The Internet of Things is here

Posted on July 22nd, 2016

This article by Florence Hudson, senior vice president and chief innovation officer for Internet2, looks at the continued expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how higher education can be involved in and shape its development. IoT is a network of everyday objects, ranging from vehicles and appliances to buildings and drones, which are connected through digital sensors that allow the objects to send and receive data. Currently, billions of physical devices across the world are interconnected through the Internet or other network technology, and it is estimated that by 2025 the IoT could represent 11 percent of the global gross domestic product. The IoT is already evident on campuses—on average students arrive on campus with seven IoT devices. The article suggests that higher education “has an opportunity to support the development and deployment of the technical and business model innovations for an IoT-enabled economy.” It provides the example of engineering and computer science professors creating IoT labs to improve IoT technologies or law schools teaching IoT ethics, privacy, and policy. The article encourages higher education institutions to use their “resources and talent to develop and shape the future of the IoT.”

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/6/the-internet-of-things-is-here