In recent years we have been witnessing a new revolution in communication, due to the rapid proliferation of sensors and mobile devices. The next generation of communication and networking will utilize a wide variety of resources with significant sensing capabilities, which extends beyond physically linked computers to multimodal information from biological, cognitive, semantic, and social networks. This paradigm shift will involve symbiotic networks of human (social network), mobile devices (e.g., smart phones, PDAs, and iPads), and environment, which is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoTs). These devices and the network will be constantly sensing, monitoring, and interpreting the environment. Therefore, IoTs will have significant implications for both the market for advanced computing and the communication infrastructure as well as all future markets.

Although many researchers have paid attention to IoTs, there are still challenges to be solved, such as architecture and big data analysis. This special issue solicits papers with novel contributions that address emerging research challenges in IoTs.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Software-defined networks for IoTs
• Architecture, models, and tools for IoTs
• Routing protocol, data dissemination, and offloading algorithms design for IoTs
• Security, privacy, and trust for IoTs
• Big data mining and analytics for IoTs
• Application of cloud computing and fog computing in IoTs
• Machine learning models and methods for IoTs
• IoTs applications and technologies for smart worlds and smart cities
• Green computing and sustainable computing for IoTs
• New applications on IoTs