ABSTRACT
A series of announcements, from the acquisition of Nest Labs by Google for $3.2 billion to Samsung Gear and health-related wearables to the development of Smart Home features into Apple’s iOS, have made Internet of Things (IoT) an increasingly tangible business opportunity. Predictions have been consistently on the high side in terms of potential. The EU has already for some time invested in supporting Research and Innovation in the field of IoT, notably in the areas of embedded systems and cyber-physical systems, network technologies, semantic inter-operability, operating platforms and security, and generic enablers. In that context, the Commission is considering how to best support IoT Research and Innovation further. One opportunity could be around pilot projects testing the deployment of large amounts of sensors in relation with Big Data applications. Despite the hype around American and Asian mobile device manufacturers, IoT’s research and technology is very strong in Europe, and there are many examples of successful European companies.
