A Position Paper on the “Internet of Things”

Essay by famnfrenCollege, UndergraduateA, November 2014

download word file, 3 pages 0.0

A Position Paper on the "Internet of Things"

"The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did. Maybe even more so (Ashton, 2009)." The Internet of Things (IoT) is the integration of physical devices via internet connection. According to Cisco System (2011), more things are connecting to the internet than people. It predicts the number to increase from 12.5 billion in 2010 to 50 billion by 2020, representing a $15 billion market (IDA Singapore, n.d.). The IoT will have a widespread effect on Mankind. In today's hectic lifestyle, the IoT largely portrays a bright future as it can help make people's lives easier thus improving their quality of life, though this is without some drawbacks.

The IoT will enhance people's daily lives by giving them convenience during hectic modern day-lives. With internet-connected appliances, people can control and monitor nearly everything remotely.

For instance, with Samsung's WF457 washing machine, people can monitor and control its activity such as selecting, starting and pausing wash cycles through a smart phone application (Castle, 2012). As for the LG Smart Manager refrigerator, it helps users to do shopping by "automatically adding food to the users' online shopping account when stocks are running low (Prigg, 2012)." These smart appliances would help to streamline routine tasks and balance chores. Therefore, the IoT will improve people's lives, especially with today's hectic lifestyle, by providing such conveniences.

While the IoT might make life easier, it might facilitate a lifestyle change for the worse, due to lack of physical activity. Research has explained that internet use might cause physical inactivity (Matusitz & McCormick, 2012). With the convergence of technologies, smart appliances will be fully automated and be able to communicate with each other. People would be inclined to move...