IoT in 2025: Four trending topics
IoT market & trends - December 18, 2024
What might 2025 hold for IoT?
According to a report by Activant, over 40 billion IoT devices are expected to be connected, ready to send and receive data by 2025. IoT devices are set to be deployed even wider, drawing on new technologies and capabilities, and so it’s the perfect time to look forward to the next twelve months and how the ever-quickening growth of IoT will continue to shape the way we live and work. Here, we’ve compiled some of the key trends in IoT that might define the year ahead.
IoT devices can inform more sustainable approaches to energy, water, and waste management – either on a grand scale through utility providers or within an organization, who can make their processes more efficient and thus, more sustainable.
It will likely be entwined with the emerging idea of Industry 5.0. Unlike Industry 4.0, which focused on automation and digitalization, Industry 5.0 emphasizes environmental sustainability and reducing carbon emissions through renewable energy-powered production systems.
We’re already seeing it deployed in some settings, such as:
- Better energy management in buildings via the automation of energy-consuming devices.
- More efficient agriculture through the deployment of smart moisture sensors and precise irrigation systems for better water management, and crop sensors to improve yields and reduce the risk of pesticides.
- Streamlined waste management to optimize the processes of collecting, transporting, and recycling waste. Our client Sensoneo is a particularly good example of how IoT sensors are helping make waste management more sustainable.
As organizations look to reduce their own costs, and meet the regulatory requirements placed on some sectors to reduce their carbon footprint, the number of IoT devices deployed with sustainability in mind will only increase.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming the new norm in the digital landscape, not least in the world of IoT.
IoT systems can leverage the deep learning ability of AI to analyze vast amounts of data and predict outcomes, making those systems and the components within them more adaptive and intelligent.
The speed of its adoption though, is extreme, and set to define the next decade of IoT.
Market Research Future assesses the global market size for AI-driven IoT each year. In 2022 it was valued at $10.3 billion. By 2032 it expected to reach $91.7 billion.
So, while integrated AI and IoT devices are already helping organizations to make smart, informed decisions, there are even more opportunities for growth in areas including:
- A more personalized and flexible use of deployed technology – with IoT sensors and machine learning combining to tailor solutions to different (or changeable) environments or to different user requirements. This is seen a lot in smart buildings and homes, with AI platforms able to learn from individual preferences and automate actions such as adjusting temperatures, lighting, and smart appliances.
- For predictive maintenance of equipment and machines, so they can be autonomously monitored, with sensors detecting anomalies to help predict potential failures well in advance.
- Automated quality assurance, another key consideration for industry and the manufacturing sector. IoT devices can relay real-time information to AI-enabled platforms, pointing out faults and errors in the products or the assembly lines. This can also be a particular benefit to achieving consistency in product outputs.
- Enhanced security. Sensors and motion detectors can be used for round-the-clock surveillance and security, with AI-enabled systems able to react and respond to triggers.
6G, set to be launched in 2030, is the next frontier for connectivity, promising more speed than 5G, ultra-low latency, and higher device compatibility.
For developers of IoT applications, it’s an interesting consideration for early-stage prototype projects.
6G can unlock exciting possibilities, and it will enable closer integration of AI and machine learning directly into the network. That means faster data processing and decision-making and the obvious benefits for industrial automation, the future of smart cities, and other sectors.
For healthcare applications, for example, it’ll allow even more advanced devices for use in remote surgeries (via digital twins and live virtual access to physical machines) and patient monitoring.
And there’s more that can be explored in terms virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) too…
IoT and AR/VR technologies can help users interact with data from IoT devices in more interactive and interesting ways than ever before.
AR sees the integration of digital information with the user's environment in real-time, where AR technology uses the environment in the real world and adds new information onto it with the help of computers, webcams, smartphones, glasses, and other assistive devices. VR is similar, but without information being overlaid onto the real-world.
When these technologies draw on real-time data collected by IoT devices, it can be highly beneficial for remote monitoring and maintenance of equipment, for smart cities and future urban planning, and in commercial settings for immersive shopping or gaming experiences.
