If you are a programmer then the idea, and even the practice, of the Internet of Things - IoT - is fairly obvious. Could there be any doubt that putting your coffee machine in the internet is beneficial to the world and mankind?

Well actually, there is more to it than internet aware coffee machines and fridges that check to see what recipes there are. The IoT really does have the potential to change the world by increasing its connectedness so that devices can transfer the information  they need to work efficiently and to involve humans only when necessary.

If you are a bit hazy on this utopia, or need to educate someone less technical, then take a look at the IoT comic book. Created by the Danish Alexandra Institute, it is free to download and basically it's an easy-to-read explanation of how things will be when everything is wired in.

The idea is to try to communicate the IoT idea to a wider audience so that they can start to appreciate why these ideas might effect their lives in the near future. It has to be admitted that the comic views the IoT as a universal panacea and comes over more like propaganda than analysis.

It takes the view that even an RFID tag on a can of food constitutes the can being part of the IoT, and you can see that in a very real sense it is. The fact that so many people have smart phones means that even an RFID tag can be used to communicate useful information to apps that have access to the internet.

One small problem for the IoT is the shortage of IP addresses. Perhaps one day IPv6 will be the norm and there will be enough addresses for every manufactured device to have a fixed identity on the internet.

More information:

free IoT comic

The Alexandra Institute

IPv6: The Programmer's View

Getting Started with the Internet of Things (book review)

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