When the Internet appeared, it revolutionized how business was done, having a massive impact on many aspects of our lives and the economy. Enough of one that many of us, myself included, would have trouble imagining what our lives would be like without it. And according to some experts, our lives are about to feel that same impact again, with the appearance of the Internet of Things.

The Internet of What?

At its core, the Internet of Things  (or IoT) is about emerging technology that makes the Internet useful to inanimate objects. If you set up your thermostat so that it can go online, check out the current price of electricity, and automatically use that to decide whether to turn on or off? That’s the Internet of Things. Having your car go to a city website, and look up which parking spots are available near your destination, based on data collected by sensors built into the pavement? Also the Internet of Things. Industrial equipment with internal sensors, able to detect when a part is worn down, and to send a report to its operator that it needs replacing? You get the idea.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal.

There are a lot of things that could potentially use this technology. One startup uses sensors to track the size of cattle and optimize feeding and caring. GE has jet engines that collect data while they’re in flight, allowing small problems to be corrected before they become large. Other projects are already using sensors to monitor pollution, check whether fire extinguishers need to be replaced, light streets more efficiently, and monitor health conditions. All of these things are being made more efficient by patching them into the internet. The impact of the IoT isn’t that it will make a huge difference to a few areas, but that it could make a smaller difference almost everywhere. It could potentially be incorporated into nearly everything around us. That adds up fast.

And then there’s the Big Data side of things. The IoT would easily be the source of a huge amount of information about people’s behavior and product use, information that can be used to inform companies and influence their decision making process, changing the way they do business.

So it could be a huge deal. But will it?

That’s the million dollar question (Trillion dollar question, according to some experts) and the subject of a fair bit of debate. Its easy to see the impact of the idea on its own, harder to see the impact it will have after accounting for whatever constraints and obstacles may end up applying to it. Sufficiently intractable obstacles could reduce it to having a relatively minor impact, limited to a few niche uses. Without knowing what those obstacles are in advance, its difficult to say what areas the IoT will succeed in being applied to.

Whatever its extent is, its impact will probably first be felt in places with an extensive tech industry, that already have several companies, large and small, researching, developing and investing in IoT technology. Places, in short, like Washington.

How does this affect me?

Odds are good that whatever industry you’re involved in, someone out there is either thinking about ways to incorporate the IoT into it already, or they’re going to in the future. If this happens, it could have a small-to-huge impact on standard practices, efficiency, available information, and what is necessary to remain competitive. How big the impact will be, whether a given area will be affected or not, what the likely constraints are, what opportunities an early adopter can take advantage of… All these questions are up in the air. Even if you’re a student like me, not yet fully part of the tech industry, the possibility of the internet expanding to even more of our lives could cause massive changes in daily life.

How can I learn more?

On March 15^th, a panel of experts will be discussing the Internet of Things, giving us an opportunity to become informed on what the current state of the technology is, and what their opinions are where current trends are leading it. Panelists include:

Jon Suk, Director of Strategic Technology Energy Management at Current, Powered by General Electric

Joshua Smith, Associate Professor in Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington

Terry Dell, an Innovation Specialist at Verizon Wireless

Lisa Jackson, Executive Strategy Director in the frog Seattle studio

The panel will be moderated by Shushi Gaur, Director of Business Development for IOT Tech Systems.

Register for the Tech in Focus: Internet of Things on March 15 here. You can also sign up to view it through Live Streaming.

 

I also found the following articles useful when researching the Internet of Things:

The Internet of Things is Far Bigger Than Anyone Realizes

Don’t Underestimate The Impact Of The Internet Of Things

Understanding The Impact of IoT (Internet of Things)

What is the Internet of Things and Why is it Important?

The IoT: Fueling a new Industrial Revolution