Whether you want to control your lights remotely, stream music to smart speakers using voice commands like Alexa or Google Assistant, or automatically vacuum your home without lifting a finger, there’s a smart device for every need. Some smart devices are able to learn from your behavior, saving you time and money. Others can improve your security by monitoring and responding to changes in your environment. The best smart devices streamline your day-to-day to make life easier and more convenient.
What Is a Smart Device?
A smart device is a regular electronic gadget that has been upgraded with advanced computing and connectivity, allowing it to operate interactively and autonomously. This technology is seen almost everywhere in industries from smart manufacturing to healthcare, helping to automate and optimize processes and controls. Smart devices are usually networked to form the Internet of Things (IoT), and can be found anywhere from refrigerators and wearables to shipping containers and transportation, ranging from small sensors to endpoints capable of running workloads autonomously.
A smart device typically consists of several components: sensors, processors, connectivity modules, and software. Sensors collect data from the physical world, such as temperature, light levels, motion, or vibration. A processor, often a microcontroller or a microprocessor, analyzes this information and makes decisions based on the collected data. A connectivity module allows the smart device to communicate with other devices or systems, either directly or via networks using a variety of wireless protocols including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and cellular networks.