The Future Is Connected: Exploring the World Wide Web of Everything

Fast Summary

• The Spatial Web, a new phase of Internet evolution, aims to connect devices, phones, wearables, robots, drones, and AI agents with the physical world using standardized protocols.
• IEEE standards Association ratified standards (IEEE 2874-2025) for the Spatial Web comprising Hyperspace Modelling Language (HSML), Hyperspace Transaction Protocol (HSTP), and Global Domain Graph (UDG).
• Pilot projects include:

– econet: Collaboration between Verses AI and University College London. AI agents managing thermostats and batteries cut energy costs and emissions by up to 20%.
– Autonomous Vehicles: Shared HSML context allows better emergency response coordination at intersections.
– Drones: Dynamic real-time restrictions enable responsible navigation based on live airspace data thru HSML queries.- Lunar Rovers: Simulated rescue operations using standards like HSML demonstrate interoperability in space missions managed by different teams.
– Agriculture/Supply Chains: Digital orchards optimize logistics via Spatial Web queries to reduce food waste.

• Challenges remain around scalability of registries/data storage for billions of entities while cybersecurity is embedded into frameworks via decentralized identifiers like HSTP.

spectrum IEEE