The Internet of Things: The Next Technological Revolution

24 computer Published by the IEEE Computer Society 0018-9162/13/$31.00 © 2013 IEEE creates challenges with enormous technical, societal, economic, and political consequences. Consequently, a wide range of researchers from academia and industry, as well as businesses, government agencies, and cities, are exploring this exciting technology from three main perspectives: scientific theory, engineering design, and the user experience. Motivated by this more holistic view, the research community has moved its focus from the system to the end user. This shift aims to empower users by providing them with the knowledge required to understand and control their environment, as well as by offering new accessible and interactive interfaces that go beyond the traditional desktop. With this in mind, this special issue of Computer presents five recent research and deployment case studies. Two of the articles project our readers into futurist scenarios: one imagines nanotechnologies’ penetration into embedded computing and electronics, while the other discusses the extent to which neuroscience will drive future IoT development. The remaining three articles offer detailed insight into technological solutions that are unleashing new forms of AI and programming constructs, and discuss their societal impact through end-user empowerment. All of the articles are at the forefront of the user-centered design approach.