Topic Five (1.5): Commercial uses of the IoT and Transport and the IoT

Objectives for this topic

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

describe some of the ways IoT devices are used commercially;
describe some of the ways IoT devices are used in the world of transport.

You might also be able to:

consider and discuss some of the moral and ethical issues of using IoT.

Introduction

IoT has definitely had an impact on the world at home, but you may be surprised how often IoT devices are around you in shops, schools, in the car, or on the bus. It is quite possible to go through life blissfully unaware of this, but really if you know what’s happening you’re better equipped to protect yourself and to ensure you are using the technology around you to best advantage.

Working through your coursebook

Read pages 25–26 in your Computing Stage 7 book.

Make sure you understand the learning points. Can you see any IoT happening next time you go to the shops?
Make sure that you understand the key words described. Add them to your cram.com Links to an external site. flashcards.
Complete the Venn diagram on page 26 – make sure to set a timer! Big paper such as A3 is best for this – have fun!

Read pages 27–28 in your Computing Stage 7 book.

Make sure that you understand the key words described. Add them to your cram.com Links to an external site. flashcards.
Have you ever seen a Google street view car? See if you can find a photo of one on the internet.
Complete the practice task on page 28. Can you think of any other difficult decisions the developers might need to solve?

Review

Reflect upon the four pages you have just covered. In your notes summarise:

what you have learned;
what you already knew;
what surprised you;
what you are curious to know more about.

Support activity for this topic

To see some of the ways Amazon’s automated supermarket works:

Extension activity for this topic

A Ted talk on some of the problems that the developers have to deal with: