Here’s a detailed look at the top 12 IoT use cases fueling those numbers.

1. Self-driving and connected vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are one of the most notable examples of IoT in action, with longtime automotive companies such as BMW Group, Ford Motor Company and General Motors — and newer enterprises, such as Tesla — all working on self-driving vehicles.

Self-driving cars and trucks use a variety of connected devices to safely navigate roadways in various traffic and weather conditions. These technologies in use include AI-enabled cameras, motion sensors and onboard computers.

Although regulatory, safety and technical concerns over the use of self-driving vehicles exist, the market for self-driving cars is expected to grow rapidly in the upcoming years.

In a May 2025 report, Precedence Research valued the global autonomous vehicle market size in 2025 at $273.75 billion and estimated it would reach around $4.45 trillion by 2034.

IoT connections also exist on conventional vehicles, with manufacturers installing connected devices to monitor performance and manage computerized systems.

Commercial fleets, such as municipal buses and corporate delivery trucks, are often fitted with additional IoT technologies — for example, connected systems to monitor for safety issues. Personal cars and trucks can be equipped with similar technology, which frequently comes from insurance companies, that collects and transmits telemetry data to verify good driving habits.

2. Logistics and fleet management

Companies use sensors, telematics, GPS and analytics to see where their vehicles are at any given moment, estimate when they’ll arrive at their destination and determine whether external conditions warrant updating routes or expected arrival times.

This technology ecosystem also enables companies to identify ways to improve operations through predictive maintenance, more driver training and route optimization.

Although logistics companies are among the primary users of such technologies, others also use IoT to track their fleets. For example, bike and scooter rental companies — sometimes known as the micromobility industry — use IoT to know where their wares are at any point in time.

Grand View Research put the value of the IoT fleet management market at $7.03 billion in 2023 and estimated it would grow at a CAGR of 17% from 2024 to 2030.

It attributed that dramatic growth rate “to aspects such as the growing inclusion of connected vehicle technology and the rising demand for operational efficiency to meet the changing needs of a competitive industry worldwide.”

3. Traffic management

Part of what enables self-driving cars is smart traffic management, which IoT also powers.

Like the vehicles themselves, roadway infrastructure has become more connected during the past decade, with cameras, sensors, traffic light controls, parking meters and even smartphone traffic apps transmitting data that’s used to help avert traffic jams, prevent accidents and ensure smooth travel.

For example, cameras detect and transmit data about traffic volume to central management groups that analyze the information to determine whether, what and when mitigation steps must be taken.

Sensors on traffic signals can detect varying levels of light in the sky and adjust the brightness of the signals, helping ensure they’re always visible to drivers.

Connected devices can be used to detect open parking spaces and transmit that information to kiosks or apps to alert drivers.

Monitors on bridges collect and transmit data for analysis about their structural health, alerting authorities to maintenance needs before any issues or failures occur.

Juniper Research’s May 2025 report put the global smart traffic management market at nearly $15 billion in 2025 and estimated it would grow by 37% over the next two years.

4. Smart grids, including smart meters

Utilities have been using IoT to improve efficiency and resiliency in their energy grids for years — upward of two decades, in some cases.

Historically, energy flowed one way along the grid: from the generation site to the customer. However, connected devices now enable two-way communication along the entire energy supply chain, from generation through distribution to use, thereby improving the utilities’ ability to move and manage it.

Utilities can analyze real-time data transmitted by connected devices to detect blackouts, redirect distribution and respond to changes in energy demand and load.

Meanwhile, smart meters installed at individual homes and businesses provide information about real-time use and historical usage patterns that customers and the utilities can analyze to identify ways to improve efficiency.

5. Environmental monitoring

Connected devices can collect data indicating the health and quality of air, water and soil, fisheries, forests and other natural habitats. They can also collect weather and other environmental data.

As such, IoT delivers the ability to access more real-time data about the environment at any given time and place and enables a range of organizations in various industries to use that data to glean actionable insights.

Such information can help government agencies better monitor and even predict natural disasters, such as tornadoes, and better manage and protect land and wildlife populations. Companies can use this data to better limit their carbon footprint, more effectively document compliance with environmental regulations and more efficiently plan around weather conditions that affect their business.

6. Connected buildings and building security

Property owners are using the power of IoT to make buildings smarter, meaning they’re more energy-efficient, comfortable, convenient, healthier and possibly safer.

An IoT ecosystem in a commercial building could include monitoring the HVAC infrastructure, which uses real-time data and automation technologies to constantly measure and adjust the temperature for optimum energy efficiency and comfort. Meanwhile, cameras using AI could aid in crowd management to ensure the smooth flow of foot traffic or support public safety at large-scale events such as sold-out concerts.

On the home front, consumers can install smart technologies — such as door locks, appliances, thermostats and smoke detectors — that help them with their everyday needs, for example, by coordinating temperature controls to the owners’ schedules.

Additionally, IoT capabilities power modern security systems in commercial and residential buildings with connected cameras and sensors detecting and registering movement or activity — i.e., a doorbell ringing. Those cameras and sensors then transmit that information to other systems, which can be programmed to analyze the data and automated to take specific actions based on that data, or to actual humans, such as homeowners who can determine what action to take.

This IoT market segment is also seeing remarkable growth: In May 2025, Precedence Research estimated the global smart building market size at $111.51 billion and predicted it will reach $277.92 billion by 2034.

7. Smart cities

Smart cities are consolidating IoT deployments across many facets to give municipalities a holistic view of what’s happening in their jurisdictions.

Smart cities incorporate connected traffic management systems and their own smart buildings, as well as private smart buildings. They might also tie into smart grids and use environmental monitoring to create an even larger IoT ecosystem that provides real-time views of the various elements that affect life in their municipalities.

Like smaller, more confined IoT deployments, the objective with smart cities is to collect real-time data for analysis that provides insights municipal officials can use for better decision-making and automated controls to yield more efficient, effective, resilient and safer communities. One leader in this area is Singapore, which promotes its tech-forward efforts on its website. The city-state said it’s “designing, building and implementing government-wide Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructures for Smart City applications.”

8. Supply chain management

Supply chain management has been undergoing modernization, thanks to low-power sensors, GPS and other tracking technologies that pinpoint assets as they move along a supply chain. Such information lets managers more effectively plan and more confidently reassure stakeholders about the location of items shipped or received.

That visibility is beneficial, but it’s only the start of the value proposition that IoT brings to this discipline. IoT technologies can also monitor and manage delivery requirements — for example, measuring and maintaining a specified temperature throughout transport to ensure quality and safety controls. Additionally, back-end analytics capabilities can use IoT-generated data to determine supply chain improvements, such as more efficient routes or shipping times.

In “IoT Use Case Adoption Report 2024,” market research firm IoT Analytics cited numerous ways IoT helps improve the supply chain, including real-time inventory management; supply chain track and trace; track and trace of assets on-site, such as in a warehouse; and product location tracking.

9. Digital payments

IoT also has a role in digital payments, and financial institutions are positioning themselves to use the technology.

Take Visa, for example, which promotes the use of IoT. In an online post, the company wrote, “Imagine a future where machines are capable of conducting commerce with other machines. A world in which every internet-connected device can accept and make payments.”

“This is no longer the stuff of science-fiction,” it continued. “Today, a vast, evolving ecosystem of connected devices is already revolutionizing commerce. Known as the Internet of Things, this expanding universe of interoperable devices is making payments possible in everything from connected cars and wearables to smart homes and cities.”

10. Health and wellness

As in other areas, IoT devices can gather data — in this case, biometric data from individuals — to gain real-time and near-real-time insights into an individual’s health and well-being.

Medical institutions use connected devices throughout their care delivery processes, with many specifically designed to monitor patient vital signs and health conditions. Connected monitors, for example, can monitor, record and transmit a patient’s heart rate, glucose levels or blood pressure; some can also determine whether readings are within or outside a predetermined acceptable range and alert the patient or healthcare provider if that happens.

Consumers also have access to such devices and more, with smartwatches and other wearables capable of tracking, transmitting and analyzing different wellness markers, from daily steps taken to the amount of quality sleep received.

Future Market Insights estimated the global IoT healthcare market’s value to be $243.4 billion in 2025 and projected it will grow at a CAGR of 15.3% to surpass $1 trillion by 2035.

11. Predictive maintenance

Another prominent use of IoT, one of the oldest and most widespread examples, is understanding machine health and identifying when a machine needs service.

Sensors are placed in various mechanical systems, from airplanes and mining equipment to manufacturing assembly lines and household appliances. These sensors collect, store and transmit data about performance, which, when analyzed, can pinpoint maintenance needs and potential problems before they’re required. This enables owners to take preventive action, thereby avoiding degraded performance and equipment failures.

12. Location tracking

In its use case adoption report, IoT Analytics listed location tracking as one of this technology’s most prevalent use cases. The report noted that approximately 45% of the surveyed companies use IoT for location tracking. “IoT location can be applied across various environments, including warehouses, factories, and outdoor work sites,” IoT Analytics stated.

“The location data gathered from the machines or devices help companies locate their equipment and personnel, optimize routing, improve asset utilization, and enhance safety.”