Chapter 1. From the Internet of Things to the Web of Things
Figure 1.1. The Internet of Things landscape. The IoT is a network of Things, which are anything that can be connected in some form to the internet. From a box of oranges with an RFID tag, to a smart city, to every Thing in between, all digitally augmented objects make up the Internet of Things.
Figure 1.2. Johnny would like to digitally connect the appliances in all rooms of his hotel. First, guests could have access to a variety of services from controlling their room (lights, air-conditioning, entertainment, and so on), to booking hotel facilities, to ordering food and drinks—all of this on their mobile phones. Second, this system would allow Johnny to coordinate and optimize all aspects of his hotel in a centralized and efficient manner, without having to use a variety of siloed applications and tools.
Figure 1.3. In the Internet of Things, hundreds of incompatible protocols coexist today. This makes the integration of data and services from various devices extremely complex and costly. In the Web of Things, any device can be accessed using standard web protocols. Connecting heterogeneous devices to the web makes the integration across systems and applications much simpler.