What is IoT(Internet of Things)?

Before starting to look into the article, first, we need to understand what is IoT(Internet of Things) ?. IoT is a network of interconnected devices that communicate with each other over the internet, without any user intervention. These devices can be sensors, Bluetooth devices, or industrial machinery, connecting them via the internet can make a smart ecosystem that can work seamlessly without any user interactions.

Below are some examples of IoT Projects

• IoT technology offers a smart door lock, where users can lock their door’s lock remotely.
• With the help of IoT, users can convert their homes to smart homes where users can switch on/off lights and fans remotely.
• Household appliances such as refrigerators, and washing machines can also be operated remotely using IoT technology.
• IoT can be also used in agriculture by installing sensors in farms to monitor soil moisture levels and weather conditions.
• IoT technologies are widely used in urban cities to form Smart Cities, they can help governments forecast weather conditions, and optimize traffic systems.

Key Components

• Physical Devices and Sensors: Devices and sensors are the most important components of IoT systems and are responsible for receiving data from users. They can read that data via WiFi, Bluetooth, infrared or inbuilt sensors. Data that these devices can read could be temperature, location, motion, and humidity.
• Connectivity among devices: IoT devices can be connected via the internet or the local network in which they are installed. Apart from the Internet other mediums that devices can use to transmit data are WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular networks, and LoRaWAN.
• Data processing and Data Analysis: One data is collected with the use of devices and collected via network, these data are processed and analyzed using pre-defined algorithms. Based on data received by devices processing unit performs tasks and makes decisions.
• Applications and Services: After data is received by devices and processed, IoT applications and services utilize them and provide results or actions to end users. These applications include home automation and remote monitoring of industrial machines.

Kotlin has emerged as a powerful and efficient programming language in recent years, because of its powerful features such as concise syntax, null safety, coroutine support, and more. Kotlin’s usage is not limited to Android development nowadays.

Kotlin is used in other domains such as server-side development, web development, and increasingly in the Internet of Things (IoT). In this article, we will have a deep look at how Kotlin can be used for IoT projects along with its challenges and opportunities.