Signal Processing Opens the Internet of Things to a New World of Possibilities: Research Leads to New Internet of Things Technologies and Applications [Special Reports]

The Internet of Things (IoT ) refers to the wireless connection of ordinary objects, such as vehicles, cash machines, door locks, cameras, industrial controls, and municipal traffic systems, to the Internet. Research firm BI Intelligence predicts that 22.5 billion devices will be connected to the IoT in 2021, compared to 6.6 billion in 2016. Signal processing is playing a significant role in expanding the number of IoT technologies and applications. Realizing that the IoT has emerged as perhaps the most important new technology since the arrival of the Internet itself, researchers worldwide are now turning to signal processing to support and augment new IoT services and make existing applications less expensive and more practical.