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Abstract: With recent advancements in various digital technologies, some experts have proclaimed the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Many break-throughs in biology, materials, and computing support this technological progression. Among them, the Internet of Things, an evolution of connectivity expanded from the Internet (or the World Wide Web), is creating a major disruption in society. The impact is not only economic but also social and political. Being able to connect and perceive physical entities and the environment digitally allows us to comprehensively capture once elusive information that enables us to understand and act on issues more efficiently, effectively, and precisely. The potential impact of IoT on productivity, job functions, social inclusion, and global competition may both empower and at the same time endanger current human systems.
Recent technological developments in manufacturing have spurred a global transformation that is now being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The fourth stage in any industry has become synonymous with state-of-the-art status, digitization, and smart automation. Although there is a lack of consensus about the best way to harness these developments, a number of countries and most industries have produced visions and roadmaps to strengthen their competitive positions in the race.1 One clear example of this is the Industry 4.0 program initiated by the German Government.2 A common characteristic among these initiatives is becoming "smart," which is a digital rather than a physical transformation, and relies significantly on software rather than on hardware.
The fundamental enabler of this disruption is the new level of connectivity facilitated by the Internet of Things (IoT). It is a natural extension of prior levels of connectivity achieved by the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) to include physical objects and systems.3 IoT comprises a collection of digital technologies, including sensors, communication modules, and various software applications, that all together can digitally integrate analog physical systems with the digital world, providing constant and readily available information about those systems. Based on this information, collaborative decisions and coordinated actions can be implemented in a timely and accurate manner and make the physical system smart. The seamless integration of physical systems with the digital world can result in a substantial compression of time and space for managing not only manufacturing but also the operation of...