You probably didn't notice anything different when you accessed the web on June 7th 2012, but a new and improved internet had replaced the old one virtually overnight. The new version, referred to as Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), had been in the works for years and will shepard in the next generation of internet usage where the various and sundry items of everyday life are connected. This is what is being referred by the moniker “The Internet of Things” as potentially every “thing” can be connected over the web.
To get to the point where the next generation of “things” could be connected, the old internet with a paltry 4.3 billion URLs available had to be replaced with the current version, which has trillions more addresses available, according to Vint Cerf, one of the original inventors of the internet. The explosion in available addresses paves the way for next paradigm of internet connectivity where everything from cattle on the north 40 to the refrigerator in the kitchen can be accessed.
The key to this new paradigm is the evolution of sensor technology, which has dramatically reduced prices while increasing their functionality to enable the assessment of local environments, provision of location data, and the ability to transmit information over the internet via wireless technology. The number of “things” that will be connected to the internet is estimated to reach 50 billion by the year 2020, which could spur the development of new industries, products and services dedicated to the simplification of connecting items in homes and business. In other words, the Internet of Things, despite its current low profile could be one of the biggest things to hit the web in a long time.
To get to the point where the next generation of “things” could be connected, the old internet with a paltry 4.3 billion URLs available had to be replaced with the current version, which has trillions more addresses available, according to Vint Cerf, one of the original inventors of the internet. The explosion in available addresses paves the way for next paradigm of internet connectivity where everything from cattle on the north 40 to the refrigerator in the kitchen can be accessed.
The key to this new paradigm is the evolution of sensor technology, which has dramatically reduced prices while increasing their functionality to enable the assessment of local environments, provision of location data, and the ability to transmit information over the internet via wireless technology. The number of “things” that will be connected to the internet is estimated to reach 50 billion by the year 2020, which could spur the development of new industries, products and services dedicated to the simplification of connecting items in homes and business. In other words, the Internet of Things, despite its current low profile could be one of the biggest things to hit the web in a long time.
