A relatively new term has crept into the lexicon, the Internet of Things (IoT). This talk is an introduction to the IoT to give some idea of the scope of all that it encompasses. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

"The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity to enable it to achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with the manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices."

The internet is now available almost everywhere in this country and, eventually, everywhere in the world, with wires, fiber or no physical connection. This is a previously unheard of degree of interconnectivity. Verizon has just predicted there will be 5.4 billion B2B (Business to Business) IoT connections by the year 2020. When interconnectivity is combined with relatively inexpensive electronics, better batteries, cheap memory and unimagined compute power, it is easy to envision being able to have any information about anything communicated anywhere to do anything.

While this seems an outlandishly broad statement, consider some of the things that already exist. It is currently possible to know remotely whether a vending machine has product and whether it is at the right temperature, to see inside your home while you are out of town, to determine if an offshore oil well is performing correctly. One can have their vital signs reviewed by a doctor in a different state. Drones are being flown in the Middle East by pilots in the United States. It is possible to tell where your cat is and where he visited during the day. The possibilities may actually be unlimited. This will affect all aspects of our lives and we have barely scratched the surface of what will this mean.

One major concern is security from malicious threats. If I can remotely transfer funds from my bank account, can someone else make the transfer? The ability to know the location of everyone in your household may be great for you but it is also great for a potential burglar. If my self-driving car can be told to pick up the children at school, can someone else cause the children to be brought to him? Can some teenage hacker play with traffic signals and snarl commute traffic for his own amusement? There have been many reports of identity theft from large corporations that could never have happened back when all records were kept on paper. These are a few examples of nefarious use of the interconnectivity without even beginning to list the possibilities for unforeseen, unintended consequences.

Many legal questions will need to be sorted out. Who is responsible if a driverless car is in an accident? You as owner, the car manufacturer, your mechanic? How do you show that it wasn't you that transferred your retirement funds to a Swiss account? Is the bank responsible to reimburse you? If a head of state dies of a heart attack, will we ever know that an enemy hacked into his doctor-monitored pacemaker?

The changes will affect all areas of electronics. No company involved in electronics can afford to not be involved in some way. All the issues mentioned above effect the design and manufacture of electronics. We are currently re-examining Tekmos' current involvement in the IoT. We are also focused on how we will use Tekmos'  technical capabilities and strengths to serve new needs in this rapidly changing environment. Future Tekmos Talks will expand on the ideas in this article.