胡杨

Within the next decade the Internet could connect as many as 200 billion things—and not just machines such as cars or household appliances1， but anything that you can fit a chip or sensor2 into—including humans. These devices， collectively known as the Internet of Things， should make life simpler， even healthier， but can we trust them to look after us？

Whats next in the Internet of Things？

First it was portable， then it was wearable. Its now ingestible3 and implantable4...Whats next in the Internet of things？

The Internet of things （IoT） is transforming everyday physical objects that surround us into an ecosystem of information that is rapidly changing the way we live our lives. From refrigerators and cars， to parking spaces and houses， IoT is bringing more and more items into the digital fold every day.

Our homes， to give one example， could soon be tracking everything we do on a daily basis—from locking and unlocking the front door， to automatically ordering the groceries when the fridge is empty.

Whether we want this new level of automation， is another matter. But it wont be long before it is the standard and a new evolution in technology once again changes our lives.

What will be the impact of IoT devices on human kind？ Can they really change how we interact with one another？

在未來十年内，互联网可以连接多达2000亿的各类事物——不仅仅只是像汽车和家用电器之类的机器，而是任何能够安装芯片或者传感器的东西——包括我们人类本身。这些设备，统称为“物联网”，应用它们会使我们的生活变得更加简单，甚至更加健康，但是我们能信任它们可以照顾好我们的生活吗？

物联网时代的下一个特点是什么呢？

首先是便携式，可穿戴。现在物联网技术的特点是可吸收和可植入……那么物联网时代的下一个特点会是什么呢？

物联网正在将我们周围的日常物理对象转化成为正在迅速改变着我们生活方式的信息生态系统。从冰箱、汽车到停车位和住宅，物联网技术每天会将越来越多的物品与数字融合。

举个例子，我们的家可能很快就能追踪我们在日常生活中所做的一切——从锁门和开门，到家里冰箱空了的时候自动订购食品。

我们是否想要这个新水平的自动化是另外一回事。但是这马上会成为将会再一次改变我们生活的新技术的标准和革新。

物联网设备将会对我们人类产生什么样的影响呢？这些设备真的能够改变我们彼此之间打交道的方式吗？

What will daily life look like？

Its 6 a.m. on Monday 1 October， 2025. The device on your wrist has sensed that youre waking up so it sends a message to your coffee machine to start brewing5. You delay the coffee and go for a run instead. While youre pounding the pavement， the sensors in your earphones detect an irregular heartbeat. The device sends an ECG readout to a cardiologist6. He sees that the arrhythmias7 are just harmless ectopic8 beats and decides to take no further action.

Back home， you have coffee and you put the empty cup in the dishwasher. The dishwasher is full， so it starts running. A sensor detects that the appliance is due for a service. It makes the appointment with an engineer and books a date in your diary， which you later confirm.

A couple of decades ago， dishwashers were one of the biggest causes of house-fires， but not anymore. The Internet of things—devices connected to each other over the Internet—has made the world infinitely safer.

From self-driving cars to smart pills that measure our health from the inside， the Internet in 2025 has become a custodian9 of our health and safety.

我們的日常生活将会变成什么样子呢？

2025年10月1日，星期一，早上6点。你手腕上的设备感觉到你已经醒了，因此它向你的咖啡机发出了一条指令，命令它开始煮咖啡。然而你推迟了喝咖啡的时间，转而去跑步。当你在路上奔波求职的时候，耳机上的传感器检测到你的心律不齐。于是设备发送了一张你的心电图读数给心脏病医生，他发现你所发生的心律不齐是无害的异常性跳动，所以医生不打算采取进一步的治疗措施。

回到家中，你喝完咖啡，并且将杯子放入洗碗机中。洗碗机满了就开始运行。传感器发现家电产品使用已经到期了，于是它和工程师预约并且在日志里预定了一个日期，这些你稍后可以进行确认。

几十年前，洗碗机是房屋火灾的最大原因之一，但现在已经不是了。用互联网互相连接起来的物联网设备已经使世界无限安全。

从无人驾驶汽车到可以从体内测量我们健康程度的智能药丸，2025年的互联网已经成为我们健康和安全的保障。

Notes：

1. appliance n. 器具；器械；装置

2. sensor n. 传感器

3. ingestible adj. 可吸收的；可摄取的

4. implantable adj. 可移植的，可植入的

5. brew v. 酿酒；被冲泡

6. cardiologist n. 心脏病学家；心脏病科医师

7. arrhythmia n. 心律不齐

8. ectopic adj. 异位的；异常的

9. custodian n. 管理人；监护人；保管人