The of Internet of Things

The concept of combining computers, sensors, and networks to monitor and control devices is not new. It has been around for several decades. However, the recent confluence of key technologies like microelectronics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, cognitive sciences, synthetic biology, Information Communication Technologies (ICT), and market trends is ushering in a new reality for the IoT. IoT promises to usher in a revolutionary, fully interconnected “smart” world, with relationships between objects and their environment and objects and people becoming more tightly intertwined (Rose, Eldridge, & Chapin, 2015). The vista of the IoT as a pervasive array of devices bound to the Internet will fundamentally change how people think about what it means to be “online” (Rose et al., 2015). Technically, the IoT is not the result of a single novel technology; instead, several complementary technical developments and innovations provide systemic capabilities that help to bridge the gap between the virtual and physical world (Mattern & Floerkemeier, 2010).

The Episteme and Taxonomy of the Internet of Things

Kevin Ashton is credited with coining the term “Internet-of-Things” in a presentation in 1999 regarding supply chain management (Ashton, 2009; Gubbi, Buyya, Marusic, & Palaniswami, 2013). Since then, Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a new paradigm aiming at providing solutions for integration, communication, data consumption and analysis of smart devices (Khodadadi, Dastjerdi, & Buyya, 2017). While the term “Internet of Things” is relatively new, the concept of joining computers and networks to monitor and control devices has been around for decades (Rose et al., 2015). The story of the IoT can be traced back to the 19th century when the electromagnetic telegraph was created by Baron Schilling in Russia (Borisovai, 2009). Figure 1 is an illustrative flow diagram depicting the history and evolution of the IoT. The evolution saw major landmarks including innovations, significant events, thoughts and predictions from pioneers and thinkers. In an interview with Colliers Magazine in 1926, Nikola Tesla stated:
When wireless is perfectly applied, the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole, and the instruments through which we shall be able to do this will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket. (Kennedy, 1926, Webpage)
Figure1: The History and Evolution of the Internet of Things