The Next Web Applications — From an IoT Point of View

The Internet is a scalable global network of computers that interoperates across heterogeneous hardware and software. On top of the Internet, the Web is an outstanding example of how a set of relatively simple and open standards can be used to build very complex systems while preserving efficiency and scalability. The Web and its underlying open protocols have become a part of our everyday life — something we access at home or on the move, through our laptops, phones, tablet, TV, or wearable devices. It has changed the way we communicate and has been a key factor in the way the Internet has transformed the global economy and societies around the world.

Meanwhile, the Internet of Things will allow physical objects to transmit data about themselves and their surroundings, bringing more information about the real world online and help users to better interact with their surroundings. Flowers, for example, can send you an email or a SnapChat photo of your flower when they need watering. Doctors can implant sensors in your body that give you real-time updates about your health updating frequently to a secure online database of your personal data. Even more, IoT data will go beyond the scope of each own service provider to go online and share with other applications and users.

In the next Web, applications will interact with smart objects through communication networks using open Web standards. These applications are the natural evolution of Web application when today’s Internet is transforming to the Internet of everything to include smart objects in the loop. There can be an application to get access to your Google calendar with the note of cleaning your living room to have your mother visit in few hours. The application then asks your robot cleaner to automatically wake up and do cleaning. Robot cleaner notifies you (by sending an email or a SnapChat message) when it starts working or finishes the work. Another application can let you talk to your devices in the way you talk to your friend with the support of natural language processing engines; this is the new experience of making friendship with your devices. Yet another application can serve you in the airport to update the status of the flight, providing practical information in the airport, connecting to the boarding machine to update you for any delay of boarding time that you can spend more time doing shopping in duty free. Yet another application can synchronize your TV programs and football schedule and also your social network profile to remind you an upcoming match. These applications all require the interactions of existing Web services and new services from smart objects to create new user experience while assuring the seamless transition from developing traditional Web applications to this new type of the next Web applications.