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InternetofThingsHistory|BackgroundandTimelineoftheTopic

InternetofThingsHistory
ConsideringhowmuchweusetheInternetofThingsterm(/internetofthingsdefinition)wethoughtitwouldbehelpfultolookathowit
gotstartedandwhoweresomeoftheimportantpeopleandprojectsthathelpedmoveitfromitsfirstglimpsesintotoday'strendingtopic.
Interestovertime.WebSearch.Worldwide,2004present.
"internetofthings"

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

ViewfullreportinGoogleTrends

1832:Anelectromagnetictelegraph(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_telegraph)wascreatedbyBaron
SchillinginRussia,andin1833CarlFriedrichGaussandWilhelmWeberinventedtheirowncodeto
communicateoveradistanceof1200mwithinGttingen,Germany.
1844:SamuelMorsesendsthefirstmorsecodepublictelegraphmessage"WhathathGodwrought?
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/atthtml/morse2.html)"fromWashington,D.C.toBaltimore.
1926:NikolaTesla(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla)inaninterview(http://www.tfcbooks.com/tesla/1926
0130.htm)withColliersmagazine:
"Whenwireless*isperfectlyappliedthewholeearthwillbeconvertedintoahugebrain,whichinfactitis,all
thingsbeingparticlesofarealandrhythmicwhole.........andtheinstrumentsthroughwhichweshallbeabletodo
thiswillbeamazinglysimplecomparedwithourpresenttelephone.Amanwillbeabletocarryoneinhisvest
pocket."
*notthe802.11version:)

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1950:AlanTuring(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing)inhisarticleComputingMachineryandIntelligence
(http://cogprints.org/499/1/turing.html)intheOxfordMindJournal(Via@Kevin_Ashton
(https://twitter.com/Kevin_Ashton))
"...Itcanalsobemaintainedthatitisbesttoprovidethemachinewiththebestsenseorgansthatmoneycanbuy,
andthenteachittounderstandandspeakEnglish.Thisprocesscouldfollowthenormalteachingofachild."

1964:InUnderstandingMedia
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262631598/ref=as_li_ss_tl?
ie=UTF8&tag=inthespacebet
20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0262631598)
MarshallMcLuhan(http://marshallmcluhan.com/)stated:
"....bymeansofelectricmedia,wesetupadynamicbywhichallprevioustechnologies
includingcitieswillbetranslatedintoinformationsystems"
1966:KarlSteinbuch(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Steinbuch)aGermancomputersciencepioneersaid"
fewdecadestime,computerswillbeinterwovenintoalmosteveryindustrialproduct"
1969:Arpanet(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET)
1974:BeginningsofTCP/IP(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol_Suite)
1984:DomainNameSystem(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System)isintroduced
1989:TimBernersLeeproposestheWorldWideWeb(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web)
1990:JohnRomkey(http://www.blueforestresearch.com/johnromkey/)createdthefirstInternetdevice,a
toasterthatcouldbeturnedonandoffovertheInternet.AttheOctober'89INTEROPconference,DanLynch,
PresidentofInteroppromisedRomkeythat,ifRomkeywasableto"bringuphistoasterontheNet,"the
appliancewouldbegivenstarplacementinthefloorwideexhibitorsattheconference.Thetoasterwas
connectedtoacomputerwithTCP/IPnetworking.Itthenusedaninformationbase(SNMPMIB)toturnthepower
on.(Seealso:XeroxPARCnetworkedcokemachine(http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:Ah
E1aoNxlEJ:cseweb.ucsd.edu/~bsy/coke.history.txt+Networked+coke+machine+xerox+park&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk)
1991:Thefirstwebpage(http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/08/worldwideweb20years/)wascreatedbyTim
BernersLee
1991:MarkWeiser's(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Weiser)ScientificAmericanarticle
(http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/SciAmDraft3.html)onubiquitouscomputingcalledTheComputerforthe
21stCenturyiswritten.
Themostprofoundtechnologiesarethosethatdisappear.Theyweavethemselvesintothefabricofeveryday
lifeuntiltheyareindistinguishablefromit.
1993:CreatedbyQuentinStaffordFraserandPaulJardetzkytheTrojanRoomCoffeePot
(http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/coffee.html)waslocatedinthe'TrojanRoom'withintheComputerLaboratory
oftheUniversityofCambridgeandwasusedtomonitorthepotlevelswithanimagebeingupdatedabout3xa
minuteandsenttothebuildingsserver.Itwaslaterputonlineforviewingoncebrowserscoulddisplayimages.
(via@snim2(https://twitter.com/#!/snim2))
1994:SteveMann(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann)createsWearCam
(http://wearcam.org/myview.html).
1995:TheInternetgoescommercialwithAmazonandEchobay(Ebay)
1997:PaulSaffo'sprescientarticle"Sensors:TheNextWaveofInfotechInnovation
(http://www.saffo.com/essays/sensorsthenextwaveofinfotechinnovation/)"(Via:GeoffreyBarrows
(http://www.linkedin.com/pub/geoffreybarrows/7/4a/947/))
1998:Googleisincorporated
1998:inTouch(http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/intouch/)aprojectatMITwasdevelopedbyScottBrave
(http://www.linkedin.com/in/brave),AndrewDahley(http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~andyd/),andProfessorHiroshi
Ishii(http://web.media.mit.edu/~ishii/)(Via:@mrosenblatt(https://twitter.com/mrosenblatt))
(http://web.media.mit.edu/~ishii/)
"....WethenpresentinTouch,whichappliesSynchronizedDistributedPhysicalObjectstocreatea"tangible
telephone"forlongdistancehapticcommunication."Originalpaper(http://tmg
trackr.media.mit.edu:8020/SuperContainer/RawData/Papers/315
Tangible%20Interfaces%20for%20Remote/Published/PDF)(PDF),Video(http://vimeo.com/44537894#at=74)

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1998:AyearbeforelosinghisbattletocancerMarkWeiser(http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Weiser)continues
hisexplorations(http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/UbiHome.html)intothetopicandconstructedawater
fountainoutsidehisofficewhoseflowandheightmimickedthevolumeandpricetrendsofthestockmarket.
"Ubiquitouscomputingisroughlytheoppositeofvirtualreality,"Weiserwrote"Wherevirtualrealityputspeople
insideacomputergeneratedworld,ubiquitouscomputingforcesthecomputertoliveouthereintheworldwith
people."
1999AbigyearfortheIoTandMIT
TheInternetofThingstermiscoinedbyKevinAshton(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Ashton)executive
directoroftheAutoID(http://www.autoidlabs.org/)Center:
"Icouldbewrong,butI'mfairlysurethephrase"InternetofThings"startedlifeasthetitleofapresentationI
madeatProcter&Gamble(P&G)in1999.LinkingthenewideaofRFIDinP&G'ssupplychaintothethenred
hottopicoftheInternetwasmorethanjustagoodwaytogetexecutiveattention.Itsummedupanimportant
insightwhichisstiloftenmisunderstood."Fullarticle(http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4986)

1999:NeilGershenfeld(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gershenfeld)wasspeakingaboutsimilarthingsfromthe
MITMediaLab(http://www.media.mit.edu/)inhisbookWhenThingsStarttoThink
(http://www.amazon.com/WhenThingsStartThinkGershenfeld/dp/0805058745)andwhenestablishingthe
CenterforBitsandAtoms(http://cba.mit.edu/)in2001
inretrospectitlooksliketherapidgrowthoftheWorldWideWebmayhavebeenjustthetriggerchargethatis
nowsettingofftherealexplosion,asthingsstarttousetheNet.
1999:AutoIDLabs(http://www.autoidlabs.org/)openswhichistheresearchorientedsuccessortotheMITAuto
IDCenter,originallyfoundedbyKevinAshton,DavidBrockandSanjaySarma
(http://meche.mit.edu/people/index.html?id=74).TheyhelpeddeveloptheElectronicProductCodeorEPC
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Product_Code),aglobalRFID(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio
frequency_identification)baseditemidentificationsystemintendedtoreplacetheUPCbarcode.
1999NeilGrossinBusinessWeek(http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_35/b3644024.htm)
"Inthenextcentury,planetearthwilldonanelectronicskin.ItwillusetheInternetasascaffoldtosupportand
transmititssensations.Thisskinisalreadybeingstitchedtogether.Itconsistsofmillionsofembeddedelectronic
measuringdevices:thermostats,pressuregauges,pollutiondetectors,cameras,microphones,glucosesensors,
EKGs,electroencephalographs.Thesewillprobeandmonitorcitiesandendangeredspecies,theatmosphere,
(http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_35/b3644024.htm) ourships,highwaysandfleetsoftrucks,ourconversations,ourbodiesevenourdreams."FullArticle
(http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_35/b3644024.htm)

2000:Startingoffwhatisnowbecomingameme(http://fuckyeahinternetfridge.tumblr.com/),LGannouncesit's
firstInternetrefrigerator(http://www.beststuff.com/fromthewire/lginternetrefrigeratorisattheheartofthe
digitalhomenetwork.html)plans.

2002:TheAmbientOrb(http://www.ambientdevices.com/cat/orb/orborder.html)createdbyDavidRose
(http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidloringrose)andothers(http://www.ambientdevices.com/cat/team.html)inaspin
offfromtheMITMediaLabisreleasedintothewild(andisstillonthemarket)withNYTimesMagazinenamingit
asoneoftheIdeasoftheYear.TheOrbmonitorstheDowJones,personalportfolios,weatherandotherdata
sourcesandchangesitscolorbasedonthedynamicparameters.
20032004:ThetermismentionedinmainstreampublicationslikeTheGuardian
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2003/oct/09/shopping.newmedia),ScientificAmerican
(http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=theinternetofthings)andtheBostonGlobe
(http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/10/25/the_internet_of_things/).
ProjectslikeCooltown(http://champignon.net/cooltown.php),Internet0(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_0)
andtheDisappearingComputerinitiative(http://www.disappearingcomputer.net/)seektoimplementsomeofthe
ideas,andtheInternetofThingstermstartstoappearinbooktitlesforthefirsttime.
RFIDisdeployedonamassivescalebytheUSDepartmentofDefenseintheirSavi(http://www.savi.com/us
dod.php)programandWalmartinthecommercialworld.
2005:TheIoThitanotherlevelwhentheUN'sInternationalTelecommunicationsUnion
(http://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx)ITUpublisheditsfirstreport
(http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/internetofthings/InternetofThings_summary.pdf)onthetopic.
"Anewdimensionhasbeenaddedtotheworldofinformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs):from
anytime,anyplaceconnectivityforanyone,wewillnowhaveconnectivityforanything.Connectionswillmultiply
andcreateanentirelynewdynamicnetworkofnetworksanInternetofThings"

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2005:Aheadofitstime,theNabaztag(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabaztag)(NowapartofAldebaranRobotics
(http://blog.karotz.com/?p=5402))wasoriginallymanufacturedbythecompanyVioletandcreatedbyRafi
Haladjian(/rafihaladjian)andOlivierMvel(http://twitter.com/#!/omevel).ThelittleWiFienbabledrabbitwasable
toalertandspeaktoyouaboutstockmarketreports,newsheadlines,alarmclock,RSSFeeds,etcaswellas
connecttoeachother(see:Nabaztagopera(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxqGkLQyDiM)).Thestatement
was"ifyoucanevenconnectrabbits,thenyoucanconnectanything"(via@inakivazquez
(http://twitter.com/#!/inakivazquez))
20062008:RecognitionbytheEU,andtheFirstEuropeanIOTconference(http://www.theinternetof
things.org/iot2008/)isheld

2008:AgroupofcompanieslaunchedtheIPSOAlliance(http://ipsoalliance.org/)topromotetheuseofInternet
Protocol(IP)innetworksof"smartobjects"andtoenabletheInternetofThings.TheIPSOalliancenowboasts
over50membercompanies(http://ipsoalliance.org/about/membercompanies),includingBosch,Cisco,
Ericsson,Intel,SAP,Sun,GoogleandFujitsu.
2008:TheFCCvoted50toapproveopeningtheuseofthe'whitespace'spectrum
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spaces_(radio)).
20082009:TheInternetofThingswas"Born"
AccordingtoCiscoInternetBusinessSolutionsGrou(http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/iot/)p(IBSG),the
InternetofThingswasborninbetween2008and2009atsimplythepointintimewhenmorethingsorobjects
wereconnectedtotheInternetthanpeople.
Citingthegrowthofsmartphones,tabletPCs,etcthenumberofdevicesconnectedtotheInternetwasbroughtto
12.5billionin2010(Related:seeKevinKelly'sOneMachine
(http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2007/11/dimensions_of_t.php)),whiletheworldshumanpopulation
increasedto6.8billion,makingthenumberofconnecteddevicesperpersonmorethan1(1.84tobeexact)for
thefirsttimeinhistory.
2008:U.S.NationalIntelligenceCouncillistedtheInternetofThingsasoneofthe6"DisruptiveCivilTechnologies
(http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada519715.pdf)"withpotentialimpactsonUSinterestsoutto2025.
19xxPresent:AwholerangeofIoTplatforms(Pachube,Thingspeak,etc),standards(6LoWPAN,Dash7,etc)
hardwareandsoftware(Contiki,TinyOS,etc)havedevelopedbutthetimelinedetailsofeachisoutsidethescope
ofthearticle.
2010:ChinesePremierWenJiabaocalls
(http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/china_to_launch_national_internet_of_things_plan.php)theIOTakey
industryforChinaandhasplanstomakemajorinvestments(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011
08/23/content_13172322.htm)init.
2011:IPV6(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6)publiclaunchThenewprotocolallowsfor2128(approximately340
undecillion(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undecillion)or340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456)
addressesorasStevenLeibsonputit,wecouldassignanIPV6addresstoeveryatomonthesurfaceofthe
earth,andstillhaveenoughaddresseslefttodoanother100+earths.
Cisco(http://blogs.cisco.com/news/theinternetofthingsinfographic/),IBM(/videos/viewvideo/76/overview
internetofthings/theinternetofthings/Page1),Ericsson(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5AuzQXBsG4)
producelargeeducationalandmarketinginitiativesonthetopic.
Arduino(http://www.arduino.cc/)andotherhardwareplatformsmatureandmaketheIoTaccessibletoDIY'ers
takinginterest(http://www.instructables.com/contest/makeittweet/)inthetopic.
AcquisitionsandVCinvestmentinthespaceincludingtheIoTplatformPachubebeingaquired
(http://blog.pachube.com/2011/07/pachubejustgotsomerocketfuel.html),IoTsecuritycompanyMocanoraising
(http://news.postscapes.com/post/9663069566/mocanaventurecapital)aroundoffundingandotherVC'staking
notice(http://280.vc/post/7794443436/herearetheslidesfrommytalkearliertonight)oftheindustry.

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+Thetermwasaddedtothe2011annualGartnerHypeCycle(/internetofthingsaddedtothe2011hypecycle)thattrackstechnologylifecyclesfrom
"technologytrigger"to"plateauofproductivity"andhashittheHypeCycle's"PeakofInflatedExpectations"in2014

InternetofThingsbasedcommunitiesmatureonsocialnetworkslikeLinkedin(http://www.linkedin.com/groups?
home=&gid=73311)andtheUK'sTechnologyStrategyBoardnetworkingplatform_connect
(https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/internetofthings/overview)
Europeshowstheircontinuedinterest(http://www.rfidinaction.eu/cerp)andsupportinthesubjectwiththeir
ICTFP7WorkProgramme(http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/),IoTA(http://www.iota.eu/public/frontpage)and
digital(http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/information_society/index_en.htm)future
(http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/information_society/index_en.htm)directivesandtheUKgovernmentgrant(5m)to
developtheIoTintheUK(https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/internetofthings)
ChinacontinuestofundandsupportdevelopmentalresearchinthefieldofInternetofThingsatinstitutionslike
ShanghaiInstitute(http://www.sim.ac.cn/SIM/WEB/Eng/index.html)andtheChineseAcademyofSciences
(http://english.cas.cn/).
ThecreationoftheIoTGSI(http://www.itu.int/en/ITUT/gsi/iot/Pages/default.aspx)GlobalStandardsInitiative
whichpromotesaunifiedapproachfordevelopmentoftechnicalstandardsenablingtheInternetofThingsona
globalscale.
AndfinallynewProjects(/projects),TwitterPosts(http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23iot),Interviews(/iotinterview
series),Events(/events),Presentations(/presentations),Videos(/videos/frontpage/Page1)andIoTnews(/daily
news)addeddailyonthetopic.

Future?
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Whilelookingintothenextstagesofthistermanditstechnologiestherearemanyoportunitiesandchallengestofaceincludingprivacy
concerns,security,costs,standards,regulations,andthelistgoeson.
WheredoyouthinktheIoTisheadednext?
Feature

Feb01,2016

0211,2016

Anysufficientlyadvancedtechnologyis...

(/forum/design/77anysufficientlyadvancedtechnologyisindistinguishablefrommagicnaturegarbage/)

0202,2016

IoTCrowdfunding

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(/internetofthingsandkickstarter/)

0211,2016

InternetofThingsInfographic|WhatIsThe...

(/whatexactlyistheinternetofthingsinfographic/)

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