Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/594816
16 SMT Magazine • November 2015 Different people have different understand- ings and expectations about what the Internet of Things (IoT) actually is, especially with re- spect to how it could work and what it could bring to the SMT assembly industry. There are a lot of expectations to fulfil as principles behind innovations such as Industry 4.0 take hold. A key concern, however, is whether any of these expectations are reasonable or whether there is a dependence on something that is fundamen- tally flawed, which unfortunately would seem to be the case of SMT and related production. Let's discover the core issue within SMT that needs fixing for the SMT Internet of Things to become viable. The Internet actually consists of two very different things. Firstly, there is the massive store of information, which includes literally anything from historical records to live videos ready for streaming. The use of the information is equally as wide, from students performing re- search to people watching cats do the funniest things. The information is not really controlled, or even censored; fact and fiction are liberally mixed. The format in which information is presented is also not managed, with dozens of different types and versions of documents and viewing formats. This was inevitable because of the literally billions of simultaneous sources of data. Luckily, some focal points, such as services FeaTure coLuMN by michael Ford MeNTor grApHicS VAlor DiViSioN eSSeNTIAL PIoNeer'S SUrvIvAL GUIDe The SmT Internet of Things— back To basics