Internet of Things | Definition, History, Examples, & Privacy Concerns (2024)

Internet of Things (IoT), the vast array of physical objects equipped with sensors and software that enable them to interact with little human intervention by collecting and exchanging data via a network. The Internet of Things (IoT) includes the many “smart,” computer-like devices so commonplace today, which can connect with the Internet or interact via wireless networks; these “things” include phones, appliances, thermostats, lighting systems, irrigation systems, security cameras, vehicles, even animals and cities. Today, smart watches track exercise and steps, smart speakers add items to shopping lists and switch lights on and off, and transponders allow cars to pass through tollbooths and pay the fee electronically.

The IoT simplifies and automates tasks that are complicated and sometimes beyond the scope of human capabilities. The number of connected devices making up the IoT today ranks in the billions.

How the Internet of Things works

At the foundation of the IoT is Internet Protocol (IP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). These standards and rules form the basis for sensors, devices, and systems to connect with the Internet and with each other. The IoT processes data from the devices and communicates the information via wired and wireless networks, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G and LTE cellular, radio frequency identification (RFID), and near field communication (NFC). Typically, IoT devices connect to IoT gateways or edge devices that collect data. They feed data to and from cloud computing environments, which store and process the information. A broad array of networking standards ensure that the data is then sharable and reaches the correct “thing,” thereby connecting the physical world with the digital.

Two basic types of connected devices exist: digital-first and physical-first. The former consists of machines and devices specifically designed with built-in connectivity, such as smartphones, streaming media players, mobile payment terminals, agricultural combines, and jet engines. Digital-first devices generate data and communicate with other machines through machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. Physical-first devices, on the other hand, include a microchip or a sensor with communication capabilities. For example, a key chain, a vehicle, or a medical device in a hospital may contain a chip—added after it was manufactured—that makes the object or product newly functional and traceable. Some observers classify products according to a more detailed spectrum of interactivity, consisting of not two categories but five, ranging from the pure digital (followed by digital first, dual use, and physical first) to pure device (without any digital capabilities).

The IoT allows people and systems to share data and content through social media and other online methods; monitor and control events remotely; and interact with others through mobile devices and other systems, such as gaming devices. For example, during the pandemic, connected thermometers allowed epidemiologists to better understand the spread of COVID-19 by tracking people with fevers.

The history of the Internet of Things

Although examples of interconnected electronic devices exist as far back as the early 19th century, with the invention of the telegraph and its ability to transmit information by coded signal over distance, the origins of the IoT date to the late 1960s. It was then that a group of prominent researchers began exploring ways to connect computers and systems. A prime example of this work was ARPANET, the network created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Defense Department; this network was a forerunner of today’s Internet. In the late 1970s businesses, governments, and consumers began exploring ways to connect personal computers (PCs) and other machines to one another. By the 1980s local area networks (LANs) provided an effective and widely used way to communicate and share documents, data, and other information across a group of PCs in real time.

By the mid-1990s the Internet extended those capabilities globally, and researchers and technologists began exploring ways that humans and machines could better connect. In 1997 British technologist Kevin Ashton, cofounder of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, began exploring a technology framework, radio-frequency identification (RFID), that would allow physical devices to connect via microchips and wireless signals, and it was in a speech in 1999 that Ashton coined the phrase “the Internet of Things.” Within a few years smartphones, cloud computing, advancements in processing power, and improved software algorithms had created a framework for collecting, storing, processing, and sharing data in a more robust way. At the same time, sophisticated sensors appeared that could measure motion, temperature, moisture levels, wind direction, sound, light, images, vibrations, and numerous other conditions—along with the ability to pinpoint a person or a device through geolocation. These developments made possible the ability to communicate with both digital devices and physical objects in real time. For example, by adding a tracking chip, such as an Apple AirTag to an object such as a wallet or suitcase, it is possible to view its location. The same chip built into a digital device can track its whereabouts if lost or stolen. Then, with the widespread adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and the introduction of pervasive wireless connectivity, it was possible to connect people and things in a near ubiquitous way. As a result, smart traffic networks, connected storage tanks, and industrial robotics systems became the norm.

The IoT continues to evolve. Today it supports an array of use cases, including artificial intelligence used for ultrasophisticated simulations, sensing systems that detect pollutants in water supplies, and systems that monitor farm animals and crops. For example, it is now possible to track the location and health of animals and to apply remotely optimal levels of water, fertilizer, and pesticides to crops.

Highly connected systems allow shipping companies and airlines to factor in weather and mechanical problems and then optimize fleets for maximum loads and efficiencies. The IoT provides motorists with real-time maps and navigation suggestions that route and reroute them based on current traffic patterns. These systems reduce congestion and pollution and save time and money.

Security, privacy, and safety concerns about the Internet of Things

A major concern for the IoT is the ability to build in adequate security protections. Hackers have already breached video systems, Internet-enabled baby monitors, medical devices, and even automobiles, and they have broken into corporate networks via unprotected IoT devices.

Data privacy and personal privacy are also important considerations. Inadequate security can lead to lost, stolen, or incorrectly used data, including private health and financial information. Connected devices and systems—along with data stored in the cloud—increase the number of vulnerability points. For instance, in 2017 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled nearly half a million pacemakers due to their vulnerability to hacking; a hacker, for example, could drain the battery or send shocks to the patient. Also that year, criminals broke into a casino, stealing a large amount of data, through an inadequately protected “smart” fish tank, whose Internet capabilities allowed its temperature, salinity, and food distribution to be controlled remotely but which also left the casino’s data system vulnerable to attack.

Another concern is the use of surveillance cameras to track the movements of people, for when video data is combined with other types of data generated from sensors, cameras, cellular records, computer logs, and other systems, it is possible to identify where a person has been or what they have done at any given moment. This information can potentially be used or abused by law enforcement, governments, businesses, and others.

Dangers also exist in the technology itself. Connected 3D printers, which fabricate common items, allow individuals to bypass laws and “print” illegal weapons and other objects, including counterfeit goods. Drones are now being used in military attacks, and microbots and nearly invisible nanobots—tiny electronic robots connected in a network—could be used for spying or to commit terrorist acts in the years ahead. These highly controversial technologies have been condemned by the United Nations and humanitarian groups.

The future of the Internet of Things

While the ability to connect physical objects and devices introduces increased efficiencies and, in some cases, cost savings, scaling up those connection points and networks creates greater possibilities, though not without some great risks and challenges. For example, a smart car that connects with a smartphone can already integrate mapping, entertainment, voice commands, and other functions that transform the vehicle into a computer on wheels, but a network of connected vehicles and infrastructure could potentially allow vehicles not only to avoid crashes while driving but also to “see” around corners and avoid collisions with a bicyclist or a pedestrian. In addition, sensors in bridges, tunnels, roads, and other infrastructure could indicate when repairs are necessary or when failure is imminent. Putting such innovations into practice, however, can be challenging. Current autonomous vehicles, for example, are already burdened with safety concerns and susceptibility to hackers.

Smart utilities and even smart cities could allow societies to use energy resources and transportation systems more effectively and at a lower cost than in the past. Connected devices inside and outside the body could revolutionize the way people monitor health conditions, allowing smart-connected devices to release the right amount of medication at the right place and time, and tiny robotic devices injected into the human body could detect and fix medical problems. Although no one can predict the exact course that these connected technologies will take, and the challenges and social concerns they may spur, it is clear that the IoT will continue to have a profound impact on lives and culture in the years ahead.