WITH the click of a button, you could turn on your home air conditioner as your drive home from work or start up your kitchen cooker long before you arrive at the doorstep.

Remote control of home appliances is one of the latest Internet of Things applications in the spotlight at the Shanghai World Expo, along with wireless-connected digital whiteboards with touch-screen at home and self-drive automobile.

The Internet of Things applications have started to change the way people and businesses think about the future after a long period of debate over the technology of tomorrow, industry insiders said.

"The time for talk is over," Li Yizhong, the Minister of the Industry and Information Technology, told a recent forum. "New technologies, like Internet of Things and cloud computing, will be adopted in detailed applications that will revolutionize daily life and how we do business."

The technology, which integrates people and devices through various networks, chips and sensors, sits on the list of developments the ministry is pledged to support in the government's next five-year plan.

Besides the home remote-control panel, other hot Internet of Things applications drew curious Expo crowds eager to glimpse the world of tomorrow. There were clothes embedded with microchips that talk to washing machines, and promises of an end to long supermarket lines with chips that allow people to pay for goods by automatic debit from bank accounts.

By the end of this year, the world will be home to 1 billion surveillance cameras and 30 billion radio frequency identification chips - currently the most well-known applications of Internet of Things technology, according to Matt Wang, vice president of IBM.

IBM, under its "Intelligent Planet" plan, said it is setting up a more digitalized, smarter world through the new technology.

In the State Grid Pavilion of the Expo, the system on display promises real-time power consumption analysis that monitors the amount each electrical appliance uses and power tariffs at different times of the day. That will allow consumers to use the most electricity at times it is the cheapest.

The technology of the future is a marvel to observe, but industry watchers stress "future." It will be a long while, they said, before the technology is as common as a television set in the home.

The integration required involves a cross-industry effort. No one sector can do it alone.

"I don't have a timetable when this is going to happen," said Beth Comstock, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of General Electric. "But there is a lot interest in the smart grid, and consumers need it. As manufacturers and suppliers of such techniques, we will strive to make it happen."

More than 100,000 electronic devices are in use at the Expo site. Most involve in Internet of Things networks related to ticket management, logistics and security systems, according to Zhou Weidong, the IT department director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. "The World Expo is a great lab for the latest technologies," said Zhou, "They will continue long after Expo is over."

Power failures

Shanghai has issued a rough guideline for the development of the smart grid in the city. The government plans to develop three to five giants in the smart grid industry by 2012, and the industry scale will reach 50 billion yuan (US$7.35 billion), Chinese media has reported.

The State Grid has chosen one household in Pudong New Area to test the smart grid services under a trial program.

Smart electricity meters will be installed in each household by 2020, which will automatically send consumption figures to power producers. That data is now collected on foot by meter readers each month.

The smart grid system will also be able to detect power failures or gas leaks, alerting both household and maintenance staff automatically.

What's more, the smart grid will be a two-way channel, enabling consumers to sell electricity back to the grid. For instance, electric cars could be mobile energy storage units, as owners charge their autos at charging stations and sell the electricity back to the stations when the power price rises.

Households may also be equipped with wind power generators or solar panels, feeding power back into the grid and reducing the need to build as many new power stations.

"Wow, all these new technologies are so exciting," said Peter Huang, an Expo visitor from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, working for an advertising firm. "It's like gazing into a crystal ball and seeing the future. I can't wait for it all to happen."

Huang also visited the Cisco Pavilion, where Cisco Systems Inc displayed applications with future technologies for use in utilities, safety and security, real estate, transportation, health care, learning, sports venues and government services.

They include systems that will allow for green home-energy control, digital whiteboards in classrooms, virtual health care, real-time public transportation management and smart grids for utilities.

"A smart and connected community improves the quality of life for its citizens by streamlining public service functions like education, transportation and health care," said Rob Lloyd, executive vice president of Cisco Worldwide Operations.

Aspects of the technologies, such as a wireless transportation management systems, are being tested in Chinese cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing. They're also being used internationally, in the US state of Colorado and in New Songdo, a city being built from scratch in South Korea, according to the US-based firm.

Another spotlight of the Expo was on a concept car displayed in the SAIC-GM Pavilion.

General Motors displayed cars with global positioning systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and distance-sensing technologies, which helped cars automatically navigate through cities.

Running out of gas, traffic jams, motor vehicle accidents and parking problems will one day be headaches of the past, General Motors said.

The intelligent system could select the fastest route based on real-time traffic information as well as find the closest gas station and available parking spaces.

The ability to communicate with other vehicles and with buildings would allow cars to react quickly to different conditions, reducing accidents.

The automobile industry will feature more electronics to make vehicles lighter, smarter and more energy-efficient, according to Kevin Wale, GM China's president and CEO. The concept car on display is expected to be available to the public by 2030, he said.

Other hot Internet of Things applications include a wristwatch-like device capable of delivering the wearer a quick health check. That is under development at the Shenyang-based firm Neusoft.

China Mobile is "closely" watching the Internet of Things, combing the technology for new tools, said Wang Jianzhou, chairman and chief executive of China Mobile.