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The IoT in 2025

When we talk about the future, wandering minds drift toward watery visions of flying cars, personal robots, and hover boards where all work is banished by fully automated technology. I tend to picture this kind of future a bit more like Wall-E: humans as a race of fat sluggish incompetents surrounded by an entirely preset system. Thankfully this vision just doesn’t line up with reality.

Antennas in an industrial setting

IoT Design Considerations: Antenna

Antenna design is a critical factor in ensuring Wi-Fi IoT devices achieve reliable performance and strong connectivity. This guide explores IoT antenna types, placement strategies, and key considerations - such as frequency selection, interference mitigation, and integration with communication protocols - to help you choose the right antenna for your application. By planning your antenna design early, you can optimize range, signal strength, and device reliability across diverse IoT use cases.

It’s time to get smart

Connected products also are a smart play for manufacturers by enabling them to stay connected with their customers like never before. Smart products can deliver maintenance reminders, special offers, recall notices and other notifications at prescribed intervals.

Illumination Innovation

Internet of Things technology is paving the way for innovators to explore new realms of connected products. Kevin McCarthy, the founder of McCarthy music, has spearheaded the creation of the Illuminating Piano a product that helps people learn to play the instrument.

IoT Design Considerations: Power

There are a few considerations associated with connecting a product to the IoT. Devices already using a wall outlet will not have an issue, but manufacturers of products without wall plugs will have to think through how their power source will affect the design.

IoT Design Considerations: User Interface

Today’s consumers and business owners expect to access and control the world around them. How are your buyers going to interface with your product? Options range from using a smart home panel or gateway to an on-product display that can be paired with LEDs or push buttons. In addition, apps that monitor and control connected devices can be available for on-the-go consumers with smart phones.

Data Analytics and the Internet of Things

One of the major promises that discussions of the Internet of Things (IoT) have put forward, is the advances to be made in consumer insight. The idea is that sensors and connected devices can send data on an open loop back to the manufacturer for analysis. This process would presumably secure many advances in a wide variety of things; not only would companies be able to understand their clients, but sensors may even be able to tell us more about the product in general. For example, pedometers on livestock have given scientists more knowledge about when cows are in heat, allowing for a 66% increase in insemination rates.

IoT Design Considerations: Features

The IoT allows companies to add features to their product that were never possible before. These features have a wide range of benefits and functions including automatic software updates (over-the-air), smart home and office connectivity, reminders for maintenance, special offers, recall notices and upgrades, remote or local access and control. It is also important that designers work with their marketing team to be sure the features desired are not limited by the hardware and networking technologies selected.

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