What is the Internet of Things?
The term Internet of Things (often abbreviated as IoT) was coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999. The notion that physical things can be connected to the internet has largely become commonplace. And yet, the massive scope of the IoT is not always fully understood. The IoT consists of networked objects that collect data from the world around us and share that data via the internet, so it can be processed and used for various purposes. Most of those objects connect to the internet using wireless signals. IoT solutions may include everything from personal applications such as monitoring the number of steps a person takes in a day, to municipal solutions such as managing when streetlights turn on and off, and more.
The following video introduces the term IoT and gives an overview of why it has become one of the most interesting developments in communication and networking.
(Time: 2:19 minutes)