For consumers, the impact of the IoT may be summarised as greater convenience. We have grown to expect certain things to happen ‘automatically’, without knowing how, and the IoT will accelerate and expand that.
For consumers, the impact of the IoT may be summarised as greater convenience. We have grown to expect certain things to happen ‘automatically’, without knowing how, and the IoT will accelerate and expand that.
For example, many people now use contactless payment, something that is enabled by short-range RF communications between a payment terminal and a bank card, mobile phone or smart watch equipped with the same technology. This avoids the need to physically insert a card into the payment terminal and enter a PIN; on the face of it, it may seem like a small thing, but as anyone who uses it regularly will appreciate, it can significantly speed up the purchasing process.
RF technology has the potential to change many more aspects of modern life. One of the most established forms of RF communication used in the IoT is RFID technology, and research shows that its adoption amongst retailers to tag clothing is set to increase massively before the end of the century. Tagging items allows them to be identified by a payment terminal as soon as they are presented, making the customer’s purchasing experience even more convenient.
RFID technology has been around for many years and its use in the IoT is entirely synergistic. Because each RFID device has a unique identity, it can be used to identify practically anything. When the reader is part of a connected system, it enables almost unlimited potential for new applications. Recently, the introduction of ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID technology has further extended that potential.
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