[IP] more on ITU Internet Reports 2005: The Internet of Things
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dana Blankenhorn <dana@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 5, 2005 3:00:50 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] ITU Internet Reports 2005: The Internet of Things
http://www.corante.com/mooreslore/archives/2005/12/05/
what_the_world_of_always_on_needs_now.php
What The World of Always On Needs Now
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
The International Telecommunications Union has released a full report
on what I've been calling The World of Always On, which they call The
Internet of Things.
The report correctly identifies the biggest problem, user acceptance:
Concerns over privacy and data protection are widespread,
particularly as sensors and smart tags can track a user’s movements,
habits and preferences on a perpetual basis. Fears related to
nanotechnology range from bio medical hazards to robotic control.
None of these are unreasonable fears. Addressing them requires
acceptance of some very new, and important societal values:
a.. Privacy
b.. Personal control of personal data
These must be enforceable to have meaning. The technology and tools
for all this have been around for years now, but the business has not
gone anywhere because no country on the face of the Earth has yet
accepted the fact that it must give up absolute rights to its
citizens' data before people can trust the technology enough to use it.
This can be done in the U.S., through a simple contract. We need a
model contract, written in laymans' language, something like the GPL
which can be enforced when businesses or government violate it.
It can be done in other countries as well. Any nation with respect
for private contracts, or which will write an enforceable endorsement
of Data Contracts into its laws, can gain the benefits of Always On
technology.
What benefits?
1.. Medical -- monitoring that keeps people healthy by letting care-
givers know automatically when it's time to intervene.
2.. Environmental -- Automated management of heating costs, lights,
and water usage.
3.. Personal -- Remote access to your home's appliances, and
instant knowledge of where your stuff is. Real security at declining
cost.
That's just the beginning, of course. If you control your personal
data, if that right is guaranteed, then everything you own can become
intelligent, subject to your command.
It's all waiting out there for all of us. But what I didn't
acknowledge when I first began writing about this, two years ago now,
was the difficulty of taking that first step.
Because it's a doozy.
Government, private enterprise, give it up for the individual. You
have all to gain.
----- Original Message ----- From: "David Farber" <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 2:12 PM
Subject: [IP] ITU Internet Reports 2005: The Internet of Things
Begin forwarded message:
From: john wilson <johnresearch@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 2, 2005 11:30:59 AM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx, ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: ITU Internet Reports 2005: The Internet of Things
Dave- of interest for IP list?
===
[A landmark report from the ITU. - JW]
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/internetofthings/
ITU Internet Reports 2005: The Internet of Things
Written by a team of analysts from the Strategy and Policy Unit
(SPU) of the ITU, the report takes a look at the next step in
"always on" communications, in which new technologies like RFID and
smart computing promise a world of networked and interconnected
devices that provide relevant content and information whatever the
location of the user. Everything from tires to toothbrushes will
be in communications range, heralding the dawn of a new era, one
in which today’s Internet (of data and people) gives way to
tomorrow’s Internet of Things.
(...) It seems that we are standing on the brink of a new
computing and communication era, one that will radically transform
our corporate, community, and personal spheres. With continuing
developments in miniaturization and declining costs, it is
becoming not only technologically possible but also economically
feasible to make everyday objects smarter, and to connect the
world of people with the world of things. Building this new
environment however, will pose a number of challenges.
Technological standardization in most areas is still in its
infancy, or remains fragmented. Not surprisingly, managing and
fostering rapid technological innovation will be a challenge for
governments and industry alike. But perhaps one of the most
important challenges is convincing users to adopt emerging
technologies like RFID. Concerns over privacy and data protection
are widespread, particularly as sensors and smart tags can track a
user’s movements, habits and preferences on a perpetual basis.
Fears related to nanotechnology range from bio-medical hazards to
robotic control. But whatever the concern, one thing remains clear:
scientific and technological advances in these fields continue to
move ahead at breakneck speed. It is only through awareness of
such advances, and the challenges they present, that we can reap
the future benefits of a fair, user-centric and global Internet of
Things.
+ related BBC news item:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4440334.stm
Changes brought about by the internet will be dwarfed by those
prompted by the networking of everyday objects, says a report by a
UN body.
The study looks at how the use of electronic tags and sensors could
create an "internet of things".
The report by the International Telecommunications Union was
released at the UN net summit in Tunis.
Thousands of delegates are discussing ways of narrowing the
technology gap between rich and poor.
"It would seem that science fiction is slowly turning into science
fact in an 'Internet of Things' based on ubiquitous network
connectivity," said the report.
"Today, in the 2000s, we are heading into a new era of ubiquity,
where the 'users' of the internet will be counted in billions and
where humans may become the minority as generators and receivers
of traffic."
(...)
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