What does the integration of nanotechnology and IoT mean to businesses?

The technology revolution has introduced a lot of exciting concepts and breakthrough innovations. As most technologies have entered their maturation stage, they continue advancing and impacting the human's use of technology with the interaction of other evolving technologies. One such synergy researchers have unveiled is the internet of nano-things. It is the integration of nanotechnology and the internet of things (IoT) where various nanomachines such as sensors are interconnected through communication networks over the Internet.

The concept of nanotechnology, which was pronounced by Richard Feynman, a Physicist Nobel Laureate in 1965 in his famous speech titled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" in 1959, is common today. Beyond healthcare, it is now being used across diverse industries. The main purpose of this technology was to highlight the area of Miniaturization and the future of creating powerful and tinier devices.

Impact of Nanotechnology on IoT

Nanotechnology provides intelligent solutions in diverse areas such as biomedical, industrial and military fields, along with consumer and industrial goods. It can be combined with the IoT to develop a physical network, composed of nanomaterials that facilitate the exchange of data through various components communicating with each other at the nano level. Their integration, called the Internet of Nano-Things, has already revolutionized the field of medicine, energy and many other sectors as well as taken them to a whole new dimension.

As a rapidly emerging field of technology, nanotechnology is increasingly luring the eyes of not only corporate leaders but also governments. The U.S. government, for instance, sees this technology's potential in defense, healthcare, and textiles, all benefit from the same discoveries. Recently, the President's 2021 Budget requests over US$1.7 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), with enhanced investment in the foundational research to lead to discoveries that will advance a wide range of areas including key Industries of the Future.

Nanotechnology solves many problems, such as nanosensors can help save the environment, excelling beyond medical research and automotive. They can detect micro modifications in pressure, temperature, or chemical composition and enable to glean more precise data and measure things effectively. A nanomachine comprises nano components to perform tasks. It functions in the way people connect devices via the internet of things but the major variance is that it can connect the nano components that is not possible with IoT.

The Internet of Nano-Things, which is in its infancy, is predicted to be applied in different areas just like IoT holds promises of many applications.

Promising Applications of the Internet of Nano-Things

The integration of nanotechnology and IoT will revolutionize current applications of the internet of things, making them more functional, robust, and compact. As industries are looking to adopt IoNT, its applications can demonstrate promising potential and enhance productivity and efficiency.

Healthcare: By leveraging IoNT, both medical professionals and patients will have access to critical healthcare data in real-time. The internet of nano-things can be used to develop a body sensor network using in-body nanosensors that can monitor patients' health and biological activity.

Smart Homes: The use of IoNT can make smart homes smarter. IoT is already being used in smart homes to control devices through smartphones, Amazon Echo, and others. IoNT will further extend this exciting smart home solution as nanosensors can detect and maintain specific temperatures in a room, identify harmful airs and gases, and monitor all things.

Food and Agriculture: The Internet of Nano Things has profoundly found its way into food processing and agriculture. It can help in precision farming by tracking data about crops and soil. Using this technology in the field of nutrition will lead to the designing and development of novel food with better solubility, required temperature and thermal stability.

Moreover, while the integration of nanotechnology and IoT will likely offer much more exciting possibilities to human's every aspect of life, the security risks should never be overlooked. There is more research still required to be done to deliver promising capabilities.