With the increasing prevalence of electronic sensing devices, smart homes, and activity-tracking tags, machines are set to surpass humans as the largest component accessing the internet globally.
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Illustration of a smart home designed by Duke University (USA) |
In a report titled “The Internet of Things,” the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, outlines the next phase of the technical revolution. According to the report, the internet connects people with electronic devices, inanimate objects, and databases. Currently, there are approximately 875 million internet users worldwide, and this number could double if humans remain the primary users. However, experts predict that in just a few decades, the number of entities accessing the internet will increase significantly, with the largest portion being inanimate objects.
The World of Remote Control
In the near future, humans will no longer need to turn on computers and access the internet as they do today. Scientists are working on creating devices and smart networks that allow objects to “communicate” with each other for human benefit.
Currently, the market is seeing the emergence of remote-controlled home devices and the first cars equipped with anti-collision sensors. Cell phones are replacing train tickets, while meat imported from distant places like Namibia in Africa or products sold in Wal-Mart supermarkets can be easily tracked using electronic tags.
ITU scientists are looking even further. They are researching machines that can communicate with each other autonomously, with standout examples being refrigerators that can “talk” independently with grocery stores, washing machines “conversing” with clothes, and electronic tags implanted under human skin “communicating” with medical devices, while pens connect directly to the internet.
Industrial products will operate automatically without human intervention. New electronic sensing devices can collect data from the surrounding environment, issue commands, and in some cases, may replace human senses. An example of this is the smart doorknob, which can recognize household members and automatically open the door when the homeowner returns with their hands full of groceries or sign for packages when the owner is away. It can also allow the house dog to go outside for a bathroom break without letting other dogs in. A landline phone could automatically answer calls for you, gauge the importance of the call, and decide to transfer the call to the owner if necessary by notifying the nearest object to the owner.
A New Virtual World
This trend is driven by technological advancements, including radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that allow for real-time identification and tracking, even detecting bacteria, smart devices, and nanotechnology. In this way, the virtual world can organize the real world, where each object in a human physical environment has a “ID card” or passport in the virtual space. Plans are in place to create RFID tags to replace human identification documents and track customer shopping habits without disturbing the individual. This promises to bring numerous opportunities for significant economic development. However, the scientific community also warns of considerable difficulties and challenges, such as protecting data and personal information and navigating the battle between common technical standards.
Thuy Mien (AFP)
