The Internet of Things needs more patience and persistence

In 1990, Xerox invented the online Coke vending machine that opened the curtain for human dreaming Internet of Things. In the process of using sensor technology to control devices through the Internet, people gradually discovered the value of the Internet of Things. With the rise of the Internet and the development of sensory technology, people's imagination of the Internet of Things has begun to spread their wings.

In 1999, Prof. Ashton of the Auto-ID Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in researching RFID technology, proposed to use the radio frequency identification technology and wireless data communication technology on the computer Internet to construct a real-world Internet that enables real-time sharing of global item information." "Internet of things" (referred to as the Internet of Things), the concept of the Internet of Things was born.

Almost at the same time, China’s dream of the Internet of Things began to sail. "What if the sensor is used as an early warning terminal to collect, process and transmit data?" In 1999, Liu Haitao, an associate researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Metallurgy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was still too excited to sleep on this issue at three in the middle of the night. He suddenly felt that "in this direction, we will be able to make major events. In the end, we can even interconnect objects and sense the world." At that time, in the hearts of some researchers who were as passionate about sensory technology as Liu Haitao, IoT dreams had begun to stir.

In the decade, various technologies related to the Internet of Things have been developing silently, gradually exiting the laboratory and approaching people's lives. When the dreams of the past had gradually become a reality with the evolution of technology, people’s imagined Internet of Things began to change dramatically.

“As small as a watch, a key, or a car or a building, if you embed a miniature sensor chip and make it smart, the object can “talk automatically.” With wireless network technology, people can talk to objects. 'There can also be 'communications' between objects and objects. This is the Internet of Things. If the Internet of Things is connected to the Internet as a bridge, people can instantly access all things in any place in the world." Yang, President of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications In the picture of the Internet of Things described by Professor Zhen, the Internet of Things is changing the way we perceive everything in the world. This also means that the development of the Internet of Things technology will have a profound impact on the military, industrial, agricultural, environmental monitoring, construction, medical, space, and marine exploration of a country.

In September 2010, the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, as an important part of a new generation of information technology, was listed as a strategic emerging industry that the country focused on fostering. The development of the Internet of Things technology and the creation of the Internet of Things industry have for the first time been referred to national strategic heights. At the beginning of this year, the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” clearly stated that it will help shape the China IoT industry in the next five years, and the country’s supporting policies for the Internet of Things industry will gradually become clear.

For China, the Internet of Things finally evolved from conception to substance. It is no longer a dream.

IOT’s Infighting “There are two people in the world who talk about the Internet of Things. One is President Obama and the other is Premier Wen Jiabao. This reflects the willingness of leaders of various countries to use this new industry to seize the commanding heights of the world’s information industry.” Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the professor of the Institute of Jingyi of Tianjin University, Yao Jianhao, pointed out the motivation for the current development of the Internet of Things industry in China.

The "Internet of Things" is known as the third wave of the world's information industry following the computer and the Internet. The arrival of the post-IP era has provided strong support for the connection of all things in the Internet. This change in the development of the Internet has also led many countries to see the opportunities that the Internet of Things may bring to the revival of the industry.

Since 2005, the global war on the commanding heights of the post-IP era has been fully carried out. In recent years, Japan and South Korea's "U society" strategy based on the Internet of Things, the European "Internet of Things Action Plan", and the "Smart Grid" and "Smarter Earth" programs have all been introduced. More and more countries have begun to build Internet of Things-based solutions. Development plans and actions.

When the Internet of Things and new energy together become the two core weapons for the United States to shake off the financial crisis and revitalize the economy, the "Internet of Things fever" demonstrated by President Barack Obama also has a richer interpretation.

In the United States, the Internet of Things has already had an extraordinary strategic position. The US Department of Defense classified SMARTDUST as a key R&D project in 2005. The National Science Foundation’s “Global Network Environment Study” (GENI) also set up a sensor subnet on the next generation Internet as one of them. Important items. In the "2025 Key Technologies for Potential U.S. Benefits" report published by the National Intelligence Council (NIC), the Internet of Things is listed as one of six key technologies. On February 17, 2009, Obama’s signing and entry into force of the 2009 U.S. Recovery and Reinvestment Act of the United States also explicitly stated that a large amount of investment in smart grids, health and medical information technology applications, and education and information technology will be invested in these investment projects and the Internet of Things. Technology is directly related. The influence of the Internet of Things on the U.S. economy has also begun to penetrate people’s hearts. The “Smart Earth” strategy was considered by many Americans to be the same as Gore’s “Information Highway” strategy. It is to rejuvenate the U.S. economy and establish the United States on the international stage. The competitive advantage in China is crucial. At the national level, the United States has already begun a comprehensive deployment of informatization strategies. By striving to continue to completely control the root servers of the next-generation Internet (IPv6), and implementing the EPC standards system globally, the United States has been trying to dominate the development of the global Internet of Things. To ensure its international information control status.

For the development of the Internet of Things, the entire European operation is also very active. Over the years, the EU has been committed to becoming “the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world” by enhancing the competitiveness of science and technology. Although in terms of informatization, the development of Europe as a whole is slightly inferior to that of the United States, Europe has not been far behind. It has been the dream of many people in Europe for many years to revitalize the European economy through such important emerging areas as the Internet of Things and the Internet. It is reported that between 2007 and 2013, the EU is expected to invest a total of 53.2 billion euros in research and development funds to promote the EU's most important 7th EU Research Framework (EU-FP7) research grant program. In this plan, various technologies related to the Internet of Things are covered. At present, the name of the European RFID research project group under the European Union Telecommunication Standardization Association has also been changed to the European Internet of Things research project team and is fully devoted to related research on the standardization of the Internet of Things. In addition, the EU is also the first institution in the world to propose plans for the development and management of the Internet of Things.

The development of the Internet has made people see a reality: the power of technology is enough to change the economic landscape in the real world. The pursuit of the Internet of Things by various countries and economies reminds us once again that the Internet of Things is more than just technology. Under the trend of economic globalization, gaining the technological advantage in the era of the Internet of Things will create an additional weight that will dominate the global economic landscape in the future.

Before 2009, although many companies and scientific research institutions had no shortage of explorations of the Internet of Things technology, the climate of the Chinese Internet of Things industry did not really take shape. Until August 2009, when Premier Wen Jiabao visited Wuxi, he proposed to quickly establish a "perceived China" center, and then to upgrade the construction of the Internet of Things to the national strategic level. The Internet of Things began to be included in the "China Strategy." : By vigorously strengthening the construction of the country’s Internet of Things, it will occupy the commanding heights in the post-IP era and promote and lead the development of the future world economy. In the past two years, the development speed of China's Internet of Things industry has been alarming. Today, in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Wuxi, Dalian, and Chongqing, the Internet of Things (IT) industry base has been established; in the electric power, transportation, security, and finance industries, The related applications of networking began to gradually advance; in the wireless smart sensor network communication technology, micro sensors, sensor terminals and mobile base stations, China has made significant progress. At present, China's complete industrial chain from materials, technology, devices, systems, and networks has begun to take shape in the stumble.

China is approaching dreams step by step.

Out of the chaos, the concept of cloud computing turned out, people confused. A closer look reveals that the original cloud computing was not "new" and even a lot of companies started research and development several years ago. Like cloud computing, the Internet of Things that feels like a cloud is nothing but a new bottle of old wine. In Yao’s view, the Internet of Things can’t live without the four layers of technology: first, the sensing layer that implements object sensing; second, the network layer that implements information transmission; third, the computing layer that performs data processing; and finally, the application layer. . Technology that is related to these four levels of technology can be called IoT technology.

For those who are engaged in the early research of sensing and perception technology in the industry, the content of the Internet of Things is not new. Prior to the concept of the Internet of Things, the related technologies of the Internet of Things have long been quietly rooted in many industry applications. For example, in the fields of electronic ticket/access control, warehouse management, logistics, vehicle management, industrial production line management, animal identification, etc., the application of RFID technology has long been popular; the two-dimensional code technology has also been widely used in animal traceability, automotive industry automation production lines, Public security, diplomacy, military and other fields.

The lack of funds for basic R&D by enterprises is the biggest problem in the early days of China's IoT technology. In order to survive, many companies can only temporarily set aside their ideals and make some simple development and implementation of Internet of Things projects through OEM foreign products or at the application level. In fact, before 2009, for some companies that focused on independent research and development, the problem of extremely lack of funds has been plaguing them.

Since 2003, the concept of the Internet of Things has been hotly debated around the world. Some users started to invest in projects and develop IoT projects under the “Fudge” of some companies. However, at that time, the domestic Internet of Things industry had not yet formed, and the technical level of related companies could not meet the actual needs of users. An Internet of Things project may not be delivered for several years. This situation also casts a shadow over the Internet of Things project. A senior person in the domestic Internet of Things industry told reporters that many of the projects they had done at the time were not mature technologies, which meant using the money of the users to engage in research and development. On one occasion, his company was unable to overcome due to technical difficulties, and the project delivery period dragged on. As a result, users were extremely dissatisfied.

When the news that Premier Wen Jiabao began to pay close attention to the Internet of Things began in 2009, the market became crazy because of the concept of the Internet of Things. Overnight, the technology sector with this concept as its core broke out. Companies that are detached from the Internet of Things technology have become the new darling of the capital market. Enterprises that produce R&D monitoring equipment and RFID equipment are particularly popular. After seeing this trend, companies eager to catch the concept express train to gain capital have emerged in the market. Various Internet of Things experts and scholars have come to the front desk to talk about different versions of the Internet of Things. In the "high temperature", China's Internet of Things industry began to become a mixed bag, which led to the "virtual" sound of the Internet of Things.

Obviously, Internet of Things enterprises cannot be “free-keeped”. Targeted support for Internet of Things companies with independent intellectual property rights will be the key to the successful development of China’s Internet of Things industry. Since the fanatical return to rationality, China has also begun to rethink the development of the Internet of Things industry.

Judging from the current policy level, the development of the Internet of Things industry has seen a clear-cut “three-step” plan: key application phase, scale application phase, and universal application phase. In the key application phase, the country will support leading enterprises in related industries and explore key applications in industrial informatization, agricultural informatization, and social informatization, and apply innovation to promote technological innovation, and initially form a reasonable industrial structure and industrial value chain. Leading companies lead the industrialization of key applications. At the stage of scale application, with the evolution of technology, the country will further expand the depth, scope, and scale of the application of information networking in the Internet of Things, significantly increase the informatization share of the Internet of Things application, and form the development pattern of integration and interaction between the Internet of Things industry and traditional industries. In the phase of universal application, China will establish a universal information service system that meets the needs of economic and social development in both urban and rural areas throughout the country, build a complete industry chain and industrial layout for the Internet of Things, and establish China's core position in the development of the global Internet of Things industry.

The clear path to a place where China’s Internet of Things dreams has already been demonstrated.

Reinventing the value Today, referring to the Internet of Things, many people will first think of the Internet of Things project using RFID and barcode recognition technology. This impression is related to the origin of the concept of the Internet of Things and the foundation of the development of China's Internet of Things industry. In the concept of Internet of Things, almost 80% of the companies are related to RFID. Yuanwang Valley, New World, Shanghai Belling and other companies are highly valued by the capital market because they belong to this field. In fact, if we only focus on RFID, the development of China's Internet of Things industry will surely fall into another cycle.

From the perspective of the Internet of Things technology, the collection of information mainly depends on the sensor network. The main technologies that make up the sensor network are sensors, MEMS devices, and embedded programming. RFID and bar code identification are only a small part of them and can only solve some problems in the Internet of Things. For example, the perception of temperature, humidity, geographical location, etc., cannot be achieved by relying on RFID and barcode recognition. In addition, at present, nearly 100% of radio frequency ICs and MEMS sensor ICs used in wireless sensor networks in China are foreign products. In addition to the HF bands identified at close range, UHF band RFID tag ICs and reader ICs for long range applications are also basically Are using foreign products. At present, similar domestic ICs that can replace foreign products are not available, but there is still a certain gap between the technical indicators and the stability in comparison with international standards. At the application level, electronic labels have also become difficult to popularize due to high costs. CEO of AsiaInfo Technology Zhang Zhenqing once told the media that Mengniu had hoped to cooperate with AsiaInfo Technology and China Mobile to set labels on each box of dairy products. The mobile network is positioned to determine the specific location of each box of milk in order to solve the “string cargo” problem that has been causing headaches for the FMCG industry. After the plan came out, Mengniu gave up because of excessively high costs.

RFID technology does not fully reflect the development of China's Internet of Things technology. In 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao had made three requests for the development of the Internet of Things during his inspection tour in Wuxi. First, he combined the sensor system with TD-SCDMA technology in 3G. Second, in the national major scientific and technological special projects, he accelerated the transmission of information. Influencing the development of the network; third is the establishment of China's sensor information center as soon as possible, that is, "perceived China" center. It can be seen that the current “Internet platform” for China’s Internet of Things is the country’s most important development direction, and “Made in China” is the key to the development of sensor networks.

Yang Zhen believes that the combination of the Internet of Things and TD-SCDMA is of great significance for the construction of a Chinese sensor network. He pointed out that the combination of the Internet of Things and TD is conducive to enhancing national strategic information security. As China holds the core technology of TD, it is easy to adopt national standards, technologies, and equipment in the process of developing the Internet of Things. This will better ensure the security of the country’s overall strategy and will also have more in the future of international information exchange. Initiative.

A country’s control of the Internet of Things derives from its ability to control the core technologies of the Internet of Things. At present, the United States has always maintained a dominant position in the development of the Internet of Things. The EPCglobal standard it has adopted has been adopted by many countries. In the research and development and application of IoT technology, RFID technology and wireless sensor networks have been applied in large scale in the U.S. military. In the development of smart micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensors, the U.S. is one step ahead. For the new generation of Internet of Things, grid computing and other technologies, the United States is one of the first countries to conduct research. Various wireless sensor technology standards are also mainly controlled by American companies. In the future, the way in which China's Internet of Things will be in dialogue with the United States will depend on our current emphasis on the R&D of core technologies for the Internet of Things.

The realization of the dream of China's Wulian needs more core technologies that belong to China.

The application has no way out of the ivory tower Yao Jianyao once said: “The Internet of Things must be tightly integrated with a certain application field, and without leaving a specific application, it is not an Internet of Things.” The foundation for the development of Internet of Things technology is inseparable from the application, but only With the label of the application, can China's Internet of Things be successfully developed in the business environment?

At the Internet of Things Expo held in Wuxi last year, there were more than 200 exhibitors. Unicom displayed Roewe's 3G smart car, which has been sold for 20,000 vehicles. China Telecom displayed the flash flood warning system and the Internet of Things agriculture. China Mobile's Internet of Things supermarket also attracted many people to experience it. Smart homes, smart medical care, smart transportation and other applications can be described as colorful. However, He Jifeng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a speech at the exhibition forum that he has not yet seen Wuxi's ability to really invest in large-scale use of the Internet of Things applications. When he reported to the National Science and Technology Foundation's delegation a few days ago about the experimental project of the automobile IoT, the leader of the delegation also jokingly said to him, "You can manage the two thousand cars across the country through the Internet of Things. I will Give you a national commendation conference."

It can be seen that when the Internet of Things goes from a laboratory application to a commercial application, the Internet of Things reveals the problems it hides behind the high technology. According to an industry source, in many lead projects, most of the domestic self-developed technologies can be used in experiments. However, in the actual application environment, it is difficult to meet the requirements of project construction. Most projects have to rely on a large number of imported materials. Sensing equipment can continue to implement. As a result, it may not be obvious at all that sometimes the amount of the yuan will go down.

Industry experts pointed out that for the Internet of Things related technology, China has just started in many areas, and may even take several years to accumulate to reach the level of some developed countries. For the core technology of the Internet of Things, we have to give companies more time. . If we are eager to let the technology in the ivory tower reach the market, the huge investment in China's Internet of Things industry will surely wander.

Exploring the Business Model Currently, companies in China's Internet of Things industry have begun to produce two major factions: one is known as the apple type and the other is known as the Edison type. The former pays more attention to the commercial application of the Internet of Things, while the latter attaches more importance to cutting-edge technology in the field of Internet of Things.

Lierda Technology, which has been engaged in the trade of electronic components, belongs to the former. Lilda did not choose the same development path as many of its peers, focusing on the R&D of the core technologies of the Internet of Things. In Lierda’s chairman Chen Xianxing’s eyes, the chips in Apple’s mobile phones are not produced by themselves, but this does not affect Apple’s huge breakthrough in applications. Lleida can fully learn from the Apple model and use it to achieve the ultimate in application and perfection so that chip companies can in turn use the chips of their companies. Just entering the Internet of Things industry, Lilda began to invest the largest amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources in accordance with this idea, and applied the secondary development of chips imported from abroad to provide the final customers with a complete set of technical solutions. Today, Lilda has developed a mature set of ETC sensor networks and sensor technologies that are not limited by geographical, environmental, and other external factors. Any car passing through ETC can be accurately recorded in time and location. In Hangzhou, there are not a few companies that have similar development ideas with Lilda. The companies such as Chiang Kai-shek, Haikang Thunderbird, Home and Smart have opened up a market with their unique applications for the Internet of Things. Last year, the annual output value of Hangzhou Internet of Things and related companies has exceeded 30 billion yuan. In the application service of the Internet of Things, Zhejiang's performance is very good.

General Electric monopolized the electrical field for a century, thanks to the 2,000 patented technologies invented by founder Edison and his team. In today's Internet of Things industry, the ideas of IOT companies led by technology-born entrepreneurs are very similar to GM. They believe that only technology can keep the company going. Such companies as Wuxi Keyuan Photonics Co., Ltd. and China Control Technology Group are very representative. Shi Yiming, vice president of China National Control Technology Group Co., Ltd., believes that the emergence of a large number of applications, you can quickly expand the Internet of Things cake, but it is also likely to marry another person in the market competition. Because who owns the core technology, whoever has the right to speak. Of course, billions of yuan in R&D investment each year in the field of the Internet of Things also brings substantial rewards to China Control Technology Group.

After all, the Internet of Things is an emerging market, the industry is not mature, the business model is not clear enough, and the related companies have suffered a lot of failures in the development of the Internet of Things technology. In fact, subject to the constraints of funds and technical capabilities, many of the current Internet of Things companies are still stuck between the two states, and they continue to make difficult choices. In this regard, Zhang Xiaodong, general manager of Beijing Dexinquan Internet of Things Technology Co., Ltd. pointed out that projects without industry experience must follow the principle of innovation of 20%, and projects without technical accumulation are better off.

Researchers in the industry believe that the development of applications is gradually expanding along with the maturity of the technology. It is not until the technology is fully mature that applications can begin. In some areas, the Internet of Things will take the lead in deploying applications. In the meantime, along with the maturity of technology and the reduction of costs, applications will also ebb and flow so that companies can gradually find suitable business models.