====== Introduction ======
{{:en:iot-open:czapka_p.png?50|General audience classification icon}}{{:en:iot-open:czapka_b.png?50|General audience classification icon}}{{:en:iot-open:czapka_e.png?50|General audience classification icon}}\\
Here comes the Internet of Things. 
The name that recently makes red-hot people in business, researchers, developers, geeks and ... students.
The name that non-technology related people consider a kind of magic and even a danger to their privacy.
The EU set the name as one of the emerging technologies and estimated the worldwide market will hit well over 500 billion US dollars in 2022, while the number of IoT devices in 2030 is expected to be around 3.2 billion.

What is IoT (Internet of Things), then?
Surprisingly, the answer is not straightforward.

=== Content classification hints ===

The book composes a comprehensive guide for a variety of education levels. A brief classification of the contents regarding target groups may help in a selective reading of the book and ease in finding the correct chapters for the desired education level. To inform a reader about the proposed target group, icons are assigned to the chapters level 1 (top) and 2nd level chapters. The list of icons and their reflection on the target groups is presented in the table {{ref>icons}}.

<table icons>
<caption>List of icons presenting content classification and corresponding target groups</caption>
^ Icon                                                                           ^ Target group                                                                                                                             ^
|  {{:en:iot-open:czapka_p.png?50| General audience classification icon }}       | General **P**ublic audience: all those who want to get familiar with basic concepts but do not necessarily step into technical details.  |
|  {{:en:iot-open:czapka_b.png?50| Bachelors (1st level) classification icon }}  | **B**achelor and Engineering level students                                                                                              |
|  {{:en:iot-open:czapka_m.png?50| Masters (2nd level) classification icon }}    | **M**asters students                                                                                                                     |
|  {{:en:iot-open:czapka_e.png?50| Enterprise and VETS classification icon }}    | **E**nterprise, VETS and technical                                                                                                       |
</table>

<WRAP excludefrompdf>
The following subchapters contain more information:
  * [[en:iot-open:introduction:definition_of_iot_in_the_context_of_modern_technology]],
  * [[en:iot-open:introduction:overview_of_the_enabling_technologies_behind_the_iot]],
  * [[en:iot-open:introduction:mobility_as_a_new_paradigm_of_communicating_devices]],
  * [[en:iot-open:introduction:introduction_to_data-related_design_questions_of_iot]],
  * [[en:iot-open:introduction:application_domains_and_their_specifics]].
</WRAP>