IoT and Smart Environment Solutions for SMEs

IoT and Smart Environment Solutions for SMEs

Nitsa J. Herzog, David J. Herzog
Copyright: © 2024 |Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-0111-1.ch009
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Abstract

The fast development of information technologies fostered the recent flourishing of intelligent systems. While on the personal or household stratum, the usage of smart devices is quite limited in scope if not in function, on the industrial and geographical levels, various networks allow the creation of a new paradigm: Cyber-Physical space, enabled by the internet of things and smart environments. The phenomenon is truly global, encompassing all walks of life. Small and medium enterprises certainly benefit from the explosive spread of IoT and smart technologies. Industry 4.0 develops manufacturing, smart logistics and smart servitization, which are supported by just-in-time supply-chain operations. The current review of the present-day IoT, IIoT, and smart environments describes operational capabilities for innovative SMEs to expand operations and ride the wave of revolutionary change for profit and society benefits as a whole. A comprehensive assessment of potential drawbacks with technology acceptance by SMEs is done, with prospective solutions in every sphere of activities.
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The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, was born out of the contemporary trend of overall automation and big data flow in the manufacturing sector and other industries. It is a result of evolution in the industrial sector, characterized by the integration of modern technologies: IoT, AI, robotics, 3D printing, blockchain, digital twinning, 5G, cloud computing, edge computing, Intelligent Decision Systems (IDS) and some others (Hansen and Bøgh, 2021). The concept of Industry 4.0 is built around the creation of “smart factories,” where machines, devices, and personnel are all interconnected and communicate in one Cyber-Physical Space (CPS) in real-time. It helps entrepreneurs to streamline operations, optimize Product-Service Systems (PSS) (Le-Dain et al., 2023) and create new timesaving, labour-efficient, cost-effective, customer-focused, flexible business models.

Internet of Things

IoT refers to the network of devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other objects seamlessly embedded with various sensors and actuators. It is a concept that refers to the interconnection of objects and devices to the internet, enabling them to collect, process and exchange data (Ding et al., 2023). Today ML and AI are widely used for data processing. The architecture of IoT is usually divided into layers (See Figure 1), each of them responsible for specific functions. Below are described the commonly recognized five layers of IoT and their important elements.

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