The IoT and its Role in a More Connected World
The Internet of Things (IoT) is having an incredible impact on the way we work, live, and play. The innovations that it’s making possible are revolutionizing virtually everything around us – our phones, cars, homes, and even our cities. By leveraging the advancements of IoT, we’re able to harness the power of information and knowledge to create a world that is more efficient, sustainable, and safer. We’re seeing the impact of the IoT across five major areas: home, retail, industry, cities, and healthcare.
IoT for the Smart Home
Our houses are becoming much more to us than just our homes. It’s our workplace, virtual doctor’s office, drop-off location for deliveries, and more. As we spend more time in our homes, seamless IoT connectivity becomes paramount, and robust security is critical to maintaining safety. In addition, because homes are a large contributor to energy consumption, as applications such as lighting and HVAC become connected, the IoT helps drive a more sustainable home and world.
IoT for Smart Retail
In retail, online shopping and surging global e-commerce are challenging retailers and store operators. Retailers need to re-capture consumer attention through new omnichannel strategies, and a seamless digital shopping experience delivered to customers in the physical world – enter the Internet of Things. By offering a more tailored and engaging experience, as well as using data collected in the store to improve the experience of the shopper, retailers are revising and improving the shopping experience through the IoT.
Industrial IoT
Industrial companies across all sectors are affected by rapidly growing global competition. They need to increase production and efficiency to meet the demands of unique requirements and lower prices, while also balancing their global footprint. Companies leveraging IoT connectivity will thrive in the new Industry 4.0 by improving processes, evaluating areas of improvement, and even predicting faults in processes and machines and servicing them before downtime occurs.
IoT in Smart Cities
Cities cover only 2% of the earth’s landmass but will soon inhabit 70% of the population. Due to rapidly intensifying urbanization, cities have a critical role in solving massive global challenges, such as climate change and the IoT can help. According to the World Bank, public lighting alone constitutes up to 65% of a city’s electricity costs and 10% of its overall budget. Cities investing in IoT infrastructure drive efficiencies and create safer, better, more sustainable places to live and thrive.
IoT in Healthcare
The healthcare sector around the world is seeking new cost-efficient ways to organize medical processes. Learning how to tend, diagnose, triage, treat, and monitor the growing and aging population more efficiently is an ideal use case for the Internet of Things. Hospitals are utilizing the IoT and transitioning less critical care needs out to more efficient outpatient care channels. The costly inpatient services are gradually changed into remote medical applications via the IoT. This transformation will be a vast undertaking requiring new skills, processes, and technologies.
Why Silicon Labs for IoT Development?
We Know Wireless IoT
Our integrated wireless development platform is designed to help you overcome the common and complex challenges of creating connected devices. It enables you to bring intelligent, secure solutions from edge to cloud to market faster. Our technology is tailored for the IoT and IIoT, considering factors such as cost, power, size, storage, interoperability, reliability, and robustness.
The Silicon Labs IoT Development Platform
Hardware
Our integrated hardware makes it easy to solve complex wireless challenges and get to market quickly.
Software
Our software abstracts the complexity of items like multiprotocol and pre-certification to simplify development.
Wireless
Our RF development platform provides connections for any standard, protocol or ecosystem.
Security
Secure Vault offers an unrivaled solution for secure key storage, secure boot, secure update and more.
IoT for Good Developer Stories
Silicon Labs has been at the forefront of IoT development since before we had a name for it. To learn more about how we can help you, or to see what we’ve been doing in similar industries, check out our IoT for Good page and discover how we’re helping to build a safer, smarter, and more connected world.