Networking and Internetworking - Guide to Cloud Computing for Business and Technology Managers - page 64

• Buildings: Institutional/Commercial/Industrial/Home. HVAC, fire
and safety, security, elevators, access control systems, lighting
• Industrial: Process Industries/Forming/Converting/Discrete
Assembly/Distribution/Supply Chain. Pumps, valves, vessels, tanks,
automation and control equipment, capital equipment, pipelines
• Retail: Stores/Hospitality/Services. Point-of-sale terminals, vending
machines, RFID tags, scanners and registers, lighting and refrigera-
tion systems
• Security and Infrastructure: Homeland Security/Emergency
Services/National and Regional Defense. GPS systems, radar sys-
tems, environmental sensors, vehicles, weaponry, fencing
• Transportation: On-Road Vehicles/Off-Road Vehicles/
Nonvehicular/Transport Infrastructure. Commercial vehicles, air-
planes, trains, ships, signage, tolls, RF tags, parking meters, surveil-
lance cameras, tracking systems
• Information Technology and Network Infrastructure: Enterprise/
Data Centers. Switches, servers, storage
• Resources: Agriculture/Mining/Oil/Gas/Water. Mining equip-
ment, drilling equipment, pipelines, agricultural equipment
• Consumer/Professional: Appliances/White Goods/Office Equip-
ment/Home Electronics. M2M devices, gadgets, smartphones, tablet
PCs, home gateways
In terms of the type of technological artifacts involved, the IoT applications
can be subdivided into four categories:
a. The Internet of Devices: Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
M2M refers to technologies that allow both wireless and wired
devices to communicate with each other or, in most cases, a central-
ized server. An M2M system uses devices (such as sensors or meters)
to capture events (such as temperature or inventory level), which are
relayed through a network (wireless, wired, or hybrid) to an appli-
cation (software program) that translates the captured events into
meaningful information. M2M communication is a relatively new
business concept, born from the original telemetry technology, uti-
lizing similar technologies but modern versions.
b. The Internet of Objects: Radio-frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID uses radio waves to transfer data from an electronic tag
attached to an object to a central system through a reader for the
purpose of identifying and tracking the object.