admin IoT is a machine-based intelligence, monitoring and connectivity that is installed into more and more devices, for commercial, consumer and civic applications. IoT has had a great impact on our lives and work in 2023.
According to IoT Analytics in May 2022, the number of global IoT connections grew by 8% in 2021 to 12.2 billion active endpoints. This was significantly lower growth than in pre-COVID-19 pandemic years. The slower growth was mostly due to supply issues rather than demand, which remains high because of all the capabilities IoT devices and systems enable.
Challenges and advances
The problem of shortage of chip arose due to the shutdown of factories during the pandemic. These supply chain problems made IoT technology unavailable for many industries. The shortages that appeared during the pandemic in 2021 may not be fully resolved until the year 2024 due to the sole reason that the new fabrication plants cannot be released into the market for at least a year.
However, major advances were made in the year 2022, in AI software, algorithms and hardware to train models. With IoT collecting numerous data, analyses and training is achieved with the data collected on the advanced models.
According to TechTarget, once these models have been created in data centers, they can be implemented as an inference engine at the network edge or in IoT endpoint devices to enable new and better-performing applications. Some of these models can also learn locally, adjusting their capabilities as they gain experience with data in the field.
According to a recent survey from IEEE, industrial IoT will be one the most important areas of technology in 2023.
Driven Growth
IoT Analytics projected that 2023 will see a growth of IoT devices by 18% to 14.4 billion, and by 2025, this could increase to 27 billion connected IoT devices. One of the trends in 2023 that will enable this growth is the increased replacement of 2G/3G wireless networks with 4G/5G networks.
The connectivity in urban communities will increase, but rural areas will still be dependent on low-performing networks.
In 2023, the production of chips will take place and the problem revolving the shortage of chips will be extinguished.
IoT is also a growing market, that is attracting new technology development that will drive its growth. These developments include changes in the computer architecture and so on, which will affect the way data is stored and processed. In the near future radical changes in computer processing could impact IoT applications.
Breaking down traditional data center servers and creating virtual computing systems can lead to more efficient data processing and lower power consumption. As IoT applications generate a large amount of data that needs to be processed, this approach becomes even more important. By using technologies such as non-volatile memory express and Compute Express Link, which enable changes in computer architecture, the costs of many IoT applications can be reduced. This is because these technologies improve the speed and efficiency of data processing, making it more cost-effective to operate IoT systems. As a result, the growth of IoT can be better managed and the benefits of these systems can be enjoyed by more people.
Semiconductor device design is also being disaggregated through the use of chiplets, which separate traditional CPU functions into smaller chips that are connected via high-speed interconnects. The introduction of the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) standard in 2022 allows specialized chips from multiple manufacturers to be combined into a compact package. This creates opportunities for more specialized semiconductor chiplet packages for specific applications and requires a new type of foundry to assemble chiplets into a UCIe package. UCIe will enable the development of more efficient semiconductor devices for data centers, the network edge, and IoT endpoint devices. By disaggregating traditional semiconductor design, chiplets allow for more flexibility and customization in creating semiconductor devices, leading to improved efficiency and performance for a range of applications.
The prices of important semiconductors for IoT devices, such as DRAM and NAND flash, are decreasing due to increased density and competition. This will make these devices more affordable and capable. New non-volatile memory technologies like MRAM and resistive RAM are also emerging, which can be used in IoT devices to reduce power consumption and increase battery life. This is particularly useful for energy-constrained applications that rely on battery power. As a result, IoT devices are becoming more useful and long-lasting for consumers.
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