IoT – Have you heard of it?

By METALCON.

Learn more about how to use real-time data to build safer and smarter at METALCON 2018.

As we move closer to METALCON 2018 (the not-to-be-missed event of the year of course!), we will continue to feature show highlights, including speakers, education sessions, and key events that will take place during the jam-packed show days. METALCON’s goal is to provide you with in-depth education opportunities in addition to the networking time with exhibitors.  One important topic being covered is the ever-changing use of technology in the metal roofing and building industry.

Scott Caudle, Strategic Account Manager with Triax Technologies, will be on hand at METALCON to deliver a general session on “Using Real-Time Data to Build Safer and Smarter.” If you are like me, I read that and thought, “Ok, so what does that really mean and why should an attendee go to this session?”  As the session description reads, “The inability of contractors to quickly and accurately determine which workers are active on site and to communicate with them in real-time impacts productivity not to mention safety. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) at the jobsite ….. Wait a minute!  IoT?  What is that?

Ok, I admit it … I am not part of the population percentage that had ever heard of this!  So I started digging and found out that “pretty much any physical object can be transformed into an IoT device if it can be connected to the internet and controlled that way,” according to ZDnet.com.  I also discovered that by 2020, according to Statista, “it is estimated that 25 BILLION “smart connected things” will be in use worldwide.”

The term IoT is mainly used for devices that wouldn’t usually be expected to have an internet connection, and that can communicate with the network independently of human action. For this reason, a PC isn’t generally considered an IoT device and neither is a smartphone — even though the latter is crammed with sensors. A smartwatch or a fitness band or other wearable device might be counted as an IoT device, however.

ZDnet.com goes on to say, “A lightbulb that can be switched on using a smartphone app is an IoT device, as is a motion sensor or a smart thermostat in your office or a connected streetlight. An IoT device could be as fluffy as a child’s toy or as serious as a driverless truck, or as complicated as a jet engine that’s now filled with thousands of sensors collecting and transmitting data back to make sure it is operating efficiently. At an even bigger scale, smart cities projects are filling entire regions with sensors to help us understand and control the environment (Vegas for example!).”

According to Kevin Ashton, British technology pioneer who coined the phrase “Internet of Things” in 1999, comments, “The IoT integrates the interconnectedness of human culture — our ‘things’ — with the interconnectedness of our digital information system — ‘the internet.’ That’s the IoT.”

So, come learn how this big world of IoT’s can positively impact you and your business by joining us at Mr. Caudle’s session on either Wednesday, October 10 OR Thursday, October 11 at 1:00 pm at METALCON 2018.

REGISTER TODAY for your METALCON Total Experience.  NEW this year, all education sessions are included in your registration fee and all theaters will be located on the show floor making them easy to find and making it more time efficient for you.  Join us in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 10-12!

Editor’s note: This first published on METALCON’s website and can be viewed here.