Sensor Sensibility
Getting the Most From the Internet of Things
Overview
Despite enormous advances, we’ve only seen a fraction of what the Internet revolution has yet to deliver. That’s because many powerful technological forces are now converging — poised to magnify, multiply, and exponentially increase the opportunities that software and the Internet can deliver by connecting the “things” in the physical world around us.
SOCIETAL OPPORTUNITIES BY THE NUMBERS
Capturing value from connecting things
According to various analyses, if widely deployed, connected devices can help advance numerous broad policy goals.
Societal Challenge
IoT Opportunity if Widely Deployed
35,000 lives — the number of Americans who die in traffic accidents each year.
90 percent reduction in traffic fatalities — a greater reduction in fatalities than seatbelts — saving almost 300,000 lives over a decade through autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle technologies.
$1,700 a year per household — the cost of traffic congestion for the average American household — and it could cost the US economy $186 billion by 2030.
5 to 25 percent improvement in traffic flow through smarter connected traffic management — saving Americans countless hours and fuel.
$440 billion — the cost of crime to society.
20 to 22 percent reduction in crime rates — through connected city sensors and new types of remote home security monitoring.
6,800 million metric tons of CO2 — the amount of US greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere each year.
19 percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions — on a global basis the equivalent to eliminating all of the United States’ and India’s total greenhouse gas emissions combined.
$1,300 a year — the average American’s annual electricity bill.
10 percent reduction in home energy use, and a 20 to 30 percent reduction in factory energy use.
133 million Americans (40 percent) suffer — from some form of chronic disease — driving about 75 percent of all health costs.
50 percent drop in chronic disease treatment costs.
Our economy is not running at its full economic potential.
$11.1 trillion a year in economic impact by 2025.
IoT Security Is a Shared Responsibility
Robust security is becoming an increasingly important enabler for instilling the trust that makes many of the most important IoT benefits possible.
Learn more about security best practices, as well as the role of developers, users, and government.
The cloud and intelligent devices are often inseparable technologies. When devices communicate, their first stop on the communications path is often the cloud — to store data, to process data, and to make sense of data.
Key Challenges to Achieving IoT’s Full Potential
Although the potential benefits from the Internet of Things are huge, there are numerous important challenges that must be addressed that will determine how quickly these technologies advance, and how broadly their benefits are spread.
Free Flow of Data
Maximizing data benefits through data that can flow freely across borders.
Standards
Leveraging global industry-led interoperable standards to maximize network effect opportunities.
IP
Ensuring intellectual property protection to foster creativity and innovation.
Cloud Adoption
Encouraging government cloud adoption to enable greater opportunity.
Security
Building trust around how data and devices will be secured is a key to enabling vast societal rewards.
Privacy
Enabling trust in the way privacy is protected.
Workforce
Overcoming a looming skills gap by filling the talent pipeline with more people who can code or pursue other tech-enabled careers.
Free Flow of Data
Maximizing data benefits through data that can flow freely across borders.
Governments can promote the adoption of IoT by adopting smart and clear privacy laws that facilitate innovation.
Resources
- Press Release: Connecting to New Opportunities Through Connected Devices, July 11, 2017
- BSA TechPost: Connecting Devices to Connect Society, July 11, 2017