3.3.1 Programming

As discussed in the previous section, sensors and actuators are used abundantly in the IoT. Sensors measure a physical property and forward that information across the network. How do the sensors know what information to capture or which controller to communicate with?

Actuators perform actions based on a received signal. How does the actuator know which action to perform or which signals are required to activate that action?

Sensors must be told what to capture and where to send that data. A controller must be programmed with a set of instructions to receive that data and decide if it should process and relay that data to another device. For example, IoT end devices, such as the computer installed in a car, must be programmed to react to different road conditions. All of the devices in the IoT must be programmed, thus programming skills are critical to the success of the IoT and the IoE.