| Machines and objects to
overtake humans on the Internet: ITU Nov 17 7:55 AM US/Eastern |
Machines will take over from
humans as the biggest users of the Internet in a brave new world of electronic
sensors, smart homes, and tags that track users' movements and habits, the UN's
telecommunications agency predicted.
In a report entitled "Internet of Things", the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) outlined the expected next stage in
the technological revolution where humans, electronic devices, inanimate objects
and databases are linked by a radically transformed Internet.
"It would seem that science fiction is slowly
turning into science fact in an 'Internet of Things' based on ubiquitous network
connectivity," the report said Thursday, saying objects would take on human
characteristics thanks to technological innovation.
"Today, in the 2000s, we are heading into a new era of
ubiquity, where the 'users' of the Internet will be counted in billions and
where humans may become the minority as generators and receivers of traffic," it
added.
Currently there are about 875 million Internet users
worldwide, a number that may simply double if humans remain the primary users of
the future.
But experts are counting on tens of billions of
human and inanimate "users" in future decades.
They would be tied into an all pervasive network
where there would be no need to power up a computer to connect -- "anytime,
anywhere, by anyone and anything", the report said.
Remote computer-controlled household appliances are already
appearing, as well as prototype cars with collision-avoidance sensors.
Mobile phones can be used as electronic train tickets while
meat exports from Namibia or goods for US retail chain Wal-Mart are tagged with
sensors to allow them to be tracked.
The ITU's vision goes further, highlighting refrigerators
that independently communicate with grocery stores, washing machines that
communicate with clothing, implanted tags with medical equipment and vehicles
with stationary or moving objects.
Industrial products would also become increasingly "smart",
gaining autonomy and the intelligence thanks to miniaturised but more powerful
computing capacity.
"Even particles and 'dust' might be tagged and networked",
the ITU said.
"In this way the virtual world would map the real world,
given that everything in our physical environment would have its own identity (a
passport of sorts) in virtual cyberpsace," the report forecast.
The trend is being fuelled by a small number of
technological developments, including miniature radio frequency RFID electronic
tags that allow immediate identification and tracking, and new sensor
technology, as well as smart devices and nanotechnology.
While the report laid out economic opportunities, a huge
expansion of the IT industry and innovation in a wide range of fields from
health to entertainment, it also warned of a number of challenges, including
privacy issues.
Some of the applications envisaged for emerging RFID tags
are to replace human ID documents, track consumer habits, or banknotes.
The ITU said tighter linkages would be needed between those
that create the technology and those that use it to cope with its forecast new
world.
"In a world increasingly mediated by technology, we must
ensure that the human core of our activities remains untouched," the report
concluded.
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