the.com/internet of things

means The growing network of everyday physical objects — thermostats, fridges, doorbells, light bulbs — embedded with sensors and internet connectivity so they can collect and exchange data.

from Coined in the late 1990s, usually credited to a British technologist working on RFID supply-chain tracking at MIT, who used the phrase to pitch the idea that networked sensors — not just computers — would someday outnumber people online. The term stayed a niche industry phrase for years before exploding in the 2010s as cheap wifi chips made it possible to put a network connection into almost any object, whether or not that object had ever asked for one.