The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices connected to the internet. Online connections enable users to remotely monitor the devices and their surroundings or to actively control them through sensors and actuators.
As the technology has progressed, the importance of the IoT has grown tremendously. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the IoT’s annual economic impact could reach $11 trillion by 2025. That figure represents about 10% of today’s world economy.1 Bullish sounding at first, the prediction is not so ridiculous if one stops to think about how deeply internet technologies have already penetrated today’s society.
Consider, for example, mobile devices—those smartphones and tablets everybody carries nowadays. A typical modern smartphone has numerous sensors that allow it to capture the device’s orientation, location, ambient light conditions, and much more. And it is frequently connected to the internet. A world filled with such internet-connected devices opens...
