From Internet of Things to the Virtual Continuum: An architectural view

This paper aims at introducing a set of requirements for large Internet of Things platforms. These platforms should enable the programming of many services comprising functions provided by a large number of sensors and intelligent resources. The paper aims at showing how virtualization and cognitive capabilities will play a fundamental role in order to enable the concept of the Virtual Continuum, i.e., the functional augmentation and entanglement of physical objects and virtualized ones. The Virtual Continuum makes possible the exploitation of new business models like servitization.