Theoretical aspects of the essence of the fourth industrial revolution and the internet of things

Nowadays the world is on the threshold of the fourth industrial revolution, which has no analogues by its scale and complexity. The new stage is characterized by global technological achievements that can have a significant impact on economic and social development. The Internet of things is a collection of breakthrough technologies that contribute to competitiveness and economic development. Today there are many approaches to the definition of the essence of the fourth industrial revolution and the content of the concept “Internet of things”. The current situation actualizes the need to consider them in order to avoid conceptual differences. Therefore, the aim of the research is to study theoretical aspects of the essence of these concepts. Questions about the industrial revolution are raised in works of foreign (J. Galbraith, E. Toffler, K. Schwab, etc.), and domestic researchers (V.L. Inozemtsev, Yu.V. Yakovets, S.Yu. Glaz’ev, etc.). The author formulates her position on the basis of scientific literature analysis. The article presents world trends of the countries’ transition to thefourth industrial revolution and the use of the Internet of things technology, and make a conclusion about their value for economic development. Practical significance of the work is associated with the possibility of using the study results by researchers, graduate students, students engaged in the study of problems of scientific and technological development and the fourth industrial revolution. At the next stages of the study, it is planned to analyze legal documents in the field of scientific and technological development in Russia in order to determine institutional foundations of Russia’s transition to a new technological order.