The Internet of Things (IoT), refers to a network of physical objects or things (connected devices) that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies in order to allow them to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet.

In this course, you will get an overview of the technical aspects of the Internet of things. We'll start things off with an architectural overview, explaining the main components of IoT.

We'll then go over software defined product, which is a digital twin of the physical product, and it's core to understanding and differentiating an IoT product from a smart product or a connected product. Next, learn about hardware defined product: the sensors, the actuators, and the embedded systems used to gather data from the physical world.

You'll also learn about network fabric, which combines the software defined product to the sensors and the external sources of data.

Towards the end of the course we'll go over external systems, exploring how external systems of data can be tapped into to provide more data for an IoT product.

IoT has become one of the most important technologies of the 21st century. Now that we can connect everyday objects—kitchen appliances, cars, thermostats, baby monitors—to the internet via embedded devices, seamless communication is possible between people, processes, and things.