Smart Buildings: Rising to the Challenge of the Future

By definition, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is the network of connected devices that contain electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity which enables these things to connect, interact, and exchange data. It goes beyond the standard connected devices like computers, smartphones, and tablets, and applies to typically non-internet enabled devices ranging from vehicles, heart monitors, watches, and even buildings. So just how “not new” is the IoT?

One source states that the IoT was first mentioned by Kevin Ashton, co-founder of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, in a presentation he made to Proctor & Gamble in 1999. For the most part, he was referencing the internet. That same year, MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld’s book, When Things Start to Think, outlined a vision of what IoT would become. But this idea of a connected world was developed long before the 90s. For instance, in 1983, a smart Coke machine was installed at Carnegie Mellon University that was able to report its inventory and whether the drinks were cold or not. It would also seem that while scientists were working to create the IoT, writers and filmmakers were as well:

 

Read the rest of the blog post here: https://www.greence.com/Spec_Shaman/Smart-Buildings-Rising