Experts: Internet of Things and Wearables Will Dominate by 2025

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Image: iStockphoto, Kalawin

By Samantha Murphy Kelly2014-05-14 14:05:43 UTC

Experts believe the Internet of Things — this concept that all devices, objects and systems could be connected and share information in the future — will have a widespread effect on the way we live our everyday lives by 2025.

According to the Pew Research Center, which surveyed 1,600 industry experts, about 83% believe the category will dominate the mainstream in about 11 years, but there will be slow progress to reach this level, despite today's trends and hype about it being the next big thing.

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"Many experts say the rise of embedded and wearable computing will bring the next revolution in digital technology," study author Janna Anderson, director of Elon Univeristy's Imagining the Internet Center, wrote in the report. "They say the upsides are enhanced health, convenience, productivity, safety and vastly more useful information for people and organizations. The downsides: challenges to personal privacy, over-hyped expectations and tech complexity that boggles us."

Not surprisingly, wearables (smartwatches and fitness trackers) are among the top categories where the Internet of Things is most expected to take off. But other areas such as the home — people who want to control home services and appliances remotely, from thermostats to sprinklers — is high on the list too.

On a basic level, some household items are already connected to the Internet, such as Samsung's Internet-connected refrigerator, which tweets and streams music from Pandora, and the Nest thermostat. But there are still limitations in that every company prefers to use proprietary technology, which often isn't compatible with other platforms. Not only do companies need to work together so their products can interact with each other, there are also issues related to privacy that stand in the way.

"The realities of this data-drenched world raise substantial concerns about privacy and people’s abilities to control their own lives," the report said. "If everyday activities are monitored and people are generating informational outputs, the level of profiling and targeting will grow and amplify social, economic, and political struggles."

Meanwhile, experts believe communities will start to embed devices and smartphone apps with information about transportation, pollution levels and even deliver news about electricity and water more efficiently this way. The environment — real-time data about fields, oceans and soil moisture — is also on the radar for tech growth, as is the goods and services industry which can use sensors to track materials more quickly.

Another theme for concern expressed by the study participants is not knowing how to fix things when they break and that people could recast the relationships they have with each other with technology.

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Topics: Apps and Software, internet of things, Mobile, Tech, wearables