Internet of things

The concept and term for it were first formulated by the founder of the Auto-ID research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Kevin Ashton ^[5] in 1999 at a presentation for Procter & Gamble . The presentation described how the comprehensive implementation of RF tags could alter the logistics chain management system in a corporation ^[6] .

In 2004, Scientific American published an extensive article ^[7] devoted to the “Internet of things”, which vividly shows the concept's potential in home use: the article contains an illustration showing how household appliances ( alarm clock , air conditioning ), home systems ( garden irrigation system , security the system , the lighting system), the sensors ( heat , light and motion sensors) and “things” (for example, drugs with an identification tag) interact with each other through communication networks ( infrared , wireless , power and low-voltage networks) and provide fully automatic execution of processes (include a coffee maker, change lighting, remind of medication, maintain the temperature, provide watering the garden, allow you to save energy and manage its consumption ). The home automation options presented themselves were not new, but the emphasis was on publishing devices and “things” into a single computer network serviced by Internet protocols , and considering the “Internet of things” as a special phenomenon contributed to the concept of wide popularity ^[2] .

In the 2008 report of the National Intelligence Council ( Eng. National Intelligence Council ) “Internet of Things” appears as one of the six subversive technologies , it is indicated that the widespread and imperceptible for consumers turning into Internet nodes of such common things as commodity packaging, furniture, paper documents can significantly increase the risks in the field of national information security ^[8] .

The period from 2008 to 2009, analysts at Cisco consider “the real birth of the Internet of Things”, because, according to their estimates, it is in this period that the number of devices connected to the global network exceeded the population of the Earth ^[9] , thereby “Internet people "has become the" Internet of things. "

Since 2009, with the support of the European Commission, the Internet of Things conference has been held annually in Brussels ^{[10] [11]} , where European commissioners and deputies of the European Parliament , government officials from European countries, heads of companies such as SAP , SAS Institute , Telefónica , presenters scientists of major universities and research laboratories.

Since the beginning of the 2010s, the Internet of Things has become the driving force behind the fog computing paradigm, spreading the principles of cloud computing from data centers to a huge number of interacting geographically distributed devices, which is viewed as a platform of the Internet of Things ^{[ 12] [13]} .

Since 2011, Gartner has placed the “Internet of things” in the general HIP cycle of new technologies at the stage of “technological trigger” indicating the period of its formation for more than 10 years, and since 2012, a specialized “HYIP cycle of the Internet of things” is periodically released ^[14] .

Identification Tools

The use of objects of the physical world on the Internet of Things, which are not necessarily equipped with means for connecting to data transmission networks, requires the use of technologies to identify these objects (“things”). Although the concept of RFID was the impetus for the emergence of the concept, all the tools used for automatic identification can be used as such technologies: optically recognizable identifiers ( bar codes , Data Matrix , QR codes ), means of determining location in real time . With the comprehensive dissemination of the “Internet of Things”, it is essential to ensure the uniqueness of object identifiers, which, in turn, requires standardization.

For objects directly connected to Internet networks, the traditional identifier is the MAC address of the network adapter that allows you to identify the device at the data link layer, while the range of available addresses is almost inexhaustible (2 ⁴⁸ addresses in the MAC-48 space), and the use of the link level identifier is not too convenient for applications. More extensive identification capabilities for such devices are provided by the IPv6 protocol, which provides unique network-level addresses of at least 300 million devices per inhabitant of the Earth.

Measurement Tools

A special role in the Internet of Things is played by measuring tools that translate information about the external environment into machine-readable data, and thus fill the computing environment with meaningful information. A wide class of measuring instruments is used , from elementary sensors (for example, temperature, pressure, illumination), consumption metering devices (such as smart meters ) to complex integrated measuring systems. Within the framework of the “Internet of Things” concept, it is important to integrate measurement tools in the network (such as wireless sensor networks , measuring complexes), due to which it is possible to build computer-to-machine interaction systems.

As a special practical problem of introducing the “Internet of Things”, the need to ensure maximum autonomy of measuring instruments is noted, first of all, the problem of power supply of sensors. Finding effective solutions that provide autonomous powering of sensors (using photocells , transforming the energy of vibration, airflow, using wireless transmission of electricity ) allows scaling sensor networks without increasing maintenance costs (in the form of changing batteries or recharging sensor batteries).

Data Transmission Means

The range of possible data transmission technologies covers all possible means of wireless and wired networks .

For wireless data transmission, an especially important role in building the “Internet of things” is played by such qualities as efficiency in low-speed conditions, fault tolerance, adaptability, and the possibility of self-organization. The main interest in this quality is the IEEE 802.15.4 standard , which defines the physical layer and access control for the organization of energy-efficient personal networks, and is the basis for such protocols as ZigBee , WirelessHart , MiWi , 6LoWPAN , LPWAN .

Among wired technologies, PLC solutions play an important role in the penetration of the “Internet of Things” - technologies for building data transmission networks via power lines , as many applications have access to power grids (for example, vending machines , ATMs , smart meters , lighting controllers are initially connected to the network). power supply). 6LoWPAN , which implements the IPv6 layer both above IEEE 802.15.4 and PLC, being an open protocol standardized by the IETF , is noted as particularly important for the development of the “Internet of things” ^[15] .

Data Processing Tools

According to Ericsson's estimates, in 2018 the number of sensors and devices of the Internet of things should have exceeded the number of mobile phones, the cumulative average annual growth rate of this segment from 2015 to 2021 was expected to be 23%, by 2021 it is predicted that approximately 28 billion connected devices around the world, about 16 billion will be somehow connected within the concept of the internet of things.

According to IDC , the total global investment in areas related to the Internet of things, in 2016 amounted to $ 737 billion, in 2017 - more than $ 800 billion; investments in the order of $ 1.4 trillion are forecast by 2021 ^[16] .

• Kevin Ashton. That 'Internet of Things' Thing. In the real world, things matter more than ideas. (eng.) RFID Journal (June 22, 2009). The date of circulation is November 30, 2012. Archived January 24, 2013.
• Leonid Chernyak. Internet of Things (rus.) . Open systems. DBMS , №7, 2012 . Open systems (September 26, 2012). The date of circulation is November 30, 2012. Archived January 24, 2013.
• Rob van Kranenburg. The Internet of Things critique of technology and the all-seeing network of RFID . - Pijnacker: Telstar Media, 2008. - 62 p. - ISBN 90-78146-06-0 .
• Final Report: RFID and the Inclusive Model for the Internet of Things . Casagras Research (18 November 2009). The date of circulation is November 30, 2012. Archived January 24, 2013.
• Disruptive Civil Technologies. Six Technologies with Potential Impacts on US Interests out to 2025 (eng.) . National Intelligence Council (11 April 2008). The date of circulation is November 30, 2012. Archived January 24, 2013.
• Olivier Hersent, David Boswarthick, Omar Elloumi. The Internet of Things: Key Applications and Protocols. - Willey, 2012. - 370 p. - ISBN 978-1119994350 .

• Tracxn Internet of Things Infrastructure Startup Landscape , 2014 (Eng.)
• Internet of Things Conference