New Textbook Explores the Internet of Things
Authors Present Hands-On Exercises in the Context of Building Systems that Promote Sustainability
Place-based In today’s world, systems are being built to reduce air pollution, improve agriculture, decrease food waste, help prevent the spread of viruses, improve transportation systems, protect wildlife, boost the efficiency of buildings, lower energy consumption, and improve health care. Many of these systems are built on what is termed the Internet of Things (IoT). In a new textbook, researchers provide a hands-on introduction to modern IoT systems in the context of building systems that promote sustainability.
The book, Concise Guide to the Internet of Things, was written by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Drew University, and California State University East Bay and published by Springer.
“We wrote our textbook for undergraduate students because those students will see a future in which IoT serves the common good,” explains Michael McCarthy, associate teaching professor of information systems at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College, who coauthored the book. “They will develop new technologies, new ideas, and new modes of living while spreading the word about the impact of IoT.”
Chapter 1 introduces a system model that describes many IoT systems. Many of the examples in the book can be understood by referring to this model.
In Chapters 2 to 12, the authors build small systems that illustrate how components can be organized and exactly how they can be built, with solutions created in a step-by-step manner. Among the chapters’ topics are:
- IoT security, data privacy, and cryptography
- Web APIs (application programming interfaces) in the context of building a smart city application
- The design of smart connected products in the context of using solar energy to heat a meal
- The publish subscribe style of communication using MQTT—sensing data in a bike race and actuating an IoT device to save migrating birds
- The use of QR codes to help protect against viral transmission
- The design of telemedicine systems to transmit vital signs over the web and Bluetooth Low Energy
- The use of IoT systems to help save water
- Machine learning and IoT (e.g., facial recognition)
- Cryptocurrency and IoT (e.g., how “smart cities” can incorporate smart devices that own resources and recognize when cryptocurrency payments have been made to a blockchain
“The evolution and impact of the Internet of Things on our daily lives is continuing and dramatic,” notes Ian Pollock, program director for interaction design/art at California State University East Bay, who coauthored the book. “It is an exciting time to be thinking and learning about IoT because a deeper understanding of how the ‘things’ in our world are connected to the Internet is invaluable.”
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Summarized from a book, Concise Guide to the Internet of Things: A Hands-On Introduction to Technologies, Procedures, and Architectures, by McCarthy, M (Carnegie Mellon University), Burd, B (Drew University), and Pollock, I (California State University East Bay). Springer. Copyright 2025. The Editors and the Authors. All rights reserved.
About Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy is home to two internationally recognized graduate-level institutions at Carnegie Mellon University: the School of Information Systems and Management and the School of Public Policy and Management. This unique colocation combined with its expertise in analytics set Heinz College apart in the areas of cybersecurity, health care, the future of work, smart cities, and arts & entertainment. In 2016, INFORMS named Heinz College the #1 academic program for Analytics Education. For more information, please visit www.heinz.cmu.edu.