The Internet of Things

Interesting read recently, The Internet of Things offered by McKinsey Quarterly. We all know the Internet of Things as a concept. Here, the authors design new business models, improved business processes and reduced costs and risks, resulting from new networks based on objects equipped with sensors and communication abilities.

Some of it is pure futurism, other stuff actually already exists: precision farming equipment that can spray extra fertilizer on patches of fields that need it (based on data from the ground and from satellite). Or Japanese billboards that peer at passers-by, assessing their profiles and adjusting the commercial messages. Car rentals being organised automatically. Initiatives in the fields of Health or Energy.

The point is that this Internet of Things has great promise  but there are a lot of challenges that need to be tackled before these systems wil become widespread. Legal liability frameworks for the bad decisions of automated systems, for one! Lower costs for sensors and actuators. Data security.

Imagine an ash-cloud passing over then ...
With thanks to McKinseyQuarterly.