COPENHAGEN -- Physical objects, such as an engine, a river or even an entire manufacturing plant, can be equipped with sensors that measure physical characteristics of the surrounding environment -- the location, temperature, vibration and flow rate, to give some examples. And low-power networking technologies allow these "things" to share this data with other "things" across networks and data centers.
The cost of these technologies has fallen dramatically in recent years, so that now virtually any aspect of our environment -- natural systems, human systems and physical objects -- can connect and interact. This increased connectivity is going to change the way we communicate and do business.