been used for a long time. To warn me that it is time to replace a filter on the car, and where is the nearest place where I can do it and the like. In these situations, the IoT would do its job well and get me out of some unwanted situations.
When it comes to logistics, IoT has had a very positive impact on this sector. As an example, we will take the post offices that deliver shipments to your homes. Thanks to IoT technologies, it is now much easier to track every package we order online. All you need is the serial number of the shipment and through the search engine in a few seconds you can already find out the location of that shipment. This is good for those who are waiting for the packages and for those whose job it is to transport them from one place to another because they have complete control over each parcel, where it is located at a given time and for how long it would take to get to the desired location.
If you want to see what additional benefits can come from these innovations, we suggest you visit Softengi. They are a group of innovators who first managed to digitally transform their company, and now help other companies to do the same. What can you gain from digital transformation? First, you will drastically reduce costs, make the visibility of the transport process easier, measure operational performance, reduce downtime, and much more.
Many companies have already adopted and started the digital transformation and as a result, have started to enjoy the benefits they can get from it. These companies should set an example for others and encourage them to do the same.
