IoT for the Greater Good

We recently explored some of the interesting lines of discussion at this year’s Mobile World Congress Americas in San Francisco. While we talked quite a bit about the ways IoT will help transform businesses, there was also significant insight shared about the many ways IoT will improve the lives of those outside of the commercial world.

Connected devices and the data they collect can unlock capabilities that are assisting those trying to make the world a better place. Here are a few of the many ways that is happening:

Healthcare: From connected drug delivery devices and patient monitors that directly impact quality of care, to systems that make hospitals more efficient, IoT is revolutionizing the healthcare industry. As technology becomes more advanced, physicians will continue to have a greater understanding of how to provide the best care, while patients will have the data-driven information necessary to proactively manage and improve their health.

Nonprofit fundraising: The data collected by connected devices paints a very granular picture of consumer habits. For those in the nonprofit sector, the same data can help organizations to best target potential donors, provide a range for potential and current donations, and streamline outreach to maximize efforts. Because nonprofit budgets can be very tight, having a lean operation offers the best path to successful fundraising.

Agriculture: IoT innovation is assisting farmers worldwide to maximize output. Sensors are offering analytics into crop maturity, local weather, air and soil quality, and water utilization. Tracking devices are helping to remotely monitor the health status and location of livestock.

Childhood nutrition: In India, IoT, AI, and Blockchain are being used together to assist the Midday Meal Program, designed to improve the nutritional well-being of students through free school lunches. Sensors are used to optimize processes for preparing meals to ensure optimum energy consumption and consistent food quality.

Urban disadvantage: New York University’s Centre for Urban Science and Progress is using IoT sensors to gain specifics on living conditions in disadvantaged New York City neighborhoods. According to the organization, they are gaining “new insights into how civic technology, urban sensing and urban informatics can be used to better understand how neighborhoods impact community and individual well-being.”

Workplace safety: A team from MIT is exploring the possibility of reducing on-the-job work injuries by collecting environmental data via wearables. Worn in a factory or warehouse-type setting, the wearable sensors gather information on how likely certain issues are to occur, such as exposure to chemical and physical agents, falls and excessive load lifting.

The ceiling for IoT for businesses is seemingly limitless. The same can be said for more philanthropic ventures, and the ways IoT will be utilized to make the world a better place is both exciting and gratifying. KORE is proud to be driving such use cases and to be powering these truly transformative technologies to improve the lives of many and generate a positive societal impact.