Policy Brief:

The Internet of Things

December 2018

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Policy Update: Internet of Things (IoT)

What is the IoT? TheInternetofThings(IoT)isatermthatmeansjustthat,thingsconnectedtotheInternet.Anydevicewithanon-and-offswitchthatisconnectedtotheInternetisapartoftheIoT. Refrigerators,1

watches,headphones,coffeemakers,lamps,doorlocks,andmuchmore,allconnectedbytheInternet,communicatingandsharingdatainanattempttomakeyourlifeeasier,moreefCicient,andmorecosteffective.Inshort,theIoTfulCillsthepromisethe20thCenturymadeaboutwhatlifecouldbelikeinthefuture.

When will the IoT arrive? It’slargelyalreadyhere,butnotnearlyasimpactfulasitwillbeinthenearfuture.Currently,thereareabout6.4billionconnecteddevicesworldwide. Butby2020,estimates2

suggestthat21billiondeviceswillbeInternetconnected. 3

Why is the IoT taking off? Simply,smarterandmoreconnecteddeviceswillmakelifeandworkeasier.TheIoTwillstreamlinedailyactivitiesandreducethedrudgeriesassociatedwithdailyoflife.Homeandworkoperationswill

Morgan, Jacob. A Simple Explanation of ‘The Internet of Things,’ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/1

2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/#223221e81d09, (May 13, 2014). Nunez, Michael. What is 5G and How Will It Make My Life Better?, https://gizmodo.com/what-is-5g-and-how-will-2

it-make-my-life-better-1760847799, (February 24, 2016).

Ibid.3

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becomemoreefCicientasdeviceswillknowhowtooptimizeenergyandtimeusagewhilekeepingitsuserhappy.Additionally,technologycostsaregoingdown,moredevicesarebeingcreatedwithWi-Ficapabilities,andbroadbandInternetisbecomingmorewidelyavailablethaneverbefore. Plus,early4

deploymentofultra-fast5GwirelessInternetnetworkswillhelpaccommodatebillionsofadditionaldeviceswithoutstressingalreadysubscribedandslowernetwork. In5

short,weareontheprecipiceofanIoTboom.

How is the IoT currently being used? Today,theIoTcreatesanetworkofsmartdevicesthatspeaktoeachother(andtoyou)tocoordinatetheiractivitiesinthehopesofmakingyourlifeandworkeasier,moreefCicient,andcosteffective. 6Byconnectingthesedevicestoeachotherandcreatingasmartnetwork,itbecomespossibletogatherinformation,analyzeit,andcreateanactiontohelpauserwitha

particulartask. Thefollowingare7

butafewexamplesofthetasksbeingcarriedoutbytheIoTtoday:

HomeandOf+ice:Smartthermostatslearntheusers'schedulesandprogramthemselvestoheatandcoolhomesandofCicestooptimaltemperaturesatoptimaltimes.Theycanevenopenandshutblindstomaximizenaturalsolarheating. HomesandofCicescanalsobeoperatedremotelyallowingtheoccupanttocontrolsecurity,climate,appliance,lighting,andhometheatreequipmentfromadifferentroom,oradifferentcountry. 8

Cities:StoplightsareembeddedwithsensorsthatcanadjusttrafCiclightsaccordingtowherecarsareandthetimeofdaytominimizetrafCicandstoplightidling. Solar-poweredgarbagecanscancrush

See Morgan, supra.4

Ibid.5

Meola, Andrew. What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?, http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-internet-of-6

things-definition-2016-8, (December 19, 2016).

Burgess, Matt. What is the Internet of Things?, http://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-of-things-what-is-explained-7

iot, (April 21, 2017).

Scott, Alec. 8 ways the Internet of things will change the way we live and work, https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/8

report-on-business/rob-magazine/the-future-is-smart/article24586994/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&, (accessed September 26, 2017); Rouse, Margaret. Smart home or building, http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/smart-home-or-building, (accessed September 26, 2017).

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By 2020, estimates suggest that 21 billion devices will be Internet connected

wasteandsendamessagetoadispatcherrequestingpickupwhenthey’refull. 9

Manufacturing:ManufacturersareusingtechnologytopinpointbottlenecksonthefactoryClooranddivertresourcesaccordinglytooptimizetheproductionprocesssoasnottowastetime. 10

Vehicles:SomevehiclesareequippedwithautopilotthatcandirectacarthroughvaryingdegreesoftrafCic,canparallelpark,andcanreadpostedspeedlimitsignstowarndriverstoslowdown. 11

HealthCare:TheInternetofMedicalThingsincludesremotepatientmonitoringandpersonaldeviceslikesmartwatches,whichmeasureheartrate,sleeppatterns,diet,exercise,andthenbeamthatdatatomobileapps.Theseappsprocessthedataandoffersuggestionstohelpyoumakehealthylifechoices. 12

Energy:Windturbinescansensewinddirectionandcannotifyotherturbinesonthefarmwhichangletopositionthemselvestomaximizeenergyproduction. 13

Agriculture:Smartmachinescanplow,sow,reap,andcollectlargeswathsofdataaboutairandsoiltemperatures,moisture,windspeed,humidity,solarradiation,andrainfallandadjustthefarmingprocessaccordingly. 14

What does the future of IoT look like? ThefutureofIoTwillcomeintheformofgreaterconnectivity.Moreandmoredeviceswillgoonlineandmoreandmoredeviceswillspeaktoeachother,coordinate,andbecomeincreasinglyproactive. Youralarmclockwillwakeyou15

upat7a.m.andwilltellyourcoffeemakertostartbrewingcoffeeforyoustrong,thewayyoulikeitwhenyouhaveabigmeetinginthemorning,whichitknowsbecauseyourdigitalcalendartolditso.

Thecalendaralsotoldyourcartobereadyat8a.m.andhavetheheaterrunning,becausetheweatherappsaiditwouldbechilly.Unfortunately,youwererunninglate.

See Scott, supra.9

Ibid.10

Ibid.11

Ibid; Rouse, Margaret. IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) or healthcare IoT, http://12

internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/IoMT-Internet-of-Medical-Things, (accessed September 26, 2017).

See Scott, supra.13

Ibid.14

See Morgan, supra.15

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Butluckily,yourcartextedthepersonwithwhomyouweremeetingnotifyingherofthat.Onceatwork,yourwearabledeviceswilltellyouwhenandwhereintheofCiceyouweremostproductiveandsendtheinfotoyourdayplannerwhichwillcreateascheduletohelpyoufurtheroptimizeyourtimeandenergy.

WehearalotabouttheInternetofThings.That’sbecauseit’shuge,andit’scomingtoafridgenearyou.

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