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390 16. INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)

describing where the fire is and what actions to take. Smart car parks can inform drivers
looking for a space to park and inform them the availability of the closest space. Smart roads
can send messages to drivers to inform them about the road and weather conditions. Emer-
gency services can use IoT technology to save lives and improve the environment. For exam-
ple, gas leakage details can be sent automatically to emergency gas service departments to
prevent any explosions or deaths. Forest fires can be detected by early warning IoT systems.
There are also many applications of the IoT in the retail industry. For example, purchasing
habits of customers can be stored by IoT systems which then inform them of special offers
and discounts. IoT systems can be used in airports to inform passengers of flight delays before
they leave their homes. Flight tickets and hotels can be booked automatically with simple
voice commands. Wearable IoT devices can be used to monitor the health of the users, such
as the blood pressure, temperature, heart beats, etc. Health centers can automatically be in-
formed of patients’ locations if a serious condition such as a heart attack is detected. There are
many more examples of the use of IoT in present day.

16.2.1 IoT Architecture
There is no standard IoT architecture. An IoT system can make use of any technology to
read sensors and send data to users. We can basically define two possible IoT architectures as
far as the processor architecture is concerned: distributed processors and common processor.
Fig. 16.1 shows a typical distributed processor based IoT architecture. Here, each IoT de-
vice sends its data to local processors using a communication technology, such as Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, or simple RF. The actuators of the IoT devices are also connected to the same pro-
cessors. These local processors then communicate with a central processor which can, for ex-
ample, be a PC. The PC can send the data to a cloud so that the IoT devices can be monitored
and controlled remotely from anywhere in the world and at any time of the day. Users can
access the IoT devices through the Internet using their mobile phones, laptops, or tablets.

FIG. 16.1 IoT using distributed processors.