Internet of Things A to Z

2Environment, People, and Time as Factors in the Internet of Things Technical Revolution

Jan Sliwa

Department of Engineering and Information Technology, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland

2.1 Introduction

Introducing the Internet of Things (IoT) causes an immense change in the human life. It is often presented in an idealized way: current state-of-the-art technology is used, software is bug free, devices never break, and the users are always excited by their new digital life. Real life is evidently different.

First, the main factors that introduce change and disorder to this ideal world are discussed: environment, time, and people. The environment may be aggressive. Cooperating systems live their own lives and the initial compatibility will degrade. Systems' support will fade and expire. Keeping them running requires an effort that after a certain time may not be available. Designing and supporting IoT systems need top specialists with a unique blend of skills. As they are rare, many projects will have to accept mediocre teams with limited abilities. Pushing the projects anyway is risky, as mediocrity in critical infrastructure or life saving devices is a road to disaster.

Cybersecurity is a prominent issue. IoT systems are often heterogeneous, evolve fast, and contain commercial commodity devices with security holes. Due to these challenging conditions, guaranteeing enduring security is virtually impossible.

As IoT devices and systems collect and treat ...