FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Monday, April 11, 2005

Internet Zero

Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms and one of the creators of MIT's Fab Lab concept, co-authored an article in 2004 for Scientific American proposing an "Internet Zero" (or Internet 0 or I0), an IP-based protocol that could network everything, from keys to light bulbs, by giving each object a unique digital identity. I0 would be an open source protocol that would use "big bits" for optimum efficiency, and asynchronous transmissions that maximize the number of devices on a single channel. I0 would also be peer-to-peer, allowing two devices to communicate without the need of a third.

Recently, Gershenfeld appeared on C-SPAN's Digital Futures Series discussing I0. Will I0 be the next Internet buzz-phrase? How quickly will it catch on? Who will back it? And how soon will it generate a privacy backlash?

Source: Future Salon