Top 35 IoT Terms You Need to Know

IoT Terms

1. 6LoWPAN

   A fusion of IPv6 (the current Internet protocol), and Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks, it permits power-constrained IoT devices to access the TCP/IP Internet directly. This means that even the smallest and weakest IoT devices can have connectivity.

2. Advanced Encryption Standards

   This is an electronic data encryption specification that has been the standard for IoT device transport layer security since 2001.

3. Application Programming Interface

   A method of expediting communication between computers and hardware/software platforms.

4. Beacon Technology

   This permits small network transmitters to interact with systems utilizing low-power Bluetooth. Apple’s version is called iBeacon.

5. Big Data

   Large volumes of information, both structured and unstructured, collected from a massive number of sources and delivered at extremely rapid speed. This information is raw data that is used by analysts to devise better-informed strategies for businesses and other organizations. IoT is a huge source for Big Data.

6. Bluetooth Low Energy 

   A wireless, personal-area network characterized by lower power usage and a limited range for data transmission. It’s also called Bluetooth 4.0.

7. Cloud Computing 

   Remote servers connected via a network and used for data storage, processing, and management, instead of relying on a local, in-house physical server.

8. Embedded Software

   The computer software that controls hardware devices and systems that are not usually considered computers, like a smart refrigerator, for instance.

9. Firmware-Over-The-Air

   Also known as FOTA, this technology allows the remote wireless installation, repair, and upgrading of software and services on mobile devices.

10. Gateway 
    

    This is any device that gathers information from various network points and sends that information on to another network.

11. Global Navigation Satellite System

    The GNSS is any satellite navigation system that offers autonomous geo-spatial positioning, timing, and navigation, either by region or globally.     

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12. Industrial IoT

    This is the means for machines and industrial applications to have real-time communication with each other (M2M). This will probably be what brings SkyNet online.

13. Link Budget 

    This is a telecommunication system jargon that describes an accounting of all of the gains and losses going from a transmitter, passing through the medium, and ending up at the receiver. 

14. Low-Power Wide-Area

    A network offering a low range and low power consumption, used primarily for M2M communications.

15. Low-Power Wireless Sensor Network

    A collection of scattered, independent devices that measure environmental or physical conditions, all without significant power consumption.
    
    

16. Lora Protocol 

    A long-range digital wireless communication technique to facilitate IoT and M2M communications.

17. LTE-M

    A more power-efficient standard for machine communications.

18. Machine-to-Machine

    Also known as M2M for short, it’s the process of machines or other connected devices communicating with each other without human intervention.

19. Media Access Control 

    A data link layer (DLL) sublayer transmits data packets to and from a network interface card.

20. Mesh Network

    A network system where devices transmit their data while also serving as relays to other nodes.

21. Mobile IoT
    

    Low power, wide area devices used in conjunction with mobile devices interfacing with IoT networks.

22. NB-IoT
    

    This stands for Narrow Band IoT and is used as a convenient, cost-effective means of expanding IoT into a whole new series of devices and everyday household items. This is a low-power, wide-area technology, and will be instrumental in increasing the scope of IoT in the years to come.

23. Near-Field Communication

    Otherwise known as NFC, it permits two-way communication between closely located endpoints. It’s a short-range, low-power, low-speed form of radio communication.

24. Quality of Service

    A measurement of how well a network supports IT connectivity. This covers elements such as transmission delays, availability of connections, and data loss.

25. Radio Frequency Identification
    

    Commonly called RFID tags, uses electromagnetic coupling and radio frequencies to identify people and things. It has a limited range and data transmission capabilities. The number bibs that runners use in road races, for instance, are equipped with RFID tags to confirm they passed certain course checkpoints.

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26. RF Geolocation
    

    Otherwise known as using a radio transceiver to find another radio transceiver. The classic example of this is the ever-popular GPS, found in many models of cars.

27. Repeater
    

    A device used to extend network range by receiving a digital signal and re-transmitting it.

28. Sensor/Sensor Network
    

    A device or group of devices that monitor and collect environmental data from a variety of locations in network range.

29. Smart Meter
    

    A device used by utility companies to collect information about energy consumption (e.g., electricity, natural gas, water), and transmit the data back to the company or even to the consumer.

30. Software-Defined Network
    

    A network method that reassigns information flow control from hardware in favor of a software controller.

31. Telematics
    

    A computer system designed for long-distance data transmissions, the most ubiquitous example being GPS and satellite radio tech installed in automobiles.

32. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
    

    Better known as TCP/IP, this is the basic protocol suite for all Internet and private network communications and connections.

33. Ultra-Wide Band
    

    The UWB is a weak signal sent over a wide frequency and is employed mostly as a localizing signal and distance measurement.

34. Wearable
    

    Devices were worn by people and equipped with sensors, monitors, and an Internet connection to gather data regarding the wearer’s activity, life, and environment (e.g., Apple Watch, Fitbit).

35. Zigbee/Z-Wave
    

    Used for personal-area networks (PAN), this is a short-range, low-power standard employed for control and sensing, and can also be used to create a more extended range, energy-efficient, low data transfer rate networks.

And there you have it, almost three dozen IoT terms that give you a better understanding of this rapidly expanding technology. If you want even more of an understanding of IoT, then perhaps some education is in order. For example -

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