Introduction to the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) can be defined as a world of interconnected things that are capable of sensing, actuating, and communicating among themselves and with the environment (i.e., smart things or smart objects). In addition, IoT provides the ability to share information and autonomously respond to real/physical world events by triggering processes and creating services with or without direct human intervention. This chapter provides an introductory overview of IoT, and briefly sketches the conceptual core ideas as laid out prior to IoT with “Ubiquitous Computing.” The chapter presents a four‐layer “Internet of Things” framework that covers not only technical but also nontechnical issues of IoT: (i) information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure; (ii) derived qualities of modern ICT; (iii) potential for product, process, and business model innovation; and (iv) implications and challenges. Key issues of IoT are discussed in the context of the framework.