The Internet of Things

PaperPreparedforthe1stBerlinSymposiumonInternetandSocietyOctober25-27,[e-mail]@[e-mail]@[e-mail]@utoronto.ca1AbstractThispapertracesthechallengesandnatureoftheimpactposedbythedevelopmentstermedthe’InternetofThings(IoT)’.TheInternetofThingsiscomprisedofanumberoftechnologicalprotocolsthataimtoconnectthingstootherthings,todatabasesandtoin-dividuals.Thespeedwithwhichtheparadigmofconnectingcommunicatingobjectshastakenoverthefullrangeofconnectivityprotocol(IPv6),hardware(fromcheapsensorstosmartphones,iPads,tabletsthatarefullblowncomputers),software(eitherproprietaryinthecloudorcollaborativeopensource),applications(rangingfromlocationbasedservicesthatlinkuptosocialnetworkstoyourcarlinkeduptoaparticularbrandnetwork)andser-vices(fromcarsharingwithRFID(RadioFrequencyIdentification)cards(Buzzcar),toblindstextingyouoryourservicelayerthattheyareoutofbatterypower(Designer)isdeterminedbythecollaborativepoweroftheinternet.Inthispaper,weoutlinetheInternetofThings’recenthistory,technologicalchallengesandpolicyecology.Weendbysketchingapossibleframeworkforgraspingitsimpactinfourdomains:(1)thevaluechainwhereallobjectscanbetracked,loggedandtraced,(2)theservicelayerthatcanbebuiltuponthis,(3)thesmartcitylayerand(4)itsultimatelimitandscopeoftheSensingPlanetnotionthataimstocapturenaturalprocessesbygloballydis-tributedsensorgridstohavecounterpartsinthecloud.Wesketchthetwobasicpolicyandindustryapproaches:areactiveapproachthatarguesIoTismanageableandnondisruptive,andaproactiveapproachthatassumestheinevitabilityofafullIoTsituationof’total’con-nectivityandworksbackfromthistoidentifythekeymomentsofagencyinpolicytoolsandcommercialproducts.Someassistance,webelieve,canbegainedbyconsultinganewandgrowingfieldofsocialresearch.InfrastructureStudies,across-disciplinaryresearchareaincludesresearchersfromInformation,Sociology,PoliticalScience,andComputerScience.Itsgoalistodevelopcasestudiesoninfrastructureaswellasnovelmethodsfordelvingintoitsimportanceinsociallife.Contents1Introduction22ApproachingtheInternetofThings42.1DefiningtheInternetofThings..........................42.2PhasesoftheInternetofThings.........................62.2.1FirstPhase.................................62.2.2EarlyResearch...............................72.2.3SecondPhase...............................82.2.4CurrentResearch.............................123TechnologicalChangesandFoundations163.1Foundations.....................................163.2TheInternetintheInternetofThings.......................183.3BreakingtheUnbreakable:TheEnd-to-EndPrinciple.............193.4TheThingsintheInternetofThings.......................224Policy244.1TheRoleofRFID..................................244.2ProtectingPrivacyandEnablingInnovation...................254.3ApplyExistingDataCollectionPrivacyRequirementsandFrameworkstotheIoT.........................................274.4UnintendedConsequences............................274.5ChallengesinanIoTworld............................284.6QuestionstoConsider...............................285ScopeandImpact295.1DevelopmentApproaches.............................305.2MovingBeyondaReactiveApproachtoGovernance..............325.3InclusiveDesignsforIoTServices........................345.4HowtoAnalyzeIoT-SomeConceptualGuidance...............356Usecase:Privacy386.1AReactiveApproach:IssuestobeAddressed.................396.2PolicyandSelfRegulation:TheRFIDPrivacyImpactAssessmentCase...416.3AProactiveApproach:IssuestobeAddressed.................4211INTRODUCTION1IntroductionItisrarethatoneisinthepresenceofanontologicalshift.Itisevenmorerarethatoneisinapositiontoshapeit.Yetthisisexactlythepositionmanyengineers,policymakers,andcitizensareintoday.In’TheComputerforthe21thCentury’(Weiser,1991)wasthefirsttovoicetheideathatminiaturizationandubiquityofsensorswouldeventuallyleadtothedisappearingofcomputationalelements’intothefabricofeverydaylife’andthepotentialforcomputingasprocedure,asvisiblehardwareandasprotocol,tomoveintoaninvisiblebackground.Interestingly,MarkWeiserhimself,whopassedawayin1999,didnotconsiderwhathecalled’ubiquitouscomputing’assomethingthatwouldradicallyalterorchangetherelationshipbetweenhumansandthenewdigitallyhybridenvironment.However,hedidproposeaseriesofubiquitouscomputingscenariosthatcontinuetoinvolveboththerhetoricandtherealityofcomputingtoday(BellandDourish,2007).Fromthe80’sonwards,thisdomainhasbeenidentifiedwithdifferentnames:ambientintelligence,calmcomputing,ubicomp,pervasivecomputing,mostofthempushedbyin-dustrialplayerssuchasPhilipsandIBM.Adominantcharacteristicunitesthesedifferentperspectives:asensethatinternetconnectivityisbecomingincreasinglyubiquitousandpervasive.Inotherwords,theideathateventuallyeverything,includingmundanephysicalartefacts,willbeconnected.Ina2007conferenceappearance,thefoundingexecutiveeditorof’WiredMagazine’,KevinKellygavealectureaboutthefirst5,000day