Abstract
Internet of things (IoT) is emerging as an essential part of modern connected living environment. It is very much affecting our day to day lifestyles, businesses, social interactions and many more aspects of modern world. Due to the ubiquity of this technology, it needs a large number of sensors for its operations. The energy and bandwidth required for IoT are challenging issues. There are different versions of IoTs used in different application domains. For situations with limited resources, narrowband IoT (NBIoT) can be used. NBIoT is a leaner, greener, and more efficient version of IoT. It takes less power and bandwidth than other versions of IoTs. However, its functions are suitable for many different applications. Specifically for rural areas and large scale applications in resource limited scenarios, it is the first choice. In this article, we present the main features of NBIoT, its potential and applications across different domains.
TopIntroduction
Internet of things (IoT) is pervasive extension of the Internet. It uses several sensors based on the application requirements for interconnecting them together in a common framework. These days IoT has several dimensions for numerous applications and it facilitates massive machine type communications. IoT has the ability to reach the territories where there is no Internet available. Internet is normally available where there the human settlements are present. However, there are many scenarios where we need the information without the presence of the Internet. For instance, measurements of under surface soil humidity and fertilizer intensity can be brought in to the Internet through the IoT. This can be done by deploying appropriate sensors under the earth surface. Similarly, there are applications in which micro monitoring is required in the unmanned territories. In those cases, the supervision of the IoT can be done through some remote communication nodes. IoT can provide the information from many unmanned locations using its sensors and the communication infrastructure of the Internet.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Internet of Things: It is the extension of the internet through the interconnection of sensors/ sensing devices which can provide a lot information about the environments where they are deployed. They can also activate or deactivate several operations through appropriate actuators.
NBIoT Deployment: Placement of sensors, transrecivers, actuators and other components of NBIoT at the appropriate locations and the allocation of resources is collectively known as its deployment. Successful deployment is a challenging issue for any IoT.
Narrowband Internet of things (NBIoT): NBIoT is a specific type of IoT which uses a very small bandwidth and transmit power for its operations. It is a low power wide area network technology. It has been strandarised in LTE Release 13 and 14.
Applications of NBIoT: Uses of the NBIoT technologies are diverse. Collectively it forms its applications. Several applications are available and new applications are emerging every year.
Energy Efficient IoT: Energy efficient IoTs reduce the consumption of energy toa large extent. These IoTs utilize the available energy optimally and can also harness it locally if appropriate arrangements are in place.
Green IoT: Energy efficient IoT is known as Green IoT. NBIoT is an example of green IoT. These IoTs are in high demand because the battery life for these IoTs is more than 10 years.