To the current individual in the high-speed trend
of ICT, you must have been familiar with the hash-tag (#IoT). If not, you can search for the hash-tag via twitter & read from me
The
Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the interconnection of uniquely identifiable
embedded computing-like devices within the existing Internet infrastructure. Typically,
IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and
services that goes beyond machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and covers a
variety of protocols, domains, and applications. The interconnection of
these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in
automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like
a Smart Grid.
Things, in the IoT, can refer to a wide
variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on
farm animals, automobiles with built-in sensors, or field operation devices
that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue. Current market examples include
smart thermostat systems and washer/dryers that utilize wifi for remote
monitoring.
Due to the ubiquitous nature of connected
objects in the IoT, an unprecedented number of devices are expected to be
connected to the Internet. According to Gartner, there will be nearly 26
billion devices on the Internet of Things by 2020. ABI Research estimates that
more than 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the Internet of
Things (Internet of Everything) by 2020. Per a recent survey and study done by
Pew Research Internet Project, a large majority of the technology experts and
engaged Internet users who responded—83 percent—agreed with the notion that the
Internet/Cloud of Things and embedded and wearable computing will have
widespread and beneficial effects by 2025. It is, as such, clear that the IoT
will consist of a very large number of devices being connected to the Internet.
Integration with the Internet implies that
devices will utilize an IP address as a unique identifier. However, due to the
limited address space of IPv4 (which allows for 4.3 billion unique addresses),
objects in the IoT will have to use IPv6 to accommodate the extremely large
address space required. Objects in the IoT will not only be devices with
sensory capabilities, but also provide actuation capabilities (e.g., bulbs or
locks controlled over the Internet). To a large extent, the future of the
Internet of Things will not be possible without the support of IPv6; and
consequently the global adoption of IPv6 in the coming years will be critical
for the successful development of the IoT in the future.
The embedded computing nature of many IoT
devices means that low-cost computing platforms are likely to be used.
In fact, to minimize the impact of such devices on
the environment and energy consumption, low-power radios are likely to be used
for connection to the Internet. Such low-power radios do not use WiFi, or well
established Cellular Network technologies, and remain an actively developing
research area. However, the IoT will not be composed only of embedded devices,
since higher order computing devices will be needed to perform heavier duty
tasks (routing, switching, data processing and etc.). Companies such as
FreeWave Technologies have developed and manufactured low power wireless data
radios (both embedded and standalone) for over 20 years to enable
Machine-to-Machine applications for the industrial internet of things.
Besides the plethora of new application areas for
Internet connected automation to expand into, IoT is also expected to generate
large amounts of data from diverse locations that is aggregated and very
high-velocity, thereby increasing the need to better index, store and process
such data.
Diverse applications call for different deployment
scenarios and requirement, which have usually been handled in a proprietary
implementation. However, since the IoT is connected to the Internet, most of
the devices comprising IoT services will need to operate utilizing standardized
technologies. Prominent standardization bodies, such as the IETF, IPSO Alliance
and ETSI, are working on developing protocols, systems, architectures and
frameworks to enable the IoT.
Major
History
As of 2014 the vision of the Internet of Things has
evolved due to a convergence of multiple technologies, ranging from wireless
communication to the Internet and from embedded systems to
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). This means that traditional fields of
embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation
(including home and building automation), and others, all have contributions to
enable the Internet of Things (IoT).
The general concept of a network of smart devices
has been discussed[by whom?] since at least 1991. In 1994 Reza Raji described
the concept in IEEE Spectrum as "[moving] small packets of data to a large
set of nodes, so as to integrate and automate everything from home appliances
to entire factories". However, only
in 1999 did the field start gathering momentum. Bill Joy envisioned Device to
Device (D2D) communication as part of his "Six Webs" framework,
presented at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 1999.
Kevin Ashton proposed the term "Internet of
Things" in the same year.
In a seminal 2009 article for the RFID Journal,
"That 'Internet of Things' Thing", Ashton made the following
assessment:
Today computers—and, therefore, the
Internet—are almost wholly dependent on human beings for information. Nearly
all of the roughly 50 petabytes (a petabyte is 1,024 terabytes) of data
available on the Internet were first captured and created by human beings—by
typing, pressing a record button, taking a digital picture, or scanning a bar
code. Conventional diagrams of the Internet … leave out the most numerous and
important routers of all - people. The problem is, people have limited time,
attention and accuracy—all of which means they are not very good at capturing
data about things in the real world. And that's a big deal. We're physical, and
so is our environment … You can't eat bits, burn them to stay warm or put them
in your gas tank. Ideas and information are important, but things matter much
more. Yet today's information technology is so dependent on data originated by
people that our computers know more about ideas than things. If we had
computers that knew everything there was to know about things—using data they
gathered without any help from us—we would be able to track and count
everything, and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost. We would know when things
needed replacing, repairing or recalling, and whether they were fresh or past
their best. The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just
as the Internet did. Maybe even more so.
—Kevin Ashton, "That 'Internet of Things'
Thing", RFID Journal, July 22, 2009
The concept of the Internet of Things first became
popular[when?] through the Auto-ID Center at MIT and related market-analysis
publications. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) was seen[by whom?] as a
prerequisite for the Internet of Things in the early days[when?]. If all
objects and people in daily life were equipped with identifiers, computers
could manage and inventory them. Besides using RFID, the tagging of things may
be achieved through such technologies as near field communication, barcodes, QR
codes and digital watermarking.
In its original interpretation,[when?] one of the
first consequences of implementing the Internet of Things by equipping all
objects in the world with minuscule identifying devices or machine-readable
identifiers would be to transform daily life in several positive ways. For
instance, instant and ceaseless inventory control would become ubiquitous. A
person's ability to interact with objects could be altered remotely based on
immediate or present needs, in accordance with existing end-user agreements.
For example, such technology could grant motion-picture publishers much more
control over their films by better applying copyright restrictions and digital
restrictions management, so a customer buying a Blu-ray disc containing a movie
could choose to pay a high price and be able to watch the movie for a whole
year, pay a moderate price and have the right to watch the movie for a week, or
pay a low fee every time she or he watches the movie, similarly to Circuit
City's DIVX.
Plus an extract from the wikipedia's.
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