Introduction
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The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly evolv-ing. There is a need to understand chal-lenges in obtaining horizontal and vertical application balance and the key funda-
mentals required to attain the expected
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50 billion connected devices in 2020.
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With more than 27 years in the high tech
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industry, Jim Chase has spent his career working with customers and helping them get in front of technology trends and chal-lenges. As a trusted expert, he employs his system solutions approach to business and consumer cases worldwide. It is that meth-odology that has him creating solutions at Texas Instruments (TI) for the IoT and helping customers connect their products.

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From connected things to living in the data, preparing for challenges and IoT readiness
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The Internet of Things (IoT) is generally thought of as connecting things to the Internet and using that connection to provide some kind of useful remote monitoring or control of those things. This definition of IoT is limited, and references only part of the IoT evolution. It is basi-cally a rebranding of the existing Machine to Machine (M2M) market of today.
IoT in its culmination – where we live in the data is defined as:
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The IoT creates an intelligent, invisible network fabric that can be sensed, con-trolled and programmed. IoT-enabled products employ embedded technology that allows them to communicate, directly or indirectly, with each other or the Internet.
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In the 1990s, Internet connectivity began to proliferate in enterprise and consumer mar-kets, but was still limited in its use because of the low performance of the network intercon-nect. In the 2000s Internet connectivity became the norm for many applications and today is expected as part of many enterprise, industrial and consumer products to provide access to information. However, these devices are still primarily things on the Internet that require more human interaction and monitoring through apps and interfaces. The true promise of the IoT is just starting to be realized – when invisible technology operates behind the scenes dynami-cally responding to how we want “things” to act.
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To date, the world has deployed about 5 billion “smart” connected things. Predictions say there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020 and in our lifetime we will experience life with a trillion-node network. Those are really big numbers. How things are fundamentally de-ployed today is a barrier to realizing those numbers. The industry will only achieve the reality of 50 billion connected devices by simplifying how things connect and communicate today.

2 Texas Instruments
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The IoT of tomorrow

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The hotel where I have a reservation knows I am coming and the approximate time of my arrival because I have allowed Apple and Google to track my location. It also knows that I am hot and sweaty from my trip because of the temperature and moisture sensors that are part of my smartwatch. The hotel room I will stay in is currently dormant (no lights, drapes closed, the temperature is at optimized dormant levels). Upon my arrival, the valet knows it is me. He opens my door and the car adjusts the seat because it detects the valet. My preference is to carry my own bag, so I am not accosted by the bell captain. Once in proximity of the hotel lobby, a secure key app is available on my smartphone. By the time I reach the elevator, the room temp has adjusted to coincide with my smartwatch sensors. The light level, music and privacy settings are
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to my requirements. Because I am hot and sweaty the room also prepares hot water for a shower I will probably take after entering into the room. As I approach, the secure key app unlocks the room door. Once settled for the night, the room detects the lights are turned out, it changes the
temperature setting to my sleep preferences.
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In this scenario, every room in this particular hotel chain has multiple sensors and actuators. Every rental car has multiple sensors and actuators. I am wearing multiple sensors and actuators, like a watch vibration for alerts. I am not inter-acting with my smartphone touchscreen constantly to direct these connected things to take actions even though it is one gateway for my activity. There will be millions of people doing this every day. We will be living IN the data.
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This vision of IoT will not happen right away. The scale required will only be achieved by creating a lowest common denominator, simple messaging scheme that
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everyone on the planet will agree to. It will have to be digitally organic, imitating nature. At present, technology protocols and data structures are limited by their design complexity
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as well as security, extensibility, and much more. Our connected devices will have to become easier to use even though the complexity of the devices will increase. The line between analog and digital will blur. Every person on the planet will be able to “author” his or her own life environment, even though they know basically nothing about the underlying technology.

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The IoT of today Manufacturers have been connecting things to the Internet before we called it the Internet. By the mid-1990s, Web servers were being added to embedded products. Current M2M manufacturers have been integrating Internet-connected systems into high-value asset tracking, alarm systems, fleet management and the like for more than 15 years. These M2M systems are challenging to build even though some are based on industry standard protocols. However, it is getting easier to integrate M2M systems as more powerful processors are incorporated into the end nodes. And since these processors support high-level operating systems (OSes) and languages, the platform can leverage intelligent frameworks. These systems are typically tied into high-end business service layers and are managed by a network operations center (NOC).