A Brief History of the Internet of Things
Introduction
During
the Internet’s brief history there have been 4 major phases that have had an
impact on humanity (Evans, 2001).
- Academia. Primary use allowed universities to interconnect.
- Static content. Simple web pages provided limited content to the public.
- Dynamic content. Business transactions were possible. Online banking and shopping became the norm.
- Social networks. Internet has become ingrained as the social norm. Regular interactions with friends and family occur with online services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
History
When
the personal computer became part of mainstream culture in the 1980s,
individuals began to rely on those machines to perform tasks previously done by
humans. The advent of networked computers allowed people to communicate with
each other as never before, first to send rudimentary messages, then over the
Internet via the World Wide Web to exchange goods and services and to establish
social networks. As these interactions have evolved, they have become
increasingly complex and connected users in an ever-expanding number of ways
(e.g., ordering pizza via a website rather than a landline telephone); at the
same time, these technologies become part of daily life, no longer unique, and
make users’ lives easier.
Weiser,
who developed the IoT concept, envisioned a world in which users’ lives
revolved almost completely around connected technologies that faded into the
background of their daily routines (1991). As head of the Computer Science
Laboratory at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Weiser pioneered the concept
of ubiquitous computing. That vision has evolved into what is now the framework
for IoT. In the near future everything
will contain transmitters and receivers.
Billions of people and objects
will be interconnected. That vision has
evolved into what is now the framework for IoT.
IoT
Blueprint
The
basic premise of Weiser’s IoT theory is that, over time, humanity’s everyday
tools will contain sensors that connect each other, transmitting and receiving
information. Information measured can be related to time, (e.g., movement of an
object, time of day), place (e.g., at the PC, indoors or outside) and/or the
thing itself (e.g., human-to-human or computer-to-computer interaction) (ITU
2005).
Ley
(2007) explains that, for items to be connected, they must have their own
identities. “In order for objects and devices to usefully become part of a
wider intelligent, information sharing network, it is vital that each one has a
unique identity. This not only enables more things to be interconnected, it
also means that objects that surround us can become resources and act as
interfaces to other resources” (p. 65).
In
their 2005 executive summary on IoT, the International Telecommunications Union
(ITU) outlined IoT in three steps. The first step of IoT is to actually connect
these tools to large databases and networks and then to the Internet, the
greatest network of networks (ITU, 2005). Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
provides the ideal solution—it is an inexpensive, cost-effective and simple way
to process a wide variety of data from a range of devices.
Radio
Frequency Identification
Radio
frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term to describe the technology
that utilizes radio waves to identify items (Ley, 2007). RFID-based systems can
provide real-time tracking information. RFID
technology is widely used in tags that can collect information and then
transmit it to computer systems (e.g., shipping information, supply chain
management, toll road transponders, “chipping” pets). Ley describes these tags
in detail.
There
are two main types of RFID tags: passive (energy harvested from the reader) and
active (with their own power supply). The more sophisticated tags offer
read/write capabilities. RFID chips can be as small as 0.05 mm2 and can be
embedded in paper. More recently, printable tags have been developed. RFID
systems do not require line of sight and work over various distances from a few
centimetres to 100 metres depending on the frequency used and type of system.
Standards for tags and electronic product codes (EPC) are being overseen by EPC
Global. (p. 66)
The
second step of IoT is to use sensor technologies to interpret the information
collected via RFID and interpret it, detecting changes in the physical status
of things (ITU, 2005). Sensors are crucial to making IoT function. They serve
as the “human” element in the process, detecting changes much the way the
body’s systems would and initiate responses in the technology accordingly. In
other words, “sensors play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the
physical and virtual worlds, and enabling things to respond to changes in their
physical environment” (ITU, 2005, p. 4).
The
third step is the rapid expansion of nanotechnology, allowing RFID-enabled
sensors to be installed in smaller and smaller places. Such advancements have
enabled the development of a nearly unimaginable array of smart devices, from phones
to credit cards to QR codes to home security systems that can be remotely
activated through a smart device.
IoT
Dependencies
Jeff
Apcar works for Cisco Advanced Services as a Distinguished Services
Engineer. Apcar explains that there are
2 major considerations regarding the progression of IoT (Apcar, 2011):
- Physical limitations: Size, available memory, CPU power, and power.
- Logical limitations:
In
order to transform regular objects into smart-objects there must be a
standardization. Apcar explained that
the next iteration of the Internet must incorporate an IP address into each
smart-object. When objects have an IP
address they can be organized into a network.
IoT
cannot be implemented with the current IPv4 addressing scheme. There are over 6 billion people in the world
yet IPv4 provides approximately 3.7 billion IP addresses. The world faces a shortage of IPv4 addresses. In order to support billions upon billions of
smart-objects the IPv6 protocol must be used.
There are approximately 3.4×1038 IPv6 addresses (Telstra, 2003).
Power
technology will need to be further developed as well. People currently manually re-charge batteries
for their internet connected gadgets.
Other Internet connected gadgets are directly powered by an AC
outlet. IoT smart-objects will be too
numerous and too small to manually supply power. Apcar explains that the typical smart-object
may be smaller than the tip of a pen. If
the smart-object is battery powered it must be energy efficient and a single
charge may have to last for years (Apcar, 2011).
LLN
The
smart-object’s physical properties limit their range and scope. The small size and limited power will
translate to wireless links of unpredictable quality (Apcar, 2011). Routing Over Low Power and Lossy (ROLL)
networks compensate for device constraints.
Low power and Lossy networks (LLNs) are interconnected by a variety of
wireless technology. LLNs have at least
5 charecteristics (IETF, 2013):
- LLNs operate with a hard, very small bound on state.
- LLN optimize for saving energy.
- Unicast and Anycast.
- Limited link layers with restricted frame-sizes.
- Efficiency versus generality.
Current
routing protocols such as OSPF and IS-IS have been considered for use with LLNs;
but they currently do not meet all necessary requirements (IETF, 2013).
6LoWPAN
6LoWPAN
is technology that allows IPv6 communication over IEEE802.15.4 based
networks. 802.15.4 defines low-rate
wireless personal area networks (LR-WPAN) (Apcar, 2011). 6LoWPAN technology was chartered to design a
low power and low data rate solution. It
operates on an unlicensed and international frequency band (IEEE, 2012). It is relatively slow when compared to modern
Wi-Fi. 802.11 standards can transfer
Gbps of data while the best data transfer rate of 6L0WPAN is only 250 kbps
(IEEE, 2011). However, the bandwidth is
sufficient to transfer text data from embedded sensors.
CoRE
Both
LLN and 6LoWPAN are intended for the network, transport and session layers of
the OSI model. Constrained Restful
Environments (CoRE) architecture provides an application protocol designed to
work with smart-objects. CoRE uses the
Contrained Application Protocol (CoAP) to support a wide range of devices,
transports and applications (Apcar, 2011.) CoAP uses an embedded web transfer protocol
(coap://) that is HTTP-compatible. A
simple packet header of less than 10 bytes facilitates low overhead and
simplicity. CoAP is defined for UDP
communication (Shelby, 2011).
Sociological/User
Implications
“The
most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into
the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it” (Weiser,
1991, p. 94). That quote, perhaps Weiser’s most famous, precisely encapsulates
his vision of IoT. Little more than twenty years later, that vision is reality.
In 2010, 12.5 billion devices were connected to the Internet, or 1.84 devices
for each of the world’s then 6.8 billion inhabitants. By 2015, an estimated 25
billion devices will exist for 7.2 billion people, or 3.47 devices per person
(Cisco, 2011). These numbers consider everyone on earth, including those in
developing countries who may not even own a smart device, which means that many
who are connected to IoT do so through multiple devices. Clearly, this
technology has become part of the fabric of daily life.
With
such connectivity come concerns regarding privacy. The business of tech has
pushed the development beyond the rudimentary interactions of its early days to
providing users the ability to nearly completely exist electronically.
Naturally, questions have arisen as to who controls the data collected by the
billions of sensors, “the eyes and ears embedded in the environment surrounding
us?” (ITU, 2005, p. 9) The answer is murky. Quite simply, end users have no way
of knowing who or what sees their personal data—they must trust the
governments, businesses and all other entities that cultivate and share data
through IoT to behave in an ethical way. There are also very real concerns
about the security of the software, especially as it relates to personal
information.
There
are also genuine concerns about invasion of privacy, trust and the security of
systems. Already, some RFID schemes have been halted in schools and the
commercial sector because of public concerns.
RFID enabled passports have been shown to be insecure…Even now, people
can be tracked through their mobile phones, credit/loyalty cards, and CCTV, but
the convenience and benefits of these technologies are often seen as outweighing
the concerns. This may not always be the case and policies and protections need
to be put in place, especially when dealing with information about learners.
(Ley, 2007, p. 76)
Indeed,
there are countless examples of life with IoT raising questions about security
and what the individual can expect in a newly digital age. Going forward, these
questions will continue to arise as technology improves, forcing users to
determine their personal balance of privacy and convenience.
Conclusion
What
will Western society, and IoT, look like in the next decade? Rapidly advancing
technology makes this practically impossible to determine. While the vision
shaping IoT remains steady, the network itself is still being built. For those
willing and able to hatch the next new ideas, great reward is possible. IoT
start-up companies are proposing the solutions to problems like providing power
sources for miniscule sensors and shaping the future of technology-enabled
connectivity (Ackerman, 2012).
Future
Smart Energy Grids may provides fault tolerance and load balancing (similar to
Internet routing). IoT may innovate
transportation to prevent vehicle collisions, eliminate drunk driving, and
safely allow excessive high speeds on the interstate. IoT has the potential to transform modern
medical treatment. As smart-objects
become smaller they can act as probes that can safely detect and possible treat
cancers. All professional disciplines
will benefit from the wealth of information that billions of smart-object will
provide. The era of IoT is under way.
Written by Steven Jordan on December 17th, 2012
References
References
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