Understanding the Internet of Things: definition, potentials, and societal role of a fast evolving paradigm

The high penetration rate of new technologies in all the activities of everyday life is fostering the belief that for any new societal challenge there is always an ICT solution able to successfully deal with it. Recently, the solution that is proposed almost anytime is the “Internet of Things” (IoT). This apparent panacea of the ICT world takes different aspects on and, actually, is identified with different (often very different) technological solutions. As a result, many think that IoT is just RFIDs, others think that it is sensor networks, and yet others that it is machine-to-machine communications. In the meanwhile, industrial players are taking advantage of the popularity of IoT to use it as a very trendy brand for technology solutions oriented to the consumer market. The scientific literature sometimes does not help much in clarifying, as it is rich in definitions of IoT often discordant between them. Objective of this paper is to present the evolutionary stages, i.e., generations, that have characterized the development of IoT, along with the motivations of their triggering. Besides, it analyzes the role that IoT can play in addressing the main societal challenges and the set of features expected from the relevant solutions. The final objective is to give a modern definition of the phenomenon, which de facto shows a strong pervasive nature, and, if not well understood in its theories, technologies, methodologies, and real potentials, then runs the risk of being regarded with suspicion and, thus, rejected by users.