An Internet vision: the invisible global infrastructure

This paper takes us on a short journey from traditional desktop computing to the three emerging dimensions of: Nomadicity (the system support needed to provide a rich set of computing and communication capabilities and services to nomads as they move from place to place in a way that is transparent, integrated, convenient and adaptive); embeddedness (small intelligent devices embedded in the physical world and connected to the Internet); and ubiquity (Internet service availability wherever the nomad travels on a global basis). These three dimensions give us a powerful system that supports global access for mobile users interacting with smart spaces. When we add intelligence distributed across this global infrastructure, we form a new “space”, which is the basis of a vision I articulated for the Internet in 1969 and which has yet to be achieved. In that vision, I foresee that the Internet will essentially be an invisible global infrastructure serving as a global nervous system for the peoples and processes of this planet.