The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things refers to the integration of physical objects (things) to our cyber space, softwares, and the wide databases that we collect via IT.  It is a term coined by a British visionary called Kevin Ashton back in 1999, before the dotcom bubble started to burst, to describe how internet-connected devices would change our lives (1). It comes hand-in hand with the notion of Web 2.0.

This has now become a reality with households across Britain having their heating systems connected to the internet by brands such as 'Nset' and 'Hive'. Another example of this is our cars - parking themselves! This is like the BMW cars which can understand your command to park through a smart watch, map the carpark area using sensors, and proceed to position its wheels and drive forward/reverse as required to fit into the space. 

Ideas are being thrown around about the possibilities of integration points and the Internet of Things, can you think of any? Imagine.. weather forecasting helping to automatically maneuver the opening of drainage systems & re-routing traffic, a scanner in the fridge linking to your calendar - automatically providing you a shopping list and target dates to go grocery shopping? The list can go on and on..

In a world where we are too busy to manage our own lives, we can let our THINGS manage it for us! 

Reference/s:

(1) http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/mar/31/the-internet-of-things-is-revolutionising-our-lives-but-standards-are-a-must
(2) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2875977/Who-needs-valet-BMW-s-automated-car-parks-speak-SMARTWATCH.html