The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced Tuesday that the country is targeting significant achievements in core-technology research, industrial chain building, and application of the Internet of Things (IOT) by 2015.

The country aims to make breakthroughs in a raft of core IOT-related technologies including sensor, communication, processing, and application, according to a guideline publicized on the ministry's website on Tuesday.

The guideline said the nation will make at least 200 national and industrial standards for the IOT by 2015, while also speeding up the creation of designated enterprises, and establishment of labs and engineering centers.

Further, the application of IOT technologies will be expanded and deepened for both economic and social development, in nine fields specifically, including the secondary industry, agriculture, logistics, transport, electricity, environmental protection, and public health.

The IOT refers to digital networks of physical objects. In what's called Internet of Things, networks of real-world objects, which are embedded with sensors, are linked to the Internet and interact through web services.

The IOT is still a fledgling industry worldwide, and China's core technologies and products still lag behind those of developed countries.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2012)