The Internet of Things in a Smart Connected World

The internet of things (IoT) constitutes a network of embedded devices that incorporate sensors and communication functions. The IoT is becoming one of the core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is because the IoT creates new values in the connected smart world by collecting big data, uploading data into clouds, and processing data in intelligent systems. The newly created values in intelligent systems differ from previously generated values that were based on the simple automated systems of the Third Industrial Revolution. In this chapter, we present a brief introduction of the IoT, which connects to the Internet through incorporating sensors and communication functions in various smart objects. In the IoT era, it is possible to create a networked smart world with powerful new services and products that create new values. As applications of the IoT, we introduce smart homes, smart electronics, smart connected cars, smart grids, smart healthcare, smart wearable devices, etc. In addition, we illustrate a specific IoT complex in a smart city as one of the smart connected applications of the IoT. Finally, we describe the predicted hyper-connected smart world that will be achieved through the IoT.