Internet of Things landscape

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been defined in a number of different ways. Generally speaking, it refers to a global, distributed network (or networks) of physical objects that are capable of sensing or acting on their environment, and able to communicate with each other, other machines or computers. Such ‘smart’ objects come in a wide range of sizes and capacities, including simple objects with embedded sensors, household appliances, industrial robots, cars, trains, and wearable objects such as watches, bracelets or shirts. Their value lies in the vast quantities of data they can capture and their capacity for communication, supporting real-time control or data analysis that reveals new insights and prompts new actions.