Google imagines a a world in which access to networked technology defies the constraints of desktops, laptops or smartphones, and is soliciting proposals for pioneering research related to the Internet of Things. Google plans to bring together a community of academics, Google experts and potentially other parties to pursue an open and shared mission in this area.

While the Internet of Things (IoT) conjures a vision of "anytime, any place" connectivity for all things, the realization is complex given the need to work across interconnected and heterogeneous systems, and the special considerations needed for security, privacy, and safety.

Google announced an open call for research proposals for the Open Web of Things:

Researchers interested in the Expedition Lead Grant should build a team of PIs and put forward a proposal outlining a draft research roadmap both for their team(s), as well as how they propose to integrate related research that is implemented outside their labs (e.g., Individual Project Grants).

For the Individual Project Grants we are seeking research proposals relating to the IoT in the following areas (1) user interface and application development, (2) privacy & security, and (3) systems & protocols research.

Google is also open to new and "unorthodox" solutions in all three of these areas, for example, novel interactions, usable security models, and new approaches for open standards and evolution of protocols.

To facilitate hands-on research supporting the research, Google plans to provide participating faculty access to hardware, software and systems from Google. The company will be accepting submissions by January 21, 2015 and expects to select proposals early Spring.