The Cognitive Net is Coming by Antonio Liotta.
The Cognitive Net is an essay on the improving of the now overworked internet and its ability to effectively route traffic. The internet in it basic operation route information in packets, and treats all information as such. The writer mention the fact that the internet is constantly growing and that by the year 2020 we are going to have over 50 billion connected devices.
This is going to be a problem as the forms and types of data both present and emerging are very different and hence should be treated as such. The writer states that packet switching is outdated and that it needs to be smarter. As information is different so are its priorities, router need to be aware or this, as when there are congestions or catastrophes routers discard information randomly. The writer suggests that a smarter, or cognitive network work know when a node is down, where there is congestion, what information is more important that the other. As such the writer states the need to design a network that thinks and learns.
This network is the cognitive network, one that is modeled after the human brain one that learns, thinks and adjust itself accordingly. The problem now lies in how to build such a network. Sensors are already in place and technologies are already on the table that will facilitate such a network.
The writer tended not to go in-depth as to the specific technologies he recommended, perhaps in the light that he just wanted to place the matter up for discussion and started the ball rolling. This is a proactive move, as it doesn’t dictate, but instead suggests and gets the thought process rolling.
Interesting essay. One looks to hear about the new technology that will spawn from this.