The Internet of Things (IoT): Living in Glass Houses
“Predictable pathways of information are changing: the physical world itself is becoming a type of information system. In what’s called the Internet of Things, sensors and actuators embedded in physical objects—from roadways to pacemakers—are linked through wired and wireless networks, often using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that connects the Internet.” – McKinsey & Company
Globally, it’s called the “Internet of Things (IoT).” Systems giant Cisco is looking to be THE leader in this arena by using their own brand in simply calling it the “Internet of Everything” (IoE).
This Internet of Everything is quite literally what it is claiming to be … a global communications network in which ALL things are connected to that network. In a 2013 report released by Cisco, estimates are that, by 2020, “a nearly nine-fold increase in the volume of devices on the Internet of Things” will be a reality. “These figures will translate to a $14-trillion industry,” predicts Cisco CEO John Chambers.
Realtime, here’s how it translates according to a Cisco blog posted on July 29, 2013, “How Many Internet Connections are in the World? Right. Now.”
“Right now, in 2013, 80 things per second are connecting to the Internet. Next year that number will reach almost 100 per second, and by 2020, more than 250 things will connect each second. Add all of these numbers up, and we believe that more than 50 billion things will be connected to the internet by 2020.”
It’s little wonder, as I wrote in my 2000 book entitled “The Embedded Internet: The Final Evolution,” that “the day will come when the Internet is attached to everything you touch and everything that touches you. We are about to become the most transparent world in history!”
Our Transparent World 