Machine to machine or M2M communication describes the automated exchange of information between terminals without manual human intervention. This machine to machine technology is used in different fields, from the supervision, control and regulation of machines and automatons to the indexing of web pages by search engines..
In this context, intelligent machines are capable of exchanging information and even coordinating and executing actions without being controlled by a human. We teach you the basic principles of M2M communication in this article: its exact origins, its operation and its areas of use. Discover the advantages that this technology can offer you for your business.
The term machine to machine is very broad, the definitions of M2M usually only refer to partial aspects and often leave out other very important points..
The International University of Valencia defines machine to machine communication in the following way:
Technology that enables machines to communicate, collect, store and exchange data; make decisions autonomously and perform tasks with very little human intervention. Source: www.universidadviu.es/son-m2m-e-iot-lo-mismo/
Although, as a general rule, humans do not usually intervene, the university does not rule out limited human participation in its definition.
Other definitions of M2M focus more on the technical aspects and operation of communication. In this context, machine to machine describes a device that detects an event and transmits it to an application over a network. This application serves to translate the event transmitted to a type of understandable information..
The exchange of information between machines was already used at the beginning of the 20th century. But back then, information was only transmitted over cable connections. Telemetry was developed in the late 1920s, which enabled the transmission of measurement values by radio waves from one sensor to a data processing facility located elsewhere.
The technical advancements of telegraphy, telephony, radio frequency, and television in subsequent years inspired the mathematician Claude Shannon to develop his mathematical model of information . His efforts to reduce background noise laid the foundation for clearer data transmission and new advances in machine-to-machine communication.
? I bet on machines. I was always on the side of the machines. Claude Shannon, 1987, in response to an interview for Omni magazine, when asked if he was concerned that chess computers would be able to achieve such good results.
In the second half of the 20th century, the development of call recognition and automatic meter reading were two more milestones for M2M communication. Already at the end of the 20th century, but above all in the 21st century, machine to machine technology advanced by leaps and bounds thanks to mobile telephony and wireless internet connection. Nowadays it is so common to find machines that communicate with each other that we don't even realize it anymore.
The main purpose of machine-to-machine communication is to collect data to transmit it to a network . In addition, by means of sequences of events, in the communication between machines actions can be executed automatically. For machines to optimize their action processes , you can additionally use the art of Machine Learning. This use of M2M technology is closely related to artificial intelligence and serves as the basis for the Internet of Things.
To understand technology it is very useful to know its basic characteristics. All machine to machine systems are based on the following three main components.
The data endpoint is the system whose data is to be transmitted or monitored . It can be a vending machine that sends information to a central through the inventory, a measuring device that records weather data, or a medical device that transmits data about a patient's file. Data endpoints are microsystems of computation, that is, senders, which are connected to a receiving device.
An M2M communication network can consist of numerous data endpoints and their corresponding terminals. The data endpoints send the desired information to the network and from there it is transmitted to the data integration point. In addition, the different data endpoints can communicate with each other over the network .
To transmit data from one machine to another, there are different communication networks. Among them, mobile phone networks, WLAN networks or cable Internet connections , as we find them in our day to day. But there are also other technical options for transmitting data that are used mainly in Internet of Things applications:
The machine that receives the data is called the data integration point . In contrast to data endpoints, these points typically only appear once on the network. It can be a server, a central monitoring unit, or a search engine robot that collects data from a large number of web pages.
It is especially advisable to keep an eye on how M2M works if you are going to use this technology at work. Its functions and applications are so versatile that they are difficult to imagine. Next, we offer you more information about the advantages and properties of machine to machine communication.
M2M stands out, among other things, for its low energy consumption, a characteristic that increases the efficiency of systems when exchanging data . A network operator takes care of the assistance packages. These packages often include monitoring features so that users do not lose sight of any important events.
Data transmissions can slow down on the network if higher priority data is being sent at the same time. Alternatively, the user can set the time of data transmissions using a timer or transmit small volumes of data continuously. In the field of logistics there is even the possibility of programming machines according to their location to notify them or connect them automatically when they enter a certain area.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) aims to create global standards for information and communication technologies. Sets the following requirements for machine to machine systems:
Apart from the faster transmission paths and the possibility of time planning of data transmissions, machine-to-machine communication offers even more advantages . These include remote control of devices, a very low maintenance demand and a very low probability of failure, which in turn reduces the level of expenses. Machine-to-machine technology also creates new business areas for IT services and improves customer service and maintenance of existing business branches.
One of the major fields of application for M2M communication is the field of logistics. In this sector, technology is used for remote control. In this way, a vending machine can notify the merchant that there is a shortage of an item so that the order is placed on time. M2M is also used in inventory management, warehousing, and supply chain monitoring .
Energy providers use machine-to-machine communication to read meter statements and to calculate expenses. In addition, you can use the measurement data to monitor the functionality of all relevant devices and ensure the power supply. In healthcare , doctors use M2M technology to monitor patients' heart rhythms or other vital signs in real time even when they are in different locations.
Mobile payment is based on a combination of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and Machine Learning. More and more users are betting on this technology and make use of electronic payment applications such as Google Wallet or Apple Pay. M2M communication also has numerous applications in a smart home , to regulate lighting, connect or disconnect electronic devices or order the creation of automatic shopping lists.
The online marketing is closely related to M2M communication. As we already mentioned, the crawling of web pages by search engines is an example of communication between machines. But this technology is also of great importance for paid ads on social networks or search engines: in this case there are algorithms that select options from a wide data set of possibilities . In this process, they communicate with machines that provide them with this data. These can be ads that you put into your Google Ads account or the server that hosts your website.
When we use web services to shop online, watch movies or make appointments, there is also machine-to-machine communication in the background. In these processes, clients and servers do not stop sending queries and responses to each other.
Freelancers and small businesses often use M2M communication in the form of application servers on a day-to-day basis. It is a part of a client and server network that the employer and their employees or clients use to directly access programs such as Microsoft Office or address managers. In addition, application servers also allow companies to conduct transactions, exchange data, manage databases, or host their own web server.
There are special programs to install on the server for all these functions . You can access a data exchange server easily from your computer as if it were just another folder. You just have to be connected to the server's network.