Your next refrigerator may know more about diet than your doctor.
How many objects do you have that are connected to the Internet? About a decade ago you probably
would have said one or maybe two if you were an early adopter of smartphone technology.
But today, oh, well I've got a work computer, I've got a personal computer, I've got a tablet,
I've got a smartphone, I've got a video game console, I've got a media player, I've got
a smart TV, I even have a smart refrigerator. Now extend this trend outward and what do
we get? Well it's estimated by 2020 there will be 50 billion objects connected to the
Internet. Now that's billion with a "B." It's also estimated by the US Census Bureau that
there will be 7.6 billion people alive at that time. So that means that for every person
there will be 6.6 objects connected to the Internet. We're talking about a world blanketed
with billions of sensors. These sensors are taking information from real physical objects
that are in the world, and uploading it to the Internet. It's a world where your environment
transforms as you walk through it, because technology that you may not even be aware
of is monitoring your every move. It's a world that's constantly changing all around us due
to these sensors and the Internet and we call it the Internet of Things.
Lets stroll into the living room of the future. Now immediately this room identifies you and
taps into a cloud based profile of preferences like climate control, music, lighting and
decor. Had a long day at work? The room knows based on the calendar app on your phone and
biosensors that detect the stress via blood pressure and heart rate. So it turns off the
rockabilly surf guitar you usually listen to, and switches to a more soothing classical
music.
From environmental sensors outside and maybe even worn within your clothing itself, it
knows it was snowing earlier, so the climate control begins to crank up the heat in anticipation
as your walk through the door. Now on the software side we're talking about algorithms
that are so sophisticated, they may be able to predict what you want before you know you
even wanted it. So when you walk to the refrigerator, it tells you not only what's in there, it
tells you what you can make with the stuff you already have. And it's already telling
you what's inside and what's the perfect meal based upon your mood, your activity level,
and maybe even, well, your weight loss plan for some of us. As for how many objects could
be connected to the Internet? Well, consider this. The latest version of Internet protocol,
IPV6, creates more potential address than there are atoms on the surface of the Earth.
So we're going to live in a world completely filled with sensors with data reacting to
us, changing every moment depended on our needs. I'm no longer going to be asking you
"Hey, what's your favorite color? What's your favorite music?" I'm going to ask you, "What's
your reality like?" I know what mine is when I walk into my house, how the world reacts
to me. But how does it react to you? This is more than philosophy. It's more than technology.
It's altering reality as we know it. And it's all regulated by the Internet of Things.