With the realization of the ideas behind the Internet of Things (IoT)—a network of everyday items with embedded computers that can connect directly or indirectly to the Internet—we’re entering the era of ubiquitous computing. As the IoT takes root, the number of devices connecting to the Internet is likely to increase 10-or even 100-fold over the next 10 years, forever changing our relationship with “things”—now they’ll be smart: smart devices, smart homes, smart buildings, and smart cities.

Although its origins date back to 1999, the IoT’s core ideas were first described in Mark Weiser’s vision of ubiquitous computing in 1988. Although these ideas have been around for more than 25 years, it has only recently become practical for high-performance processing and networking to be built into everyday products. We now have the ability to augment our things’ capabilities at a reasonable cost and size: this embedded computing—with the equivalent performance of a complete 1980s-era workstation—can be added to products for less than $10. To kick off the inaugural installment of “The IoT Connection,” a bimonthly forum bringing Computer readers exciting developments from the IoT field, it seems appropriate to invite one of the fathers of the Internet, Vint Cerf, and one of Google’s in-house philosophers, Max Senges, to get the ball rolling. Vint’s perspective, spanning his considerable experience in networking from the early days of Internet design at DARPA to its modern instantiation, is combined with Max’s expertise in building both sociotechnological innovation around a “good IoT” and a vibrant multistakeholder IoT ecosystem.