Open Access

Axel Sikora

• The Internet of Things (IoT), ubiquitous computing and ubiquitous connectivity, Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), ambient intelligence, Machine-to-Machine communication (M2M) or Car-to-Car (C2C)-communication, smart metering, smart grid, telematics, telecare, telehealth – there are many buzzwords around current developments related to the Internet. This contribution gives an overview on suchThe Internet of Things (IoT), ubiquitous computing and ubiquitous connectivity, Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), ambient intelligence, Machine-to-Machine communication (M2M) or Car-to-Car (C2C)-communication, smart metering, smart grid, telematics, telecare, telehealth – there are many buzzwords around current developments related to the Internet. This contribution gives an overview on such IoT-applications, as they are already used today to improve the availability of information, increase efficiency, push system limits and extend the value chain. At a closer look, the economic and technical development can be separated into different phases. It is interesting that we are currently at the threshold to a new phase, with decentralized and cooperative communication and control nodes as cornerstones. Thus, embedded systems and their connectivity are in the middle of the scene. This recent development is described along with some example projects from the author’s team which are used in industrial automation, energy supply and distribution (home automation and smart metering), traffic engineering (cooperative driver assistance systems), and in telehealth and telecare.…