4.1.2 M2P connections

People play an important role in harnessing the digital intelligence gathered by M2M connections. The resulting M2P connections are essential for optimal decision making.

For example, portable sensors and monitors can provide round-the-clock information on a patient’s vital signs, but health care providers are ultimately responsible for using that information to assess patients and provide treatment.

M2P connections mean that people can send information to technical systems and receive information from these systems. M2P connections are transactional, which means the flow of information moves in both directions, from machines to people and from people to machines. M2M and P2P connections are also transactional.

M2P technologies can range from automated customer notification systems with preset triggers, to advanced dashboards that help people visualise analytics. People can also perform more complex M2P operations such as examining and analyzing received data, and determining how to present information to decision-makers.

In addition to offering improvements in efficiency, the IoE provides safety benefits. For example, sensors in the ground and on the miners make it possible to detect danger signs before an accident occurs. Vibrations in soil and rock, or changes in human vital signs, can prompt real-time M2M or M2P interactions that save property, investments, and lives. Table 2 provides examples of the impact that M2P connections can have in retail, manufacturing, the public sector, and service provider industries.