Federal Agencies Discuss IoT Investment

The ORBIT is an NSF-supported project that demonstrates the federal commitment to improving wireless technologies. (Image courtesy of Rutgers University.)

On July 15, a number of U.S. federal agencies held an event to discuss the future support of research and innovation into wireless technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT).Specifically, these examined the role of federal investment in accelerating the progress of these technologies.

The attending agencies included:

The National Science Foundation (NSF): With a 2016 budget of $7.5 billion, the NSF provides significant funding for research and education across the fields of science and engineering.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): This Department of Defense agency was created to develop technologies for the military; it is also responsible for creating the Internet.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): This metrological institute has the mission “to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.”
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA): This executive branch agency advises the U.S. president on telecommunications policy issues.

The federal interest in improving wireless technologies is a huge boon to IoT engineers, as it means lots of available funding for IoT research and new technologies. Additionally, it results in openly available resources such as the Open-Access Research Testbed for Next-Generation Wireless Networks (ORBIT), a programmable radio grid for wireless emulation that can be accessed by both U.S. and international researchers.

The meeting of these federal heavyweights was spurred by the rapid increase in wireless usage over the past decade. The NSF claims that the nearly 350 million smartphones, tablets and wearable technology are in use across the U.S. and that they carry more than 100,000 times the traffic they did in 2008. They further suggest that there may be as many as 200 billion connected devices around the world by 2020.

With these rather astonishing figures, it's no surprise that the U.S. government has taken an interest in the IoT. Some of the items on the docket of the event included the following IoT domains:

Connected communities and smart cities
Self-driving,connected cars
Remote surgery and IoT healthcare
Virtual and augmented reality

Given the discussion topics, what is interesting about these talks is the involvement of DARPA. These topics don't seem to fit the agency's wheelhouse. Perhaps, it might be there for the IoT security aspect. After all, you don't want terrorists hacking into your smart city.

However, it seems odd that these powerhouse government agencies would meet with DARPA and not discuss a military IoT. Such applications could include connected weapons or tactical gear and health-monitoring sensors for soldiers in combat. Are these applications just too top secret, or was this an elephant in the room? Comment below.

To learn more about how the U.S. government is getting involved in the IoT, read: State Department Spends $25 Million on IoT Energy-Saving Application .