Time for Convergence

Integrated environments that have been at the origin of the successful take up of smartphone platforms and capable of running a multiplicity of user-driven applications and connecting various sensors and objects are missing today. Such super-stack like environments, bringing together a number of distinct constituencies, represent an opportunity for Europe to develop Internet of Things ecosystems. As an example this would include the definition of open APIs and hence offer a variety of channels for the delivery of new applications and services.

Such open APIs are of particular importance at module range on any abstraction level for application-specific data analysis and processing, thus allowing application developers to leverage the underlying communication infrastructure and use and combine information generated by various devices to produce added value across multiple environments. As a quintessence the next big leap in the Internet of Things evolution will be the coherence of efforts on all levels towards innovation. In case of the IoT community this would mean that out of many possible “coherence horizons” the following will likely provide the foundation for a step forward to the Internet of Things:

• Coherence of object capabilities and behaviour: the objects in the Internet of Things will show a huge variety in sensing and actuation capabilities, in information processing functionality and their time of existence. In either case it will be necessary to generally apprehend object as entities with a growing “intelligence” and patterns of autonomous behaviour. 
• Coherence of application interactivity: the applications will increase in complexity and modularisation, and boundaries between applications and services will be blurred to a high degree. Fixed programmed suites will evolve into dynamic and learning application packages. Besides technical, semantic interoperability will become the key for context aware information exchange and processing.
• Coherence of corresponding technology approaches: larger concepts like Smart Cities, Cloud computing, Future Internet, robotics and others will evolve in their own way, but because of complementarity also partly merge with the Internet of Things. Here a creative view on potential synergies can help to develop new ecosystems. 
• Coherence of real and virtual worlds: today real and virtual worlds are perceived as two antagonistic conceptions. At the same time virtual worlds grow exponentially with the amount of stored data and ever increasing network and information processing capabilities. Understanding both paradigms as complementary and part of human evolution could lead to new synergies and exploration of living worlds.

Towards the IoT Universe(s) 

In analogy to the definition that a universe is commonly defined as the totality of existence, an Internet of Things universe might potentially connect everything. As a further analogy to new theories about parallel universes, different Internet of Things worlds might develop and exist in parallel, potentially overlap and possess spontaneous or fixed transfer gates. These forward-looking considerations do certainly convey a slight touch of science fiction, but are thought to stimulate the exploration of future living worlds. 

The overall scope is to create and foster ecosystems of platforms for connected smart objects, integrating the future generation of devices, network technologies, software technologies, interfaces and other evolving ICT innovations, both for the society and for people to become pervasive at home, at work and while on the move. These environments will embed effective and efficient security and privacy mechanisms into devices, architectures, platforms, and protocols, including characteristics such as openness, dynamic expandability, interoperability of objects, distributed intelligence, and cost and energy-efficiency. Whereas the forthcoming Internet of Things related research in the scope of Horizon 2020 and corresponding national research programs will address the above matters, challenges from a societal and policy perspective remain equally important, in particular the following:

•  Fostering of a consistent, interoperable and accessible Internet of Things across sectors, including standardisation. 
• Directing effort and attention to important societal application areas such as health and environment, including focus on low energy consumption. 
• Offering orientation on security, privacy, trust and ethical aspects in the scope of current legislation and development of robust and future-proof general data protection rules. 
• Providing resources like spectrum allowing pan-European service provision and removal of barriers such as roaming. 
• Maintaining the Internet of Things as an important subject for international cooperation both for sharing best practises and developing coherent strategies. 

Conclusions 

The Internet of Things continues to affirm its important position in the context of Information and Communication Technologies and the development of society. Whereas concepts and basic foundations have been elaborated and reached maturity, further efforts are necessary for unleashing the full potential and federating systems and actors.