IBM and the Internet of Things
Two articles by Richard MacManus on ReadWriteWeb caught my attention because they both deal with IBM and the Internet of Things.
In a first article, MacManus describes how IBM is involved in some very interesting projects at the intersection of two big trends [he has] been tracking in 2009: the Real-time Web and Internet of Things.
“They have a website devoted to this topic, called A Smarter Planet. As the name implies, it focuses on environmental matters such as energy and food systems. Sensors, RFID tags and real-time messaging software are major parts of IBM’s smarter planet strategy. The catchcry for the site – Instrumented, Interconnected, and Intelligent – is about outfitting the world with sensors and hooking them to the Internet to apply the ‘smarts.'”
The article also gives some concrete examples of practical projects IBM is involved in, including collaborations with Matiq, an IT subsidiary of Norway’s largest food supplier Nortura, with Danish transportation company Container Centralen, and with German car manufacturer Volkswagen.
A second post talks about MQTT, an IBM-developed protocol for real-time messaging that could become a keystone of the emerging Internet of Things, and that IBM believes is actually better than Pachube (but has a better name!).
