By Dave Schlenker
Following the University of Florida’s successful Internet of Things (IoT) 2025 conference last week, one thing was clear: The already small and powerful world of microelectronics needs to be smaller, more powerful and preferably smarter.
The Warren B. Nelms Third Annual IoT Conference gathered hundreds of scientists, faculty, students and industry leaders to UF’s Malachowsky Hall for Data Science and Information Technology to discuss advancements, applications and continued demand for IoT devices, from home smart gadgets to wearable technology to industrial machines — physical devices embedded with sensors and software to connect and exchange data.
The conference theme was Intelligent Edge Computing: Emerging Frontiers in Technology and Applications. The two-day event also included interactive demos and poster presentations on student research.
“The conference was organized to bring together diverse Internet of Things stakeholders to exchange ideas on using IoT technology to solve global problems. We also wanted to engage our students and showcase their exciting research work to the broader community. The conference has been highly successful in meeting these goals,” said Nelms Director and conference organizer Swarup Bhunia, Ph.D., also UF’s Semmoto Endowed Chair Professor of IoT.
More than 300 attended the conference, which hosted 25 speakers and guests from 18 universities and 31 agencies/companies. The student poster presentations showcased 98 research projects covering diverse topics on IoT, from “Atoms to Apps.”
“I believe this event significantly elevates the reputation of the University of Florida, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and the Nelms Institute for the Connected World on a wider stage,” said Nelms Associate Director My T. Thai, Ph.D., the conference’s co-general chair and the Nelms Endowed Professor of CISE.
“By consistently attracting the caliber of distinguished speakers, companies and agencies we saw this year, we are firmly establishing us as a national nexus for IoT thought leadership and research impact,” she added.
Speakers were experts from around the country who discussed IoT, its relationship with artificial intelligence (AI), safety and security, privacy, IoT vulnerabilities and emergent research.
“IoT is about computing on the edge,” said Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Interim Dean Warren Dixon in his opening remarks.
Billions of IoT devices today – including wearables such as smart watches — will turn into trillions of devices by 2030, said speaker Uma Jha, with Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company.
“We will need all sorts of devices to make connections. There is a growing need for real-time data. Even at home, your washer and dryer are talking to each other,” Jha said.
Much of the conversations involved edge computing, which processes data near its source instead of sending it all to a cloud. Edge computing requires less bandwidth and enables real-time decisions, often with the help of AI, for things like self-driving cars, industrial control systems, or construction management.
“Construction sites are chaotic, and edge computing brings order in them” said Hamzah Shanbari, director of Innovation at Haskell, in his talk.
The annual IoT conference is a hallmark annual event for UF’s Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World that advances IoT research, education and outreach. The institute explores IoT’s convergence with AI and possibilities — and challenges — therein. Nelms’ mission centers on developing ground-breaking IoT technologies to address global challenges.