What is the Internet of Things?

Objects with embedded sensors can exchange data and allow actions to happen. For example, you can ask Alexa or Siri for the weather forecast, watch your delivery rider's progress on a map, or turn on your lights or your heating with your phone. That's using the Internet of Things (IoT).

How does it work?

Devices and objects with built in sensors capture small packets of data about their status or information from their surroundings. The data is encrypted and securely sent to IoT gateways and then transmitted across the internet to display data and create actionable content on dashboards and mobile apps.

Now, more and more devices are connected to the internet in various ways. If you have an Amazon Alexa or a Google device, or a doorbell or thermostat that communicates with an app on your phone, these are all examples of Internet of Things in the home. New washing machines, dishwashers, toothbrushes and kettles can have an app associated with them which can communicate with you. It's a way of objects delivering useful information such as "the washing is finished" or "your heating has turned on."

In the same way that the Internet of Things can be useful at home, it can be incredibly useful outside. Norfolk County Council is leading the way in using IoT across the county, using sensors to collect data in order to enhance business processes, make better decisions, improve efficiency and save money.

Internet of Things technology can be used in many ways, for example:

Smart High Streets

• Measuring the temperature of the road surface to decide if gritting is required in the winter
• Bin sensors to tell workers to collect and empty them
• Sensing faults in traffic signals

Health and social care

• Letting carers and family members know that people living alone are OK by sensing if the kettle was boiled first thing in the morning, or if the heating is turned on.

Environmental

• Capturing water height and flow in remote locations to highlight areas at risk of flooding
• Weather data, such as rain fall, temperature and humidity.
• Capturing footfall in sensitive environmental areas or along the cycle and footpath network

Farming and Agriculture

• Soil moisture
• Leaf wetness
• Rain fall
• Tracking important farming assets
• Gate sensors

Hospitality

• Incentivising sales
• Tracking Visitors

Education

• Supporting learning, awareness and increasing skills and understanding.

How does it help Norfolk?

What if we use the Internet of Things at a city or county level to create smart places? So road junctions can tell you if they are congested, rubbish bins can say when they need to be emptied, rivers can say when the water level is getting close to flooding, parking spaces can say whether they are empty or occupied. The thinking is that all this extra information will allow cities, towns and rural communities to run smoothly, making them better places to live and work and allow the more remote areas of our county to become better connected.

It also creates an opportunity for new businesses in the region to develop in this emerging sector.

We're already trying out new ways to improve our services. Read about how the internet of things is already working in Norfolk.

Contact us

If you would like to learn more about what we are doing across Norfolk or if you've got an idea about how you can use this technology, get in touch with us. Email in@norfolk.gov.uk.

Descriptive transcript

00:00 Upbeat music plays. Norfolk & Suffolk Innovation Network logo lands on screen against a light blue background.

Text on screen: IoT - The Internet of Things

00:05 Animated images of three servers appear with flashing lights

Text on screen: The internet we use today is designed for people to share information. As well as people sharing information over the internet, physical devices and objects (things) can share information too.

00:05 Upbeat music continues

00:19 Animated image of globe being circled by a phone, a tablet, a laptop, and a pair of headphones enters the screen and rotates in the centre.

Text on screen: Objects with embedded sensors can exchange data and allow actions to happen.

00:25 Blue, green and yellow swirls circle out of the screen.

00:25 A blue sleeved arm enters from the bottom of the screen holding a blue mobile phone showing an image of Google Assistant being used.

Text on screen: For example, you can ask Alexa or Siri for the weather forecast.

00:32 Orange, red and green circles expand from the centre of the screen.

00:33 Green and blue arrows expand from the left side of the screen towards the right side. 

00:33 Yellow, orange and red arrows expand from the right side of the screen towards the right side.

00:34 A man in smart casual attire appears on screen riding a yellow bicycle.

Text on screen: Watch your delivery rider's progress on a map

00:40 The man on the bicycle rides of the screen to the right.

00:41 A yellow light bulb appears on screen.

Text on screen: Or turn on your lights or your heating with your phone.

00:48 Text appears in the middle of the screen with a small bubble animation.

Text on screen: All of this is the Internet of Things.

00:55 An antenna appears on the left side of the screen with red circle at the top of it. Yellow circles expand from the red circle.

Text on screen: Devices and objects with built in sensors capture small packets of data about their status or information from their surroundings.

00:33 Green and blue arrows expand from the left side of the screen towards the right side. 

00:33 Yellow, orange and red arrows expand from the right side of the screen towards the right side.

01:05 An open padlock with a key turning inside it appear on the right hand side of the screen.

Text on screen: The data is encrypted and securely sent to IoT gateways.

01:07 The key finishes turning in the padlock and the padlock locks.

Text on screen: The data is encrypted and securely sent to IoT gateways.

01:11 A green tinted, rotating globe expands from the middle of the screen and continues to rotate in the middle of the screen.

Text on screen: Then it's transmitted across the internet to display data and create actionable content on dashboards and mobile apps.

01:20 Orange, red and green circles expand from the centre of the screen.

01:22 Words appear in the middle of the screen, appearing one by one in order.

Text on screen: What if we use the Internet of Things at a city or county level to create smart places?

01:26 A hand appears from the bottom of the screen, takes hold of the text, and moves it off the screen.

01:28 A red car appears on the right hand side of the screen, it gently moves up and down.

Text on screen: Road junctions could tell you if they are congested.

01:35 A green rubbish bin with the recycling logo in the middle of it appears to the left of the screen.

Text on screen: Rubbish bins could say when they need to be emptied.

01:37 Recyclable materials appear in the bin.

Text on screen: Rubbish bins could say when they need to be emptied.

01:42 A city scape appears, showing a row of five houses of different shapes and sizes. There are trees in front of the houses. 

Text on screen: The thinking is that all this extra information will allows cities, towns and rural communities to run even more smoothly.

01:43 A yellow car, two red cars, and a red bus move across the screen.

Text on screen: The thinking is that all this extra information will allows cities, towns and rural communities to run even more smoothly.

01:49 Green and blue arrows expand from the left side of the screen towards the right side. 

01:50 Yellow, orange and red arrows expand from the right side of the screen towards the right side.

01:51 A blue map of the world expands from the centre of the screen. Small circles containing expressionless faces appear from various areas of the map.

01:52 Multicoloured lines appear and connect all of the circles together.

Text on screen: The Internet of Things can make our communities better places to live and work, and enable us to become better connected.

01:55 Blue, green, and yellow spirals circle out of the centre of the screen.

01:56 The screen is a plain blue background.