Students, professors explore realities, advancements of internet of things integration

Computer science students and professors discussed internet of things (IoT) devices and applications in a lecture led by Bashar Al Jubeh, an information technology expert at SmartGlobe, a company that focuses on utilizing technology to lower energy consumption. 

Al Jubeh gave a brief on the history of the internet of things, saying that it began in the form of machine-to-machine communication, whereby sensors would exchange data and information through physical links. 

The internet of things then evolved to a sensor connected to the 21st-century networking infrastructure, establishing  links with smart devices to manage, store, and analyze an even bigger amount of data, Al Jubeh explained. Headded that the number of internet of things devices is growing exponentially with applications in smart cities and traffic management. 

Al Jubeh noted that the advancement of internet of things devices and applications faces a number of challenges with regards to the security and privacy of the processed data, in addition to the integration of old and incompatible devices into the network. He recommended that vendors should opt for a horizontal-integration approach as opposed to a vertical one so that device compatibility is easier to achieve.