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Internet of Things (IoT) is a term for when everyday ordinary objects are connected to the Internet via microchips. The technologies include sensors, RFID and smartphone standards like NFC. The use cases are still evolving, but over 2010 we saw large organizations like HP and IBM build out impressive platforms for the Internet of Things. We also saw companies as diverse as Nike and Pachube enjoying success with consumer applications based on these technologies.

Here are our picks for the top 10 Internet of Things developments of 2010. On Page 1 of this post we detail 5 large scale developments (3 specific trends and 2 IoT platforms). On Page 2, we select the 5 best consumer products for IoT. These include a product that connects your car to the Internet, an internet-connected shoe and a self-described "Cisco for small things."

One of the emerging trends of 2010 has been the Internet of Things, a term for when real-world objects get connected to the Internet. One of the key aspects of this trend is the data explosion that will occur when millions of objects send data to the cloud - mostly via very small sensors. Just as the 'web 2.0' era led to platforms for user-generated and 'social' content (think Facebook, Twitter, Google's OpenSocial), the Internet of Things era will lead to platforms for sensor data.

It's still very early in this era and the platforms we'll profile here are at this point more about experimentation than commercialization.

One of the key aspects of the emerging Internet of Things - where real-world objects are connected to the Internet - is the massive amount of new data on the Web that will result. As more and more "things" in the world are connected to the Internet, it follows that more data will be uploaded to and downloaded from the cloud. And this is in addition to the burgeoning amount of user-generated content - which has increased 15-fold over the past few years, according to a presentation that Google VP Marissa Mayer made last August at Xerox PARC. Mayer said during her presentation that this "data explosion is bigger than Moore's law."

During my visit to Hewlett Packard Labs earlier this month, I spoke to Parthasarathy Ranganathan - a Distinguished Technologist at HP Labs - about this large influx of data onto the Web.

Earlier this month I had the chance to visit Hewlett Packard Labs in Palo Alto. I spent my time there talking to a number of senior engineers and scientists about the exciting technology they're working on, much of it related to the Internet of Things (a trend I've paid particularly close attention to over the past 18 months).

I started the morning with a visit to the laboratory of Dr. Peter Hartwell, a senior researcher at HP Labs and one of the brains behind HP's ambitious CeNSE project ("Central Nervous System for the Earth"). As I walked into the lab, Hartwell was busy playing with a new accelerometer that measures very fine vibrations - which I would soon find out has potential applications in industries such as medicine and mass transport.

Today, Research in Motion (RIM) announced that they've licensed HP's CloudPrint technology for use with BlackBerry devices. If you're unfamiliar with CloudPrint, it's a web service that allows you to use your mobile device to print documents to any available printer, and all you need is an internet connection to do so. The service was developed by HP's IdeaLab, a part of the company's central R&D arm, which features emerging technology made available for public use.