The Internet of Things (IoT) is helping businesses innovate, find new value, and gain efficiencies at and exciting pace. It’s already used in several industries, including the healthcare, agriculture, logistics, and automotive industries.
This article will cover Consumer IoT, which refers to the devices, use cases, and applications of IoT in the consumer market.
Consumer IoT adds convenience to everyday life and aims to keep users connected. It has also helped speed up rapid innovation and make consumer services more personalized.
The Consumer Internet of Things is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.43% from 2021 to 2028. The main things driving this market are the growing market for smart devices and the growing number of people who use the internet. Below, we will discuss the applications and examples of Consumer IoT and how it differs from Industrial IoT.
What is consumer IoT?
Consumer Internet of Things refers to the integration of IoT technology into consumer devices and applications. It involves billions of physical devices connected to the internet and uses sensors to collect, process, and share the data.
Unlike Industrial IoT, the Consumer Internet of Things aims to provide solutions and convenience on an individual level. These solutions include efficient tracking, enhanced connections, better insights, higher control, and increased comfort. All these qualities can be applied to different aspects of daily life, including entertainment, home safety, healthcare, and asset tracking.
While the smartphone can be considered the ultimate consumer IoT device, there are other well-known examples. These include smartwatches, smart glasses, trackers, and smart home technologies like voice- or text-controlled home appliances.
Other examples of IoT devices in the home include:
- Smart light switches
- Smart air quality monitors
- Smart locks
- Home voice controllers
- Doorbell cams
- Voice controllers
- Smart smoke alarms
- Hue bulbs and lighting systems
What is the difference between industrial IoT and consumer IoT?
The main difference between industrial IoT and consumer IoT lies in the devices and applications used.
Industrial IoT focuses on IoT solutions for manufacturing. For instance, smart factories that make use of IoT’s predictive maintenance, robotics, and smart grid capabilities.
Consumer IoT devices can range from simple and cheap devices, such as smartwatches or smart thermostats, to high-end smart home automation applications. The main aim of the Consumer Internet of Things is to assist you in your everyday tasks.
However, there is an increasing amount of overlap between industrial IoT and consumer IoT applications.
What are the major consumer IoT applications?
Thanks to edge computing technologies, consumer IoT devices are constantly becoming easier to use and more efficient. The following are some of the smart consumer trends of recent years.
Smart healthcare
IoT in the consumer electronics market offers many wearables that can be used for personal healthcare purposes. For instance, these devices can easily monitor vital signs such as body temperature, respiration rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, etc. The devices are connected to the user’s smartphone, and the data is gathered in the associated app. This can provide medical professionals with important information when medical assistance is required.
In hospitals and nursing homes, IoT devices can help caregivers with patient surveillance and reduce the likelihood of injury. According to a study, remote patient monitoring IoT devices can detect fall activity in patients with 95% accuracy, allowing staff to keep an eye on patients and intervene when needed.
Pet IoT
IoT devices can also be used to ensure the health and safety of pets. Some examples of pet IoT devices include health and activity trackers, smart feeders, invisible fences, and real-time GPS trackers. This makes sure that pets never get lost and lets their owners know how fit and healthy their pets are at all times.
Using these devices, owners can schedule their pets’ playtime, food, and medication. When pets need treatment, pet IoT applications can even provide owners with the necessary resources and guidelines.
Asset tracking
Asset tracking is another useful application of consumer IoT. This application allows users to attach trackers to important assets that are likely to be lost or stolen. An example of this is AirTag: designed by Apple, this device can be attached to e.g. a keychain or kept in a purse. Users can track the location of the AirTag, allowing them to find their personal items.
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Smart homes
Home security is one of the most important applications of consumer IoT technology. It allows residents to monitor their home entrance to prevent unauthorized access. For example, a popular product is the video doorbell, which sends a message to your phone, tablet, or computer as soon as someone approaches the gate. When users are away, they can monitor their home in real time using access control and emergency services.
Consumer Internet of Things technology is also popular in kitchen appliances. For example, a smart grill thermometer makes it possible to remotely monitor foods so they are cooked perfectly. On the other hand, with Samsung’s Family Hub technology, users can stay connected to family members and manage smart appliances directly from the fridge. Finally, a device such as the Smart Air Monitor from Amazon keeps an eye on air quality and instantly alerts users of any air quality issues.
Wearable technologies
Companies are developing wearable IoT devices to reduce users’ dependency on smartphones. Wearable IoT technology includes smart clothing, watches, hearables, and glasses. These devices are changing how users work, communicate, and carry out their daily activities.
IoT devices that can work on their own and don’t need a smartphone to view data are also being made. These devices provide safety features, health monitoring, and daily activity tracking. A common example is wearable IoT devices that empower disabled people and give users more independence.
Further, supervisors can enhance worker safety in risky working conditions like construction or mining sites through network-connected wearable devices like vests, hard hats, and boots. These devices can provide real-time data about the workers through a cloud data analytics service.
Conclusion
The increased use of IoT across industries is one of the main focuses of the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Consumer IoT devices have seen tremendous growth in terms of usage and popularity. This growth will keep going as long as people want IoT devices that are cheaper, faster, are more capable, more powerful, and safer.
With the help of Onomondo’s global connectivity and powerful IoT tools, more and more IoT devices are entering the consumer market to improve lives and put us on a more sustainable path. Would you like to find out more about how Onomondo can help users build better consumer IoT products? Then get in touch with our experts to find out more.
