The rising complexity in the products we use today from smartphones to the cars we drive is in large part due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). It seamlessly brings the physical and online worlds together, resulting in the proliferation of connected devices. Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016, up 30 percent from 2015, and that the number will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. No industry is likely to be left untouched by the smart product revolution. These include autonomous cars, wearable devices on patients for tracking their health, unmanned vehicles designed for space travel, and electronically invisible surveillance. With the potential economic impact estimated to be more than $10 trillion per year, it is clear that IoT is living up to its promise of being the next big technology mega-trend..

Source: Why engineering will be the key to successful IoT products – Tech2