A recent post by ReadWriteWeb on the Future of the Internet got me to thinking about the “Internet of Things.” This is not my term and I’m not the first person to talk about it. But it’s definitely a topic that deserves more attention as more and more electronics come connected to the Internet out of the box. So I have put together a list of articles (and my thoughts on them) to explain, clarify, and provoke discussion on this topic.
The Internet of things will dwarf the Internet of people | Trends in the …
The infographic below highlights some of the key features of the Internet of things, including the pace of growth, how external data can be aggregated so that your alarm clocks, cars, and coffee makers make decisions to fit …
Publish Date: 09/01/2011 6:44
http://rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2011/09/the-internet-of-things-will-dwarf-the-internet-of-people.html
Note: This is a great infographic that shows how expansive the Internet of Things is becoming. It’s not a one-to-one ratio between people and connected devices.
The commoditization of The Internet of Things | Don’t Mind Rick
Everything in the end that can be social, will be social. Though the hard part is to make the Internet of Things work in a meaningful way.
Publish Date: 09/01/2011 0:03
http://dontmindrick.com/socialmedia/commoditization-internet-things/
Note: One interesting thing to note is how the Internet of Things will converge with social media. With GPS (and GPS-assisted WiFi) we will know where the connected devices are. Once we know where they are, it’s only a small step further to target services to them that make use of their location. This article talks about a recent Salesforce.com keynote in which the speaker made a great point by “socializing” with a Coke machine.
The Internet of Things | Ariadne
An interesting infographic from Cisco forecasts the anticipated growth of devices connected over the internet. It notes that the number of things connected to the internet in 2008 was greater than the world population. By 2020 it …
Publish Date: 09/01/2011 6:27
http://sciblogs.co.nz/ariadne/2011/09/02/the-internet-of-things/
Note: This is a great infographic from Cisco that shows the growth of connected devices. I don’t even think this infographic can begin to touch upon the level of connectedness. Perhaps there is an exponential equation or power log that describes the growth.
NFC and the Internet of things | VentureBeat
Near-field communications (NFC) has been getting a lot of attention lately. Most people have focused their attention on NFC as a credit card alternative, but there’s much more to it than that.
Publish Date: 06/21/2011 13:20
http://venturebeat.com/2011/06/21/nfc-and-the-internet-of-things/
Note: Perhaps one of the most promising connected technologies within the Internet of Things is NFC (near-field communication). This is the wireless technology that will enable pass/swipe-based payment with a mobile phone. But think about this in terms of the socialization of the Internet of Things. If i know where a connected device is AND what it’s been purchasing, that is powerful data indeed.
Cisco Eyes ‘Internet of Things‘ With M2M Networking | ITProPortal.com
Enterprise networking giant Cisco has unveiled a new compact router in an attempt to bring internet to devices which…
Publish Date: 08/25/2011 9:30
http://www.itproportal.com/2011/08/25/cisco-eyes-internet-things-m2m-networking/
Note: What we don’t often talk about when we discuss markets and trends are the technologies underneath. We usually focus on services. But Cisco has put together a powerful router (machine-to-machine gateway) that will enable devices not normally connected, like refrigerators and ATMs, to become part of the Internet of Things.
Gartner Adds Big Data, Gamification, and Internet of Things to Its …
Gartner is once again taking a look at the “hype cycle” for technologies and trying to assess where technologies lie along the bumpy road from technology trigger to …
Publish Date: 08/11/2011 12:30
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/08/gartner-adds-big-data-gamifica.php
Note: Like any trend or market, the Internet of Things isn’t prime-time. It’s not an opportunity that companies can build services for right now. In fact, I’m not sure it ever will be as it’s more of a state of existence than anything else. But that’s my opinion. Analysts, on the other hand, have to consider it an opportunity and some of them, like Gartner, are exploring the level of hype. This article shows Gartner’s hype cycle for the Internet of Things and other concepts.
Buddhism and the Internet of Things | Vincent Horn
In this fascinating session, we’ll bring together a researcher examining the trends of quantified self and “the Internet of things” (Sara Öhrvall from Bonnier R&D), a top connected-product designer (Matt Rolandson of …
Publish Date: 08/15/2011 15:10
http://www.vincenthorn.com/2011/08/15/buddhism-and-the-internet-of-things/
Note: exploring a topic as profound as the Interent of Things without delving into the human side would be short-sighted. This concept potentially redefines the human condition by blurring the line between digital and physical self.
New Article: “Internet of Things: Services and Applications …
In this paper we attempt to categorize the services provided by the Internet of Things (IoT) in order to help application developers build upon a base service. First we introduce the four main categories of services, and then …
Publish Date: 08/22/2011 17:49
http://infodocket.com/2011/08/22/new-article-internet-of-things-services-and-applications-categorization/
Note: This is a link to an academic paper that attempts to categorize the services that will be available on the Internet of Things (or IoT; is it real if it has an acronym).
“The Internet of Things” is the new Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Internet of Things pioneer, Kevin Ashton said of this:-. 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. […] If we had …
Publish Date: 08/24/2011 2:49
http://www.marksage.net/2011/08/internet-of-things-is-new-sourcer.html
Note: this article talks about an interesting service that is already attempting to capitalize on the Internet of Things. GreenGoose. But what’s really interesting is how this article brings to light how the Internet of Things will “supercharge” things we take for granted as part of a connected world: social media and gamification.
Conclusion:
There is a lot going on with this topic. From practical application to analyst projections to the impact on the human condition, it is clear that the Internet of Things is real. It’s not going away. What I find most interesting, though, is how it will enhance the connectedness we already have. I think some people believe this will be something entirely new. I don’t. We are already producing data at an amazing rate through the Web and network-enabled applications. Connecting more devices simply extends that activity. The real promise, which has nothing to do with connected devices, is our ability to analyze the data (this is, in Stephen Wolfram’s mind, computable knowledge), to make something of it. I think we should be talking more about data interconnectivity (through APIs, mash-ups, etc.) than the physical connection of devices.
Image courtesy of www.cmswire.com.
Originally posted 2011-09-10 10:04:56.