... concerns such as privacy, security and who has access to data collected by governments and companies.
Seen by some to be a Wellsian vision of the future, the Internet of Things [IoT] is nearer than we may think. Indeed others think it it has already arrived!
Rob van Kranenburg, founder of a European think tank called the Internet of Things Council, believes the concept first surfaced around the end of the 1990s under the term "ubiquitous computing."
According to Mr van Kranenburg, the fast-falling cost of data storage and emerging web analytics has already made it possible to "get rid of the mouse, get rid of the keyboard." Connectivity, he says, is coming "out of the computer and into the real world."
In one example of how the IoT might work in tomorrow's world, not only would your bathroom scale recognise you when you step onto it, it would also synchronize weight information with your smartphone, personal computer and other data unique to you and stored on cloud computer servers.
The technology involves fitting objects with a microchip and a communications antenna, explains Berlin-based strategy consultant Martin Spindler.
Using radio frequency identification [RFID], every real object in the analogue world could have a unique identifying number, like an IP address.
Examples of the likely benefits of this Sci-Fi technology?
Howzabout kitchens that order your food; washing machines that turn on when energy demand on the grid is lowest; cars that call emergency services if you get into an accident - all could all be part of the IoT new world.
To read the full Deutsche Welle article click here.