On 24 October, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the formation of its new Internet of Things Advisory Board (IoTAB), which will serve to provide advice to federal agencies participating in the Internet of Things Federal Working Group on matters related to the Working Group’s activities. The advisory board was authorized by Congress in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law No. 116-283).
The IoTAB’s role will be to help federal policymakers identify any regulations, programs or policies that inhibit or that could help promote the development of IoT. The Board will help identify opportunities for IoT to deliver significant and scalable economic and societal benefits to the United States in areas such as smart traffic and transit technologies, augmented logistics and supply chains, environmental monitoring, and health care. The Board will also provide insights on IoT opportunities and challenges for small businesses and any IoT-related international opportunities for the United States.
Among the issues that the IoTAB has been asked to weigh in on is whether adequate spectrum is available to support the growing Internet of Things and what legal or regulatory barriers may exist to providing any spectrum needed in the future.
Sixteen members representing a broad range of disciplines from across academia, industry and civil society were appointed to an initial two-year term on the IoTAB:
- Benson M. Chan (Chair), Chief Operating Officer, Strategy of Things Inc.
- Daniel W. Caprio Jr. (Vice Chair), Co-founder and Chair, The Providence Group
- Michael J. Bergman, Vice President, Technology and Standards, Consumer Technology Association
- Ranveer Chandra, Managing Director of Research for Industry and Chief Technology Officer of Agri-Food, Microsoft
- Nicholas Emanuel, Product Manager, CropX
- Steven E. Griffith, Senior Industry Director, National Electrical Manufacturers Association
- Tom Katsioulas, Chair, Global Semiconductor Alliance
- Kevin T. Kornegay, Professor and IoT Security Endowed Chair, Morgan State University
- Debra Lam, Managing Director of Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Ann Mehra, Adviser to Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
- Robby Moss, President and Principal Consultant, TGL Enterprises LLC
- Nicole Raimundo, Chief Information Officer, Town of Cary, North Carolina
- Maria Rerecich, Senior Director of Product Testing, Consumer Reports
- Debbie A. Reynolds, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Data Privacy Officer, Debbie Reynolds Consulting
- Arman Shehabi, Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Peter Tseronis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dots and Bridges LLC
IoTAB will operate under the administrative support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and its twice-a-year meetings will be open to the public.
For more information on the IoTAB and to follow its activities, visit the NIST Internet of Things Advisory Board webpage at: https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nist-cybersecurity-iot-program/internet-things-advisory-board
