Internet of Things - Internet of the Future
Building tomorrow's Internet together

This conference -organised as part of the French Presidency of the European Union- will consist of keynote speeches, expert presentations and panel discussions on topics related to the development of the Internet of Things in the wider context of the international debate on the Internet of the Future and the trends and developments regarding the mobile Internet. It will also offer interactive parallel sessions.

This conference will build on and follow up the two EU Presidency conferences on "RFID and the Internet of Things", which took place last year in Berlin (June 2007) and in Lisbon (November 2007). In particular, it will offer an opportunity to discuss the analyses and policy recommendations of the European Commission regarding the Internet of Things.

The development of the Internet and the Information Technologies represent today a major challenge for our societies, as much in the economic area as in the social and cultural areas. It is by promoting their diffusion, particularly in SMEs, that these technologies could become an essential element of growth and competitiveness of European companies. European growth depends to a large extent on our capability to successfully develop the usage of these technologies – with respect to all citizens and enterprises. However, Europe is still behind in terms of creating value added Internet services. It is important for Europe to now engage in developing the technologies and the knowledge that will represent the basis of the Internet of the Future.

From to the Internet of Things towards the Internet of the Future

In the light of the development of first usages related to the mobile Internet, we can already anticipate the next step in the rapid development of communication technologies: the rise of an “Internet of things” that will create new links going beyond the “Internet of computers” we know today. Network services will accompany citizens and enterprises in each of their activities: geolocalisation and proximity services, information and traceability related to consumer goods, the management of ecological risks, the fight against fraud, etc.   Europe has some vital assets to become one of the key regions of the digital economy of tomorrow, especially thanks to one of the most important unified mobile communications markets and a cultural and tourist patrimony that is unique in the world. The revaluation of the European patrimony should be accompanied by the strengthening of technological innovation on the Internet. 

The conference “Internet of Things – Internet of the Future”, held under the auspices of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is organized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment in co-operation with the European Commission, and  reflects one further step in the evolution towards the Internet of the Future.

Objectives

The conference will concentrate on the following two areas: (1) aspects related to the development of the mobile Internet: (2) the industrial and technological perspectives necessary for the development of the Internet of Things.

The objective is to identify and discuss the technological state-of-the-art, future trends, as well as opportunities and challenges in order paint a comprehensive picture of how the Internet of Things will change how we interact with objects.

The conference aims at both stimulating the creation of an industrial initiative in the area of value added Internet services and promoting research and development at a European level in order to further develop the necessary technologies.

Last but not least, the European conference on the Internet of the Future during the French EU presidency represents an opportunity to strengthen the links between the European partners. This rapprochement underlines the symbolic importance of the creation of a European framework for the development of the Internet of the Future.