Standards for the Internet of Things: A Case Study in Disaster Response

The Internet of Things (IoT) is, potentially, the next great technological revolution, promising fantastic economic bene ts, improved quality of life, and even the easing of human su ering. However, the IoT also raises unprecedented security and privacy concerns as well as safety issues. Standardizing IoT devices and connections is the key to fully realized economic bene ts and safe interoperability, particularly among systems. There will be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of IoT applications—some interconnected, some not, and some connecting with others in unintended or anticipated ways. Therefore, de ning IoT standards is extremely important. But what exactly is the IoT, and what are the standards that best de ne it? To illustrate possible challenges the IoT will present, we describe a case study and suggest a path forward.