Whether it’s optimizing manufacturing processes, managing traffic, or hospital information systems – information technology is essential in every industry today.

　　The volume of digital information is expected to increase tenfold every five years. This explosive growth in machine-generated data is being driven by the steadily diminishing cost and steadily increasing power of computing and sensor technology, and by advances in miniaturization, wireless communication, data storage, decentralized intelligence, and algorithms.

　　Many everyday objects and machines contain microcomputers that control their operations and enable useful applications. These embedded systems are increasingly being joined together into an “Internet of Things”. In the future, machines that are linked together in networks could revolutionize the future of manufacturing, energy distribution, and smart transportation. China is a leading pioneer in Internet of Things technology. In 2012 the Chinese government decided to set up a fund of approximately $775 million to support this field in the next five years.