Device and technology implications of the Internet of Things

Abstract

We live in an interconnected world. Computing power once reserved for server rooms now resides in our pockets. Tablets now outsell PCs. As marked as these changes have been, we are now entering a new era of vastly greater connectivity, where people interact with the world around them in entirely new ways. The Internet of Things is in its infancy, so predictions of precisely what it will become are dangerous, but several things are clear. First, the leaf nodes of the network will share some device and technology properties in terms of cost and computing capability, but also analog and wireless functionality. These nodes will interact with people and with the cloud. The “little data” of these interactions needs to integrate seamlessly with the “big data” of the world around them. The trust, security and service components of these interactions lead to further device and technology requirements. This talk looks at the trends and discusses some likely paths forward.