The Internet of Things - The Inevitable Future?

Technology never fails to deliver us fascinating developments and constantly promises to make our lives better. In the last few decades, there's been an explosion of technological creativity and invention, with daring endeavors being undertaken in all corners of the Earth: from wireless power, 3D printing, gamification, autonomous vehicles, and Automatic Content Recognition, to mobile robots and - the topic of this article - The Internet of Things, or, as some call it, The Web of Everything.

Sounds grand? Well, it's likely because it is. The promise of the enterprise is nothing short of game-changing, together with the ultimate aim of bringing all inanimate objects to life, at a truly Frankenstein-esque fashion.

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What's the Web of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a scenario where everything - apparatus, individual, network etc. - has a exceptional identifier and the capacity to convey over the Internet. The idea is to create a scenario where we don't have to control each piece of equipment separately, but instead have a top-level control on a complex series of integrated events, over an'army' of interconnected devices that can communicate with one another as well as with us.

Internet of Everything unites several trends, including cloud computing, the increase of connected devices, Big Data, the rising use of video, and also the increasing importance of mobile apps compared to classic computing applications. The Internet of Things is the evolutionary results of the trend towards ubiquitous computing, a tendency that assumed the demand for embedding processors in everyday objects.

Kevin Ashton, co-founder and executive manager of the Auto-ID Center at MIT explains the possibility of the Internet of Things:

"Today computers-and, therefore, the Internet-are almost wholly dependent on human beings for advice. Nearly all the roughly 50 petabytes (a petabyte is 1,024 terabytes) of data which can be found on the Internet were captured and generated by individual beings-by Reading, pressing a record button, shooting a digital picture or scanning a bar code...

"The problem is, people have limited time, focus and accuracy-all of so they aren't very proficient at catching data about matters in the actual world... If we'd computers which knew everything there was to learn about things-using data they gathered without any assistance from us-we would be able to track and count every thing, also significantly decrease waste, reduction, and price. We'd know when things needed replacing, repairing or remembering, and whether they were fresh or beyond their best."

'Run your world on a smartphone'

The potential of the technology has inspired developers to produce solutions geared both towards the user and the B2B market.

The struggle for hearts and minds of most consumers is based round home automation, with firms such as SmartThings, Nest Labs and Ninja Blocks leading the way. Another significant consumer-facing area is measured self, which is playing a great part in developing customers' awareness of the possibility of the IoT.

Beyond consumer, B2B vertical uses of the IoT hold substantial promise in many of areas such as transport, manufacturing,
healthcare, and retail.

Projects in development

SmartThings started as a Kickstarter project and has evolved into a slick business offering a range of nifty goods, such as physical gadgets for home automation as well as programs to control them. It is developed on a cloud-based software platform that allows users to install apps into their lives which produce the world more reactive and more pleasurable. More excitingly, SmartThings is constructing an open platform and can be specifically embracing the developer communities, paving the way to a more open and varied environment, ideal for unrestricted creativity. The programs in development cover these areas as Convenience, Family, Fun & Social, Green Living, Health and Fitness, and Safety and Security.

It hails itself the'world's first Public Cloud for the Internet of Things' and aspires to provide a common ground through that any device on the Internet could actually communicate with almost any other device.

Much like Cosm before it, Xively will offer a way for different devices to connect with each other, though today with commercial conditions of service for commercial customers and freely available services for projects in development. The occurrence of platforms like Xively appears to be critical to building a true Internet of Things rather than what we actually have today.

Internet or Intranet?

So far, despite all the exciting developments, the Internet of Things is still in its infancy, with most devices connecting to the web but still unable to communicate with each other, creating de facto a plethora of Intranets of Things instead of one, unified Web of Things. What's required now for this technology to really take off is a common platform where unrelated devices could connect, ideally an open source you to maximize the capacity for future innovations and developer engagement. Devices available nowadays are also still very pricey and their range for inter-device communicating remains quite restricted.

Later on, the development of the IoT market will inevitably bring more compatible and affordable consumer products which are going to be available to more people. However, for all that talk about the benefits of this IoT, there appears that no one raising any real worries, such as: what if the machines, able to communicate and relate to one another, doesn't longer want us and run off, or else, unite and turn against us? There must be a sci-fi film about this situation somewhere. In any event, epic times lie ahead.

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