In 1990, the earliest practice of IoT can be traced back to Xerox's Networked Coke Machine in 1990.
In 1995, Bill Gates also mentioned the Internet of Things in his book "The Way of the Future", but it did not attract wide attention.
In 1991, Professor Kevin Ash-ton of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) first proposed the concept of the Internet of Things.
In 1998, MIT, USA, creatively proposed the idea of "Internet of Things", which was called EPC system at that time.
In 1999, MIT established the "Auto-ID Center" and proposed that "everything can be interconnected through the network", which clarified the basic meaning of the Internet of Things, mainly based on item coding, RFID technology and The basic meaning of the Internet of Things (IoT) is based on item coding, RFID technology and the Internet. In the past, IoT was called sensor network in China. The Chinese Academy of Sciences initiated the research of sensor network as early as 1999, and has achieved some scientific research results and established some applicable sensor networks. In the same year, the International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking held in the United States proposed, "Sensor networks are another development opportunity facing humanity in the next century".
In 2003, Technology Review proposed that sensor network technology is one of the top ten technologies that will change people's lives in the future.
In 2004, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) proposed the u-Japan Plan, a strategy that seeks to realize connectivity between people, things and things, and between people and things, hoping to build Japan into a ubiquitous network society where any object and any person can be connected at any time, anywhere.
On November 17, 2005, at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released the ITU Internet Report 2005: The Internet of Things, citing the concept of the "Internet of Things". The definition and scope of IoT has changed, and the coverage has been expanded to include RFID-based IoT.
In 2006, Korea established the u-Korea Project, which aims to build a ubiquitous society and to build smart networks (e.g. IPv6, BcN, USN) and new applications (e.g. DMB, Telematics, RFID) in people's living environment so that people can enjoy technology and smart services anytime and anywhere. In 2009, the Korea Communications Commission issued the "Basic Plan for Building IoT Infrastructure", which identified IoT as a new growth driver and proposed to achieve the goal of "building the world's most advanced IoT infrastructure and creating a superb ICT powerhouse in the field of future broadcasting and communications convergence" by 2012.
After 2008, in order to promote the development of science and technology and find new economic growth points, governments began to pay attention to the next generation of technology planning, focusing on the Internet of Things. In China, the second China Mobile Government Symposium "Knowledge Society and Innovation 2.0" held in Beijing University in November of the same year proposed that the development of mobile technology and IoT technology represents the formation of a new generation of information technology, and drives the transformation of economic and social forms, innovation forms, and promotes the user experience-oriented next-generation innovation (Innovation 2.0) for the knowledge society. Innovation and development pay more attention to users and focus on people. The formation of Innovation 2.0 further promotes the healthy development of the new generation of information technology.
In 2009, the EU Executive Committee published the European IoT Action Plan, depicting the application prospect of IoT technology and proposing that the EU government should strengthen the management of IoT and promote the development of IoT.
On January 28, 2009, after Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, he held a "roundtable" with U.S. business leaders, and as one of the only two representatives, IBM CEO Michael Bloomberg first proposed the concept of "Smart Planet" and suggested The new government should invest in a new generation of intelligent infrastructure. That year, the U.S. listed new energy and the Internet of Things as two of the top priorities for economic revitalization.
On February 24, 2009, at the 2009 IBM Forum, IBM Greater China CEO Qian Daqun. He announced the latest strategy called "Smart Planet". Once this concept was proposed, it received a lot of attention from all walks of life in the U.S. Some analysts even believe that this concept of IBM is very likely to rise to the national strategy of the U.S. and cause a stir in the world.
The "Smart Planet" strategy is considered by the Americans to have many similarities with the "Information Superhighway", and is also considered by them to be a key strategy to revitalize the economy and establish a competitive advantage. Whether this strategy can set off the same technological and economic wave as the Internet revolution, not only for the United States, but also for the world.
In August 2009, Wen Jiabao's speech on "Sensing China" pushed China's research and application development in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) to a climax, and Wuxi City took the lead in establishing the "Sensing China" Research Center. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, operators and universities in Wuxi have established the Institute of Internet of Things, and Jiangnan University in Wuxi has also established the first physical Internet of Things Factory Academy in China. Since Premier Wen proposed "Sensing China", IoT has been officially listed as one of the five emerging strategic industries in China and written into the "Government Work Report", IoT has received great attention from the whole society in China. It is incomparable to other countries.
The concept of IoT is already a "Made in China" concept, and its coverage has evolved beyond the scope of Professor Ashton in 1999 and the ITU report in 2005, and IoT has been labeled as "Chinese".
As of 2010, the NDRC, MIIT and other ministries are working with relevant departments to conduct research on new generation of information technology to develop new policies and measures to support the new generation of information technology to drive the development of China's economy.
As a strategic emerging industry with new economic growth point, IOT has good market benefits. 2014-2018 China Internet of Things Industry Application Areas Market Demand and Investment Forecast Analysis Report" data shows that in 2010, the market scale of IOT in security, transportation, electricity and logistics was 60 billion yuan, 30 billion yuan, 28 billion yuan and 15 billion yuan respectively. 2011 The market size of China's Internet of Things industry reached more than 260 billion yuan in 2011.
On July 13, 2021, the Internet Society of China released the "China Internet Development Report (2021)", the IoT market scale reached 1.7 trillion yuan, and the artificial intelligence market scale reached 303.1 billion yuan.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments issued a "three-year action plan for the construction of new infrastructure of the Internet of Things (2021-2023)", which clarifies that by the end of 2023, the new infrastructure of the Internet of Things will be initially built in major cities in China, and the foundation for the modernization of social governance, the digital transformation of industry and the upgrading of people's livelihood and consumption will be more solid.