What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s a question I often ask my three sons. My hope in that question is they may see the vast, and still undefined, potential that lies before them.
Today, we might pose the same question to a myriad of technologies scattered across the landscape of innovation that is before us. In a world increasingly filled with connected objects – the ever-growing Internet of Things (IoT) – there is a tremendous amount of undefined potential in front of us. How can we know which forthcoming innovations will take hold and change our lives, and which will be stepping stones to one of those life-altering must haves?
技术迅速发展，永远改变我们的生活，通常以意想不到的方式。看看GPS不仅改变了我们如何获得行驶方向，还改变了我们决定进食的地方 - 今天，我们使用餐厅推荐应用程序，这些应用程序部分根据我们的位置提出建议。智能手机曾经主要用于打电话通话 - 现在是越来越多个人的主要阅读设备。以及像亚马逊的Echo这样的设备，看起来像常规的音频扬声器，可以帮助我跟踪我的购物清单。
[ 有关的：Best of CES 2016 in pictures: The year IoT took over]
As IoT expands and evolves throughout what can seem like all elements of our lives, more and more devices flood the market. Last year, more than 900 companies showcased IoT-enabled technologies at CES, and that number is expected to grow significantly in 2016. In fact, given the promise and preponderance of connected devices, you could say全部CES展示物联网技术。
[ 有关的：我们迫不及待想在CES看到的7种最有趣的产品]
我们刚刚开始看到物联网的显着消费者好处。基于IOT的设备的最佳示例提高了效率，降低成本并更好地利用资源。最重要的是，他们经常解决像您和我这样的真实人物的问题 - 在某些情况下，在我们能够发现问题甚至存在之前很久。
物联网设备可节省金钱并使生活更轻松
In many cases, Internet-enabled devices are solving problems that outweigh the cost of the device. In other words, buying and employing the technology is a net positive for consumers. Consider the well-known Nest Learning Thermostat. Data shows that it has saved users 10 to 12 percent on their heating bills and 15 percent on cooling expenses. That translates to average cost savings of between$131 and $145a year, enough that the device can essentially pay for itself in less than two years. But these cost savings don’t end after this short payback period, they continue through the live of the device, saving the consumer a multiple of the initial financial outlay.
根据一个人的说法，大约有十分之一的房屋已经拥有智能家居设备民意调查CNET和Coldwell Banker。在那些拥有连接设备的房主中，87 percentsay the technology makes their lives easier and 45 percent say that, on average, smart home technology saves them more than $1,100 a year.
“我们相信，在三到五年内，购房者将期待智能的家庭技术，” Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC首席营销官Sean Blankenship说。他说，智能家居技术很快将是“新规范.” This prediction is borne out by the survey’s finding that nearly half of millennials own smart home devices and that 81 percent say they are more likely to buy a home with technology than one without it.
物联网革命的可能性
物联网革命将为我们提供我们从未想过的机会和易用性，但突然发现自己无法没有生活。我们大多数人已经经历过这种不想要的/不需要的/必须拥有电视，VCR及其继任者，GPS，智能手机等创新的轨迹，当然还有互联网。所有这些创新都是我们曾经没有过的事物，直到我们将它们整合到日常生活的结构中如此彻底而完全，以至于它们已成为我们日常仪式的一部分，并且在很大程度上已经永远改变了我们与他人互动的方式。
With hundreds of thousands of connected objects on the market, it’s true that some will become must-haves while others will serve a purpose then disappear. Some may never grab consumer attention and others may take decades before we fully realize their potential and integrate them into our lives.
我们正在为Internet和启用Internet的对象输入重要的实验阶段。我们看到了可能的。并非一切都会获得广泛的采用，但这没关系。有利基产品，但也有利基市场。这些市场定义明确。他们有特定的需求和用户。这些物联网解决方案对于某些人来说似乎是不必要的，但对他人的天赐之物。
我们需要给物联网时间蓬勃发展，并确定有意义的市场。消费者将用钱包投票。他们将自我选择对他们最重要的市场。物联网实际上是在寻找对互联网有意义的新地方。让消费者决定他们的下一个互联网将是什么。
Shawn DuBravac is chief economist of the Consumer Technology Association(CTA)- 以前是消费电子协会（CEA） -数字命运：新的数据时代将如何改变我们的生活，工作和交流方式。Follow him on Twitter @shawndubravac.
This story, "What will the Internet of Things be when it grows up?" was originally published byCIO .
