On its album “Paradise” the band Styx famously sang, “These are the Best of Times….These are the Worst of Times.” To the average person, that might sum up the two perspectives on the so-called Internet of Things and the value of gadgets that will track and report on everything that we interact with in our daily lives.
At its core, the IoT is the further development of the Internet where everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to gather, send and receive data. Examples include embedded technology, such as refrigerators that tell us when we are out of milk, relevant coupons that are sent to our smart phones as we walk down the grocery store aisle or information about our driving habits (monitored by our car). Wearable technology examples would include watches and fitness devices that monitor our pulse, distance walke, and calories burned, or that track vital statistics and the welfare of a loved one, and advise medical personnel when there is a problem.
