“Internet of things”, Internet of things (IoT) - this fashionable phrase today is one of the most cited terms in IT publications. Analysts talk about the rapidly growing IoT market, the influence of social, cloud and, of course, mobile technologies on it, but it is not entirely clear what this IoT market includes. The interpretation of the term itself is also not entirely clear. From vendor to vendor, from author to author, definitions vary quite significantly. Moreover, depending on the interpretation, the phenomenon itself appears to be either a future prospect or a fait accompli. The author of this article made an attempt to make a comparative analysis of publications on this topic, to understand what refers to the concept of “IoT market” and why increased attention has recently been paid to it.
IoT concept and technology
Before talking about the market, it is necessary to find out what IoT is and understand whether there is a definition of this term. However, the problem is not the lack of definitions, but, on the contrary, their excess. Having looked through several dozen articles and reports on the topic of Internet of things, the author became convinced that there were serious discrepancies in the interpretation of this term. Indeed, we present definitions from the most respected sources. Analyst company Gartner interprets the concept of “Internet of Things” as a network of physical objects containing built-in technology that allows these objects to measure parameters of their own state or the state of the environment, use and transmit this information. Note that in this definition, which by the way is the most frequently cited, the word “Internet” is completely absent. That is, when talking about the Internet of Things network, it is not stated that it is part of the Internet. Moreover, as IoT expert Matt Turck, managing director at FirstMark Capital, puts it, “ironically, despite the name Internet of Things, the things themselves are often connected using M2M protocols rather than the Internet itself.” " However, the presence or absence of an Internet connection is not the only discrepancy in definitions. According to the interpretation of specialists from Cisco Business Solutions Group (CBSG), IoT is the state of the Internet starting from the point in time when the number of “things or objects” connected to the World Wide Web exceeds the population of the planet. CBSG backs up its findings with calculations. According to the company, the explosive growth of smartphones and tablet computers brought the number of devices connected to the Internet to 12.5 billion in 2010, while the number of people living on Earth increased to 6.8 billion; Thus, the number of connected devices was 1.84 units per person. Based on this simple arithmetic, Cisco Business Solutions Group has actually determined the very point of entry of the Internet of Things era (Fig. 1). Somewhere between 2003 and 2010, the number of connected devices exceeded the world's population, which marked the transition to the Internet of Things. At the same time, the authors of the study believe that the number of connected devices per Internet user in 2010 was 6.25.
Rice. 1. Increase in the number of connected devices per person
(source: Cisco Business Solutions Group)
If Cisco refers to the explosive growth of smartphones connected to the Internet in connection with the term IoT, then IDC, for example, clearly says that devices in the IoT concept must be autonomously connected to the Internet and transmit signals without human intervention. Therefore, a user-controlled smartphone cannot be classified as an IoT device.
According to IDC, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a wired or wireless network connecting devices that are self-powered, controlled by intelligent systems equipped with a high-level operating system, autonomously connected to the Internet, can run native or cloud-based applications, and analyze the data collected. In addition, they have the ability to capture, analyze and transmit (receive data) from other systems.
Obviously, if analysts operate with the concept of “IoT market volume,” then it is impossible to rely on such a vague definition as “a certain new state of the Internet.” At the same time, not only specialists from CBSG speak about IoT, as a kind of transition of the Internet to a new quality. Let's pay attention to Fig. 2 taken from Internet of Things (IoT) & Machine-To-Machine Communication Market By Technologies & Platforms report (marketsandmarkets.com). He also characterizes IoT as a stage in the development of the Internet, “when not only people, but also things begin to interact with each other, initiate transactions, influence each other.”
Rice. 2. Stages of development Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0
(source: Internet of Things (IoT) & Machine-To-Machine (M2M) Communication Market
By Technologies & Platforms (marketsandmarkets.com))
In this regard, another diagram is indicative: an illustration from an article by Korean author Sunsig Kim, published in 2012 on the website i-bada.blogspot.ru/. Here, the IoT state is presented as a transition point - this is the next step compared to M2M technology (Fig. 3). On the contrary, in the publications of a number of authors, including IDC, one can read that M2M is a technology that, being the predecessor of IoT technology, is currently an integral part of it.
Rice. 3. Transition from M2M technologies to IoT technologies (source: Sunsig Kim 8th August 2012 i-bada.blogspot.ru/)
If the definitions we've described speak to the phenomenon at hand, then, for example, in the formulation of Kaivan Karimi, executive director of global strategy and business development at Freescale Semiconductor, IoT is more of a prospect: billions of smart, connected “things” that form a kind of a universal global neural network that will include all aspects of our lives. IoT consists of smart machines interacting and communicating with other machines, objects, the environment and infrastructure. Such a system would generate huge amounts of data, the processing of which could be used to manage and control things to make our lives more convenient and safer, and reduce our impact on the environment.
Why are there so many definitions and they are all different?
Firstly, technologies are developing so quickly that new meanings of the term constantly appear, which do not always fit in with previous interpretations. This is eloquently illustrated in Fig. 4, where the evolution of IoT is identified with several stages and, in fact, with different technologies.
Rice. 4. Evolution of Internet of Things technology
Secondly, very often a new technology is defined as a set of factors that distinguishes it from the previous one, and then this previous technology is included in the new concept. Driven by marketing aspirations, vendors want to call old technologies by new names. Analysts, too, following fashion and trying to demonstrate the significance of the market being described, use one so-called umbrella term, combining several concepts in it.
A similar situation is observed in relation to other new terms. Take, for example, the term SaaS, which arose to refer to the next stage in the development of ASP technology. Today, a number of publications began to include ASP projects in the SaaS market, which, strictly speaking, is incorrect.
Roughly the same thing happens with the term IoT: on the one hand, this is the next stage in the development of M2M technologies, on the other hand, many sources say that the market for M2M solutions is a subset of IoT, and some sources use the abbreviation IoT/M2M.
Another reason for the ambiguity of the term is that different classes of problems are solved on the basis of IoT. In particular, Kayvan Karimi talks about the presence of at least two classes of tasks that are united by the term IoT. The first task is remote monitoring and management of a set of interconnected network devices, each of which can interact with infrastructure objects and the physical environment. For example, a temperature and humidity sensor controls a network of devices that control the climate system of a smart building (windows, blinds, air conditioners, etc.). A more exotic example is that a sensor on the hand of the owner of a smart home sends a signal about the psychophysical state of the owner to all smart devices on the network; each of them reacts in a certain way, as a result of which the lighting, background music, and air conditioning change. Here the main function is not analytical, but control. The second challenge is to use data collected from end nodes (smart devices with connectivity and sensing) for intelligent analysis to identify trends and relationships that can generate actionable information to provide additional business value. For example, tracking the behavior of visitors in a store using tags on goods: how long and near what goods visitors stop, what goods they pick up, etc. Based on this information, you can change the arrangement of goods in the hall and increase sales. Another example comes from the auto insurance industry. Placing devices equipped with an accelerometer in cars will allow the insurance company to collect data on the degree of careful driving of the client. Not only collisions can be recorded, but also, for example, a sharp collision with an object or curb. The more carefully the client drives, the cheaper the insurance, and the reckless driver pays more. In the latest examples, there is no management task - here data is collected and processed using modern analytics methods. Statistical information about all clients will allow the company to correctly predict its risks.
In “What the Internet of Things (IoT) Needs to Become a Reality,” Kayvan Karimi tries to present a general outline of an IoT solution (Figure 5). According to this scheme, this is a stack that includes six layers: sensing devices and/or smart devices, connection nodes, a layer of built-in processing nodes, a layer of remote cloud data processing; the sixth layer can perform two functions. The first, designated as “application/action”, means that the solution is used to remotely control a device or automatically control a process based on sensing devices. The second option, analytics/big data, means that the mission aims to use data collected from sensing devices to analyze and identify trends and relationships that can generate useful business information.
Rice. 5. Typical architecture of an IoT solution (source: Freescale Semiconductor)
Microsoft provides a similar typical architecture for an IoT solution (Fig. 6).
Rice. 6. Typical architecture of IoT applications (source: Microsoft)
In his works, Kayvan Karimi presents not only an image of a typical architecture, but also a graphical interpretation of the entire IoT ecosystem (Fig. 7).
Rice. 7. Internet of Things ecosystem
Rice. 8. IoT as a “Network of Networks” (source: CBSG)
IoT market and its participants
What is the IoT market? How to calculate it? Who should be included among its participants? If we count all the projects that fall under the scheme presented in Fig. 5, then the market will be very small. If we calculate the turnover of companies engaged in the creation of elements that could potentially be implemented in this scheme, we will get a completely different figure. Based on the publications, it is clear that analysts choose the second approach: they present the market as the totality of the business of all players who create connected smart devices and sensors, prepare platforms for building IoT solutions, develop technologies for connecting the Internet of Things to the network and provide auxiliary services. That is, analysts consider not so much the market for IoT solutions (in the narrow sense), but rather the business of all participants in the ecosystem of service and technology providers around the construction of IoT solutions.
It seems that this is the path taken by companies that use the term “IoT market.” In particular, IDC identifies as many as five segments of the IoT market and the corresponding players.
The first (“Devices/Intelligent Systems”) includes manufacturers of smart devices and sensors that have the ability to connect to wired/wireless networks, capable of capturing and transmitting data, running their own or cloud applications, and interacting with an intelligent system automatically.
The second segment is called “Tools for connecting and supporting IoT services.” This is a potential business for telecom providers who can provide communication services based on different technologies, including wired, cellular (2G, 3G, 4G), Wi-Fi and additional services, such as billing management.
In the third segment, called “Platforms,” IDC identifies platforms for enabling devices, networks, and applications.
Device enablement platforms represent the software responsible for ensuring the flow of data to and from end devices, including activation, management and diagnostic functions.
Networking platforms provide clients with software to connect IoT/M2M devices to collect and analyze information. The platform makes it possible to manage subscriptions, control and manage tariff plans. This layer provides customers with a service level agreement and aims to improve the quality and security of solutions.
Application delivery platforms are horizontally oriented solutions for integrating enterprise applications and specific IoT applications.
The fourth segment, “Analytics,” presents solutions that allow you to increase business efficiency by making more effective decisions based on data collected using IoT technology, including the use of Big Data technology. This sector also includes emerging analytical solutions that will allow for the integration of data obtained from IoT and social media monitoring.
And finally, the fifth segment is applications to support vertical solutions that implement functions specific to various industries.
The author of the “Internet of Things Ecosystem” map, Matt Turck, managing director of FirstMark Capital, presents not only market segmentation, but also provides specific names of the most significant players in each segment (Fig. 9). This work takes the conversation about IoT market participants to a more practical level.
Rice. 9. “The Internet of Things Ecosystem” (source: Matt Turck, Sutian Dong & First Mark Capital)
Mat Truck also answers the question of why the IoT market has attracted attention in recent years. He notes that the growth of interest in the market and its development itself is due to the confluence of several key factors. Firstly, it has become easier and cheaper to produce smart devices; distributors and companies are appearing that are interested in financing such projects. Secondly, over the past few years, wireless communication technologies have advanced dramatically in their development. Today, every user has a mobile phone or tablet that can be used as a universal remote control for Internet of Things. Ubiquitous connectivity becomes a reality (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G). Third, the Internet of Things is able to leverage all the infrastructure that has emerged in related fields. Cloud computing allows for simplified, low-cost endpoints because the intelligence can be moved from the endpoint to the cloud. Big Data tools, including open source programs such as Hadoop, make it possible to analyze the huge amounts of data captured by IoT devices.
In the ecosystem (see Fig. 9), the author identifies almost the same market elements as IDC, but they are divided into segments differently. Mat Truck identifies three major parts: horizontal platforms, vertical applications, and building blocks. The author of the ecosystem emphasizes that, despite the active business in the field of creating vertical solutions, ambitious market players are aimed at becoming a horizontal platform on the basis of which all vertical solutions from the field of Internet of Things will be built. Thus, several players from the home automation sector (SmartThings, Ninja Blocks, etc.) are developers of horizontal software platforms. Large corporations, such as GE and IBM, are actively developing their platforms. Telecom companies such as AT&T and Verizon are also well positioned to participate in this race. The question remains open how easily a horizontal platform built for one class of vertical solutions can be adapted for vertical solutions of another class. It is also not yet obvious which platforms - closed or open - have the prospect of taking leading positions in this area.
Vertical solutions in Fig. 9 there are quite a lot marked, they are grouped into smaller blocks. It is not possible to comment on all of them within the framework of a review article, so we will focus only on a few.
For example, the “wearable computing” section highlights the newfangled Google Glass device, which was first announced in February 2012. The Android-based device (Fig. 10) is equipped with a transparent display located above the right eye and is capable of recording high-quality video, performing augmented reality functions, mobile communications, Internet access and keeping a video diary.
Rice. 10. Google Glass
Recently, wearable fitness devices have become popular, such as Fitbit, Nike + Fuelband, Jawbone, with which users can monitor the level of their physical activity and count calories burned (in Fig. 9 they are placed in a separate category).
A typical representative of this group is the UP Jawbone device (Fig. 11), which is a sports bracelet that can work with the iPhone and Android platform. The device allows you to track sleep, diet, steps taken and calories burned. The bracelet has a vibration motor that can either serve as an alarm or remind the user that the user has been sitting for too long. The bracelet is capable of tracking sleep phases and waking up the owner precisely in the light sleep phase, when it is much easier to wake up.
Rice. 11. UP Jawbone allows you to lead
exercise monitoring
The device includes a social app that helps add an extra layer of motivation to exercise. Users can view their friends' data, share sports results, and compete.
Such wearable devices can be used for medical purposes, for example, to remotely monitor a patient’s condition (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) in order to notify loved ones or medical personnel if indicators increase. IoT technologies are generally widely used in medicine - from the simplest reminder systems for taking medications to probes introduced into the body to monitor the functioning of organs to make a complex diagnosis.
IoT is most actively used in smart home technologies: remote control of home devices via the Internet, remote monitoring and control of heating systems, lighting, media devices, electronic security systems, intrusion alerts, fire protection systems, etc.
Of the players highlighted in the home automation section in Fig. 9, it is interesting to note the company Nest Labs, which designs and manufactures programmable thermostats and smoke detectors with Wi-Fi support and self-learning functions. The startup, founded in 2010 by two Apple alumni, within a couple of years has grown into a company with more than 130 employees.
The company introduced its first product, a thermostat (Fig. 12), in 2011. In October 2013, Nest Labs announced the release of a smoke and carbon monoxide monitoring device. The Nest thermostat allows interaction with the device not only through the touchscreen interface, but also remotely, since the thermostat is connected to the Internet. The company may distribute updates to fix bugs, improve performance, and add additional features. To update, the thermostat must be connected to Wi-Fi and a battery that supports 3.7V to allow updates to download and install.
Rice. 12. Nest Labs Thermostat
IoT technology is widely used in the energy sector (smart meters, systems for detecting losses or thefts in the electrical network). The oil and gas sector, for example, uses remote monitoring of pipelines.
Many solutions are being developed for safer vehicle operation. Connected cars technology allows you to use emergency ambulance call systems from a built-in SIM card. In auto insurance, insurance calculations based on remote monitoring of users’ driving are beginning to be practiced. Vehicle route tracking systems, cargo transportation monitoring, and shipment and warehousing control are widely used in transport. An automated air traffic control system is in use. Municipal governments can use IoT solutions to run, operate and monitor public transport systems to optimize fuel consumption, control and manage train movements. In retail, automation of logistics tasks, remote monitoring and accounting of goods equipped with RFID tags, real-time inventory, and wireless payment solutions are developing. In public safety systems - monitoring and control of the condition of industrial facilities, bridges, tunnels, etc. In industrial production - production process control, remote diagnostics, control of robotic complexes. In agriculture - remote control of irrigation systems, monitoring the condition and behavior of animals, monitoring water levels in reservoirs, etc.
So, what is the “Internet of Things” - reality or prospect? Taking into account the analysis carried out, it can be argued that this is a prospect that is gradually becoming a reality.
IoT - Internet of Things
Internet of Things (IoT) - modern telecommunication technologies
(Internet of Things - modern telecommunication technologies)
29/08/16
What is the Internet of Things? What is the Internet of Things, IoT? Internet of Things (IoT) is a new Internet paradigm. What is meant by the term "Things" in Internet of Things. The term “thing” in the Internet of Things (IoT) means intelligent, i.e. "smart" items or objects (Smart Objects or SmartThings, or Smart Devices).
How is the Internet of Things (IoT) different from the traditional Internet? Internet of Things (IoT) is a traditional or existing Internet network, extended by computer networks of physical devices or things connected to it, which can independently organize various communication patterns or connection models (Thing - Thing, Thing - User and Thing - Web Object).
It should be noted that Smart Objects are sensors or actuators equipped with a microcontroller with a real-time OS with a protocol stack, memory and communication device, built into various objects, for example, electricity meters or gas meters, pressure sensors, vibration or temperatures, switches, etc. "Smart" objects or Smart Objects can be organized into a computer network of physical objects that can be connected through gateways (hubs or specialized IoT platforms) to the traditional Internet.
Currently, there are many definitions of the concept Internet of Things (IoT). But, unfortunately, they are contradictory; there is no clear and unambiguous definition of the concept of Internet of Things (IoT).
To understand the essence of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is first advisable to consider the Internet infrastructure and the WWW (World Wide Web) or Web service.
The Internet is a network of networks, i.e. a network that connects various networks and individual nodes of remote users using routers and the network (internet) protocol IP. In other words, the term Internet refers to a global network infrastructure consisting of many computer networks and individual nodes connected by communication channels.
The global Internet is the physical basis of the Web service. The Web is the World Wide Web or a distributed system of information resources that provides access to hypertext documents (web documents) posted on Internet websites. Access and transmission of web documents in HTML format over the Internet is carried out using the HTTP/HTTPS application protocol of the Web service based on the TCP/IP protocol stack of the Internet.
Taking into account the above, we can conclude that IoT is characterized by large-scale changes in the infrastructure of the global Internet and new models of communication or connection: “thing - thing”, “thing - user (User)” and “thing - web object (Web Object)”.
At the technological level, Internet of Things is a concept for the development of network infrastructure (the physical basis) of the Internet, in which “smart” things, without human intervention, are able to connect to the network for remote interaction with other devices (Thing - Thing) or interaction with autonomous or cloud data centers or DATA centers (Thing - Web Objects) for transferring data for storage, processing, analytics and making management decisions aimed at changing the environment, or for interacting with user terminals (Thing - User) for monitoring and managing these devices.
The Internet of Things (IoT) will lead to changes in the economic and social development models of society. There are various classifications of the Internet of Things (IoT) (for example, Industrial Internet of Things - IIoT, Internet of services - IoS, etc.) and areas of its use (in energy, transport, medicine, agriculture, housing and communal services, Smart City, Smart Home etc.).
Cisco introduced a new concept - Internet of Everything, IoE ("Internet of Everything" or "All-encompassing Internet"), and Internet of Things is the initial stage of development of the "All-encompassing Internet"
The development of the Internet of Things or Internet of Things (IoT) depends on:
- low-power wireless network technologies (LPWAN, WLAN, WPAN);
- the pace of implementation of cellular networks for the Internet of Things (IoT): EC-GSM, LTE-M, NB-IoT and universal 5G networks;
- the pace of transition of the Internet to the IPv6 protocol version;
- Smart Objects technologies (sensors and actuators equipped with a microcontroller, memory and communication device);
- specialized operating systems with a protocol stack for microcontrollers, sensors and actuators;
- widespread use of the 6LoWPAN/IPv6 protocol stack in the operating systems of microcontrollers for sensors and actuators;
- effective use of Cloud computing for Internet of Things (IoT) platforms;
- development of M2M (machine-to-machine) technologies;
- application of modern Software-Defined Networks technologies that reduce the load on communication channels.
Architecture of the Internet of Things (IoT) global network
As a fragment of the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture, consider a network (Fig. 1) consisting of several computer networks of physical objects connected to the Internet using one of the devices: Gateway, Border router, Router.
As follows from the IoT architecture, the Internet of Things network consists of: computer networks of physical objects, the traditional IP Internet network and various devices (Gateway, Border router, etc.) connecting these networks.
Computing networks of physical objects consist of smart sensors and actuators (actuators) integrated into a computing network (personal, local and global) and controlled by a central controller (gateway or IoT Habs, or IoT platform).
The Internet of Things (IoT) uses technologies for wireless computing networks of physical objects with low power consumption, which include short-, medium- and long-range networks (WPAN, WLAN, LPWAN).
Wireless technologies of LPWAN networks (Low-power Wide-area Network) Internet of things IoT
The common technologies of long-range LPWAN networks, which are presented in Fig. 1 include: LoRaWAN, SIGFOX, "Swift" and Cellular Internet of Things or abbreviated CIoT (EC-GSM, LTE-M, NB-IoT). LPWAN networks also include other technologies, for example, ISA-100.11.a, Wireless, DASH7, Symphony Link, RPMA, and so on, which are not indicated in Figure 1. An extensive list of technologies is presented on the link-labs website.
One of the widespread technologies is LoRa, which is designed for long-range networks, with the aim of transmitting telemetry data from various metering devices (water, gas sensors, etc.) over long distances.
LoRa is a modulation method that defines the physical layer protocol of the OSI model. LoRa modulation technology can be used in networks with different topologies and different link layer protocols. Effective LPWAN networks are LoRaWAN networks that use the LoRaWAN link layer protocol (MAC link layer protocol), and LoRa modulation as a physical layer protocol.
The LoRaWAN network (Fig. 2.) consists of End Nodes (transceivers or LoRa modules) connected via wireless networks to hubs/gateways or base stations, Network Server (operator network server) and Application Server (service provider application server). The network architecture of LoRaWAN is "client-server". LoRaWAN operates at layer 2 of the OSI model.
Bidirectional communication is used between the end nodes and server network components. Interaction between the end nodes of the LoRaWAN local network and the server occurs based on link layer protocols. The address uses unique device identifiers (end nodes) and unique application identifiers on the application server.
The physical layer of the LoRaMAC protocol stack of the end-node-gateway network segment, which operates at the second layer of the OSI model, is LoRa wireless modulation, and the MAC protocol of the link layer is LoRaWAN. LoRa gateways are connected to the provider’s or operator’s network server using standard Wi-Fi/Ethernet/3G technologies, which belong to the IP network interface level (physical and link levels of the TCP/IP stack).
The LoRa Gateway provides internetworking between networks based on heterogeneous LoRa/LoRaWAN technologies and Wi-Fi, Ethernet or 3G. In Fig. Figure 1 shows a LoRa network with one gateway, implemented in a star topology, but a LoRa network can also have multiple gateways (cellular network structure). In a LoRa network with multiple gateways, “end nodes - gateway” are built using a “star” topology, and “gateways - server” are also connected using a “star” topology.
The data received from the end nodes is stored, displayed and processed on the application server (on a stand-alone Web site or in the cloud).
Big Data methods can be used to analyze IoT data. Users, using client applications installed on a smartphone or PC, have the ability to access information on the application server.
Competitors in the LPWAN network market include CIoT technologies (EC-GSM, LTE-M, NB-IoT), as well as G5. They are designed for building wireless LPWAN cellular networks based on the existing infrastructure of cellular operators. The use of traditional cellular networks in IoT is unprofitable, so currently the niche of LPWAN networks is occupied by LoRaWAN, SIGFOX, etc. But if cellular operators promptly implement EC-GSM (Extended Coverage GCM), LTE-M (LTE for M2M communications) technologies based on the evolution of GSM and the development of LTE, they will displace LoRaWAN, SIGFOX and other technologies from the LPWAN market.
The most promising areas for building wireless LPWAN networks include the narrowband Internet of Things NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT) based on LTE, which can be deployed on top of existing LTE networks of cellular operators. But the strategic direction in CIoT is the new generation cellular networks 5G, which will support IoT.
5G technology, designed to work with heterogeneous traffic, will provide connection to the Internet for a variety of devices with different parameters (power consumption, data transfer rates, etc.) both mobile devices (smartphones, phones, tablets, etc.) and Smart Objects (sensors or actuators).
Where are LPWAN networks used? For example, a nationwide LoRa network has already been deployed for Internet of Things in the Netherlands and South Korea. SigFox networks for IoT are deployed in Spain and France.
In Russia, a national network "Strizh" is being created for the Internet of Things (IoT), etc. Currently, LoRaWAN and NB-IoT standards are being considered as a standard for computing networks of physical objects LPWAN Internet of Things IoT.
It should be noted that in the Internet of Things (IoT), along with the use of cloud technologies, fog computing technologies are used. This is due to the fact that in the cloud model used in IoT, the weak point is the bandwidth of telecom operators’ channels through which data is exchanged between the “cloud” and “smart” devices of computing networks of physical objects.
Increasing the capacity of Cloud computing communication channels can provide a new approach to their construction based on Software-Defined Networks (SDN) technology. Therefore, the introduction of SDN will improve the efficiency of Cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) communication channels.
Low-power, short-range wireless personal area networks (WPAN) - Internet of Things (IoT) components
WPAN networks (Fig. 1) include wireless sensor networks based on technologies: 6LoWPAN, Thread, ZigBee IP, Z-Wave, ZigBee, BLE 4.2 (Bluetooth Mesh).
These networks belong to mesh networks (self-organizing and self-healing networks with routing), which have a mesh topology and are components (components) of the Internet of Things (IoT) network.
Personal computer networks based on 6LoWPAN, Thread, ZigBee IP technologies refer to IP networks with a 6LoWPAN protocol stack or an IPv6 stack for 802.15.4 networks (Fig. 3). They use the 6LoWPAN (IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks) network protocol, which is a version of the IPv6 protocol for low power wireless personal sensor networks of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The routing protocol used is RPL (Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks).
Rice. 3. 6LoWPAN Protocol Stack for IoT IEEE 802.15.4 (standards.ieee.org)
is a standard that describes the physical IEEE 802.15.4 PHY and data link layers of the OSI network model. The data link layer consists of the IEEE 802.15.4 MAC (Media Access Control) sublayer and the LLC (Logical Link Control) sublayer. Several technologies are built on the basis of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, for example, ZigBee IP, Thread, 6LoWPAN.
To transfer processed data to the network, the End Nodes Applications application accesses the application layer protocol (Application - IoT protocols) of the microcontroller OS protocol stack and transmits data through the stack to the physical layer of the sensor. Next, the binary data is sent to the input of Border routers (Edge routers). To transfer data from the End Node through Border routers to the Web server (Web application) via the CoAP application protocol, it is necessary to negotiate networks at the application level of the CoAP-to-HTTP protocol stack; for this, a proxy server is used.
The 6LoWPAN protocol stack ensures that low-power smart devices are connected to the Internet via routers rather than specialized IP gateways. Since low-speed networks with a 6LoWPAN protocol stack for devices with limited capabilities are not transit networks for IP network traffic of the traditional Internet, they are end networks in the Internet of Things (IoT) and are connected to the Internet through Border routers or Edge routers. The edge router enables the 6LoWPAN network to communicate with the IPv6 network by translating IPv6 headers and fragmenting messages in the Adaption layer of the protocol stack (Adaption of 6LoWPAN).
Z-Wave (z-wave.me)- one of the popular Internet of Things (IoT) wireless network technologies (standard: Z-Wave and Z-Wave Plus). Z-Wave network (Fig. 1) with mesh topology (mesh network) and low power consumption, designed for Smart Home organization. The Z-Wave network protocol of the Z-Wave communication protocol stack is implemented by Sigma Designs as closed code and is patented. The lower layers of MAC and PHY are included in the ITU-T G.9959 standard.
Z-Wave has many compatible devices (sensors and actuators) to create a Smart Home network. You can control your home Z-Wave network remotely using the control panel via Home Controller; you can control the operation of the network from a PC and the Internet via a smartphone. The Z-Wave network is connected to the Internet through a specialized IP gateway Gateway "Z-Wave for IP".
ZigBee (zigbee.org) is one of the most common technologies for building Internet of Things (IoT) wireless networks (ZigBee open standard). A ZigBee network with a mesh topology (mesh network) has its own IEEE 802.15.4/Zigbee communication protocol stack, which does not support the IP Internet Protocol.
The computing network of objects based on the ZigBee stack, for interaction with external devices located on the IP network, is connected to the Internet through a specialized IP gateway Gateway ZigBee. Currently, a new standard, ZigBee IPv6, has been created.
Networks based on the new Zigbee IPv6 standard can be connected to an IP network through a router rather than a specialized gateway. The Gateway ZigBee gateway repackages data from one format to another and provides internetworking between networks based on heterogeneous MQTT/ZigBee technologies - HTTP/TCP/IP. ZigBee technology is used as a standard for automatically collecting subscriber electricity meter readings and transmitting them to telecom operator servers (offline sites) or to the Internet of Things (IoT) Habs Cloud. WiFi (www.wi-fi.org)
is a set of IEEE 802.11 wireless communication standards that can be used to build a wireless local area network (WLAN) based on the TCP/IP stack. The IEEE 802.11 protocol stack consists of a physical PHY layer and a data link layer with MAC and LLC logical data transfer sublayers. IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) protocols belong to the network interface layer in the TCP/IP stack.
A wireless local area network of WiFi objects is connected to the Internet using a router (Fig. 1). It should be noted that to build local wireless area networks, the Wi-Fi Alliance has created a new specification, IEEE 802.11s, which provides technology for building mesh networks. In addition, a new Wi-Fi HaLow standard (IEEE 802.11ah specification) with low power consumption has been created for the Internet of Things (IoT). BLE 4.2 (bluetooth.com)
Version BLE 4.2 ensures minimal equipment power consumption and access to an IP network. The lower MAC and PHY layers of the Bluetooth LE Stack are: Bluetooth LE Link Layer and Bluetooth LE Physical. To ensure the interaction of networks (BLE 4.2 and Internet) at the network level (6LoWPAN with IPv6) and the application layer of the protocol stack (CoAP with HTTP), the BLE 4.2 network can be connected to the Internet (Fig. 1) via Border routers and CoAP-to -HTTP Proxy accordingly.
Internet of Things (IoT) application layer protocols
To transmit data in the Internet of Things (IoT), many application level protocols are used, the most common of which include: DDS, MQTT, XMPP, AMQP, JMS, CoAP, REST/HTTP. DDS is a Data Distribution Service for Real-Time Systems and is an OMG standard for middleware. DDS is the core technology for implementing IoT, based on the DCPS messaging communication model without an intermediate broker (server).
MQTT, XMPP, AMQP, JMS are messaging protocols that are based on a broker according to the publish/subscribe scheme. The broker (server) can be deployed on a cloud platform or on a local server. Client programs must be installed on smart device applications.
CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) is a limited IoT data transfer protocol, similar to HTTP, but adapted to work with low-performance smart devices. CoAP is based on the REST style of architecture. The servers are accessed through the smart device application URL.
Client programs use methods such as GET, PUT, POST and DELETE to access resources.
For access from networks of physical objects that do not support the IP protocol to IP networks and vice versa, hubs or gateways, or IoT platforms are used, which ensure protocol coordination at various levels of the communication protocol stack. For access from networks of physical objects that support the IP protocol to IP networks and vice versa, proxies are used to negotiate application-level protocols (for example, to negotiate the CoAP and HTTP protocols).
Nowadays many people talk about the Internet of Things, but not everyone understands what it is.
According to Wikipedia, this is the concept of a computer network of physical objects (“things”), equipped with built-in technologies for interacting with each other or with the external environment, considering the organization of such networks as a phenomenon that can rebuild economic and social processes, excluding some of the actions and operations require human participation.
In simple terms, the Internet of Things is a kind of network into which things are connected. And by things I mean anything: a car, an iron, furniture, slippers. All this will be able to “communicate” with each other without human intervention using transmitted data.
The appearance of such a system was expected, because laziness is the engine of progress. You don't have to go to the coffee maker in the morning to make coffee. She already knows when you usually wake up, and by this time she will brew aromatic coffee herself. Cool? Perhaps, but how realistic is it and when will it appear?
How it works
picjumbo.comWe are at the beginning of the journey, and it is too early to talk about the Internet of Things. Let's take for example the coffee maker that I wrote about above. Now a person has to independently enter his wake-up time so that she can make him coffee in the morning. But what happens if the person is not at home at this time or wants tea? Yes, everything is the same, since he did not change the program and the soulless piece of iron brewed its coffee again. This scenario is interesting, but it is more about process automation than the Internet of Things.
There is always a person at the helm, he is the center. There are more and more smart gadgets every year, but they do not work without a human command. This unfortunate coffee maker will have to be constantly monitored and the program changed, which is inconvenient.
How it should work
picjumbo.com The Internet of Things implies that a person defines a goal, and does not set a program to achieve this goal. It’s even better if the system itself analyzes the data and predicts a person’s desires.
You are driving home from work, tired and hungry. At this time, the car has already informed the house that it will bring you in half an hour: they say, get ready. The lights turn on, the thermostat adjusts to a comfortable temperature, and dinner is cooking in the oven. We entered the house - the TV turned on with a recording of the game of our favorite team, dinner was ready, welcome home.
Here are the main features of the Internet of Things:
- This is a constant accompaniment of a person’s daily actions.
- Everything happens transparently, unobtrusively, and results-oriented.
- A person indicates what should happen, not how to do it.
Fiction, would you say? No, this is the near future, but to achieve such results, much more needs to be done.
How to achieve this
picjumbo.com 1. One-stop center
It is logical that at the center of all these things there should be not a person, but some kind of device that will transmit the program to achieve the goal. It will monitor other devices and tasks, and collect data. Such a device should be in every home, office and other places. They will be united by a single network, through which they will exchange data and help a person anywhere.
We can already see the beginnings of such a center now. Amazon Echo, Google Home, and it seems they are also working on something similar. Such systems can already serve as the center of a smart home, although their capabilities are still limited.
2. Common standards
This will become, perhaps, the main obstacle on the path to the global Internet of things. For large-scale operation of the system, a single language is required. Apple, Google, and Microsoft are currently working on their ecosystem. But they all move separately, in different directions, which means that, at best, we will get local systems that are difficult to unite even at the city level.
Perhaps one of the systems will become a standard, or each network will remain local and will not develop into something global.
3. Security
Naturally, when developing such a system, it is necessary to take care of data protection. If the network is hacked by a hacker, he will know about you everything. Smart things will hand you over to attackers in a heartbeat, so you should seriously work on data encryption. Of course, they are already working on this, but periodically emerging scandals indicate that ideal security is still far away.
What awaits us in the near future
Mitch Nielsen/unsplash.com In the near future, we will see smart houses that will open doors for owners when they approach, maintain a comfortable microclimate, independently replenish the refrigerator and order the necessary medications if a person is sick. Moreover, before this, the house will receive indicators from the smart bracelet and send them to the doctor. Self-driving cars will drive on the roads, and there will no longer be traffic jams on the roads themselves. The Internet of Things will make it possible to develop a more advanced traffic control system that can prevent traffic jams and congestion on the roads.
Already, many gadgets work in conjunction with various systems, but in the next 5–10 years we will experience a real boom in the development of the Internet of Things. But in the future, a scenario like in the cartoon “WALL-E” is possible, where humanity has turned into helpless fat people served by robots. So-so prospect. What do you think?
You've probably already heard the phrase "Internet of Things" and seen the acronym IoT, but perhaps you don't know what's hidden behind them. What is IoT, or Internet of Things?
IoT refers to the connection of devices (other than regular computers and smartphones) via the Internet. Cars, kitchen appliances, and even heart monitors can be connected via IoT. And as the Internet of Things continues to grow over the next few years, more devices will appear on this list.
We've prepared a beginner's guide to IoT to help you navigate the amazing connected world.
Concepts and basic definitions
Below we publish a small dictionary with definitions that relate to the Internet of things.
IoT, or Internet of Things, is a network of objects connected via the Internet that can collect data and exchange data coming from built-in services.
Devices included in the Internet of things - any autonomous devices connected to the Internet that can be monitored and/or controlled remotely.
IoT ecosystem, or Internet of things, - all the components that enable businesses, governments and users to connect their IoT devices, including control panels, dashboards, networking, gateways, analytics, storage and security.
Physical layer - hardware that is used in IoT devices, including sensors and network equipment.
Network layer is responsible for transmitting the data collected on the physical layer to various devices.
Application level includes the protocols and interfaces that devices use to identify and communicate with each other.
Control panels allow people to use IoT devices by connecting to and controlling them through a dashboard such as a mobile app. Remote controls include smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart watches, TVs and non-traditional remotes.
Toolbars provide information about the IoT ecosystem to users, allowing them to manage the IoT ecosystem. Usually remote control is used.
Analytics - software systems that analyze data received from IoT devices. Analytics is used in a wide range of scenarios, such as maintenance forecasting.
Data storage - where data from IoT devices is stored.
Networks - An Internet communications layer that allows operators to communicate with a device, and devices to communicate with each other.
IoT Industry
The following areas will benefit from the use of IoT devices:
- production;
- transport;
- defense;
- Agriculture;
- infrastructure;
- retail sales;
- logistics;
- banks;
- oil, gas, mining;
- insurance business;
- smart houses;
- food production;
- service;
- hospitals;
- health protection;
- smart buildings;
- IoT companies.
Hundreds of companies are already involved in the Internet of Things, and their list will only expand in the next few years.
IoT Platforms
One IoT device connects to another to transmit information through Internet protocols. IoT platforms serve as a bridge between device sensors and the data network.
Here are some of the largest IoT platforms currently active in this market:
- Amazon Web Services;
- Microsoft Azure;
- ThingWorx IoT Platform;
- IBM's Watson;
- Cisco IoT Cloud Connect;
- Salesforce IoT Cloud;
- Oracle Integrated Cloud;
- GE Predix.
Want more news?
Let's figure out what the Internet of Things is, where to start studying it, which designers are suitable for this, and what competitions are being held today.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)
It will no longer surprise anyone that any item, be it household appliances or clothing, can be connected to the Internet. A smart refrigerator, a kettle, construction kits for teaching children... While some people connect a coffee maker, watch and other things to the World Wide Web, others are perplexed as to why complicate easy-to-use objects and equipment. What exactly is the Internet of Things?
Internet of things concept
Internet of Things (IoT)- the concept of a computer network of physical objects (“things”) equipped with built-in technologies for interacting with each other or with the external environment, considering the organization of such networks as a phenomenon that can rebuild economic and social processes, eliminating the need for human participation from some actions and operations (Wikipedia ) .
The idea of the Internet of Things is not to connect everything around to the Internet. The goal is to automate processes and teach networked objects to exchange information. How? Through various sensors built into or connected to objects. For what? So that objects themselves “make decisions” and act without human intervention.
In early 2015, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Google Eric Schmidt :
I will answer very simply that the Internet will disappear. There will be so many IP addresses, so many devices, sensors, wearables, things that communicate with you, but you won't even feel it. They will always accompany you. Imagine walking into a room and the room is dynamic and you can interact with what's happening in the room. What emerges is a very personalized, very interactive and very, very interesting world.
An almost classic example of implementing the Internet of Things that is already working today is Yandex.Traffic. Many cars equipped with Yandex.Navigator send their coordinates, speed and direction to the system. The information is processed and the map shows not only the roads, but also their congestion in “real time”. Thanks to this, navigators can plot a route, taking into account not only distances, but also traffic jams.
If you still don’t know why you need to connect a kettle to the Internet, try to get creative. Once upon a time, most phone owners believed that they were only needed for calls. Today, many people who have lost their smartphone connected to the Internet for a day are in shock.
No one knows for sure what functions the kettle of tomorrow will have. Maybe it will work together with a smart bracelet on the wrist, collecting data on the amount of water drunk, its characteristics, heart rate and other indicators. All this will be sent to the virtual cardiologist, and you will receive recommendations and warnings.
History of IoT
Even before the advent of the Internet itself, in 1926 Nikola Tesla in an interview with Collier's magazine, he said that in the future, radio will be transformed into a “big brain”, all things will become part of a single whole, and the tools that make this possible will fit easily in your pocket.
In 1990, one of the creators of the TCP/IP protocol John Romkey connected the toaster to the network, i.e. actually created the world's first Internet thing.
In 1999, the term Internet of Things was coined Kevin Ashton, at that time an assistant brand manager at Procter & Gamble. In the same year they David Brock And Sanjay Sarma founded the Auto-ID Center, which deals with radio frequency identification (RFID) and sensor technologies, thanks to which the concept of the Internet of Things has become widespread.
In 2008-2009, Cisco reported that the number of devices connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on the planet.
Since 2010, the Internet of Things has been developing steadily thanks to the widespread proliferation of wireless networks and cloud technologies, cheaper processors and sensors, and the development of energy-efficient data transmission technologies. The Internet of Things technology, like robotics, is recognized as breakthrough, i.e. changing our lives and economic processes. The world continues to change right before our eyes.
IoT competitions
The Internet of Things is included in the list of professions (competencies) of the National Championship of Working Professions WorldSkills and similar competitions for schoolchildren JuniorSkills. In 2016, the JuniorSkills championship in the “Internet of Things” competency is held as part of the VIII All-Russian robotics festival “Robofest-2016”. The competition will be held in two JuniorSkills categories: the theme “Smart City” for participants over 10 years old and “Smart Agriculture” for children over 14 years old.
In 2016, the Internet of Things was also included in a separate creative category of the All-Russian Robotics Olympiad. This year's theme is healthcare.
Internet of Things Learning Kits
Have you decided to keep up with the times, master the technology of the Internet of Things and become a technical wizard? Are you ready to change the world around you, breaking everything that gets in your way, connecting things around you to the Internet and endowing them with “mind”? Let's figure out which components or construction kits are suitable for studying the Internet of Things.
Smart devices from the IoT world must collect data from the environment, transmit information via the Internet (or local communication) to other devices, and also receive information from them. For devices to have “intelligence,” the data received must be analyzed by a program that draws conclusions and makes decisions. Objects from the world of the Internet of Things are in many ways similar to robots and their creation requires controllers, sensors, and, if necessary, actuators.
An important component is data processing. We can say that objects connected to data processing networks acquire “intelligence.” There are various hardware and software platforms for developing IoT applications.
A popular software solution is ThingWorx.
Common in robotics, Arduino is what you need to create educational projects in the field of IoT. An Ethernet Shield expansion card is used to connect to the network. All necessary boards and sensors can be purchased separately. There are also specialized ready-made kits based on Arduino. Their advantage is not only their well-thought-out composition, but also examples of program codes.
IoT Smart Agriculture Basic Training Kit
In some cases, competitions regulate the equipment used. Thus, the WorldSkills Smart Agriculture kit, created to study the Internet of Things on the topic of Smart Agriculture, was accepted for this season’s JuniorSkills championship.
Contents of the training kit:
- Arduino Uno R3 board;
- Ethernet card W5100 Shield;
- temperature and humidity sensor module DHT11;
- Ethernet cable;
- digital thermometer DS18B20;
- light sensor module;
- soil moisture/solids sensor module (Moisture Sensor);
- IO Sensor Shield;
- connecting wires;
- pads;
- network adapter (5V, 1A, 5W);
- box.
Such kits are convenient to use for quick prototyping of devices, which is important for organizing the learning process.
To assemble educational models of the Internet of Things, it is convenient to use expansion boards (shields) that have a number of frequently used sensors on board. — a universal board on which are installed:
- digital temperature and humidity sensor DHT11,
- analog temperature sensor LM35,
- analog light sensor,
- receiver of IR signals from the remote control,
- speaker for generating simple sound signals,
- two buttons and a potentiometer,
- three LEDs.
The agricultural model can be any indoor plant. Forget to water? Imagine that the flower itself can tell you that it’s time to take care of it. To do this, you need to place temperature and humidity sensors in the soil and monitor their indicators, as well as control the lighting around.
IoT Smart Agriculture Basic Training Kit. Model with houseplant
Video tutorial demonstrating how easy it is to assemble the kit:
For such a model to become the Internet of Things, it is necessary to create an analytical cloud Internet service that independently makes a decision about turning on the irrigation system based on the collected data.
The Juniorskills Smart Agriculture extended equipment package includes a submersible pump. Who knows what else you might want to teach her besides watering indoor flowers? You may decide that your smart pump should “communicate” not only with the pots of indoor plants, but also with the kettle, which reports that the water level is too low, and the smartphone of the owner of the “smart technology guard” requires urgently boiling water.
I hope that after reading the article you will not break all the equipment at home, the spirit of innovation and change that the Internet of Things brings will settle in your heart, and you will want to become part of the technical magic.
