Technologies for a Thing-Centric Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) offers challenges that are being met by the convergence of multiple technologies, which have matured rapidly over the past decade. Broadband communication and mobile platforms enable raw data collection and its transmission to the cloud. Data science, e.g., deep learning, transforms large amounts of data from the Internet-connected sensors and personal devices in meaningful information. Nevertheless, several challenges remain open. In particular, the data deluge hinders scalability, with massive amounts of data being sent from the edge to the cloud, often unnecessarily. Simultaneously, an increasing number of smart objects must operate over extremely long time frames, necessitating sustainability. Energy efficiency is therefore a key element of the future IoT. In this paper, we identify three critical aspects for a thing-centric vision of the internet of things: sensing, processing, communication technologies. We start from the current advanced state of the art then sketch future strategies for a scalable and sustainable IoT.