The numbers associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) are both huge (anything from 50 billion to 100 billion objects to be connected by 2020, generating, by some forecasts, $800bn in direct revenues) and tiny (sensors the size of dust particles). The extremes them-selves make the subject compelling, as does the name, with its sense of a whole new future unfolding like a sci-fi movie in our own life-times. In many respects, the technologies are available to make this hap-pen. But without a firm commercial footing, the IoT will remain in the realm of research labs and PR companies. We know from many generations of connected technology – public Wi-Fi, 3G, even the In-ternet itself – that consumer uptake usually…