Japanese government to set up council for 'Internet of Things' development

TOKYO -- The Japanese government will set up a joint council of public- and private-sector parties by the end of this fiscal year to develop and utilize technologies for the Internet of Things, or IoT.
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will call on more than 100 companies and groups, including major automakers, telecommunications and electronics firms, to join the council.
Such services expected to be put into practical use include a drone to deliver food and daily necessities to the homes of elderly people, a robot tasked with agricultural work and an automatically operated shuttle bus to efficiently serve sparsely populated areas.