2. INTRODUCTION
IoT devices and sensors must be connected to the network for their data to be utilized. In
addition to the wide range of sensors, actuators and smart objects that make up IoT, there
are also a number of different protocols used to connect them.
What’s so special about “Smart Object”?
There’s many types of smart objects, so various answer might include:
1. It’s very constrained in some way (cost, power, memory, bandwidth and etc.)
2. It interacts directly with physical world even when no user is around and so potentially
more dangerous
3. It’s physically accessible by untrusted people and so many be more vulnerable
4. It’s physically inaccessible by trusted people and has a long lifespan (5-40 years)
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3. INTRODUCTION
The term smart object is often used interchangeably with terms such as smart sensor,
smart device, IoT device, intelligent device, thing, smart thing, intelligent node, intelligent
thing, ubiquitous thing, and intelligent product
A smart object is a device that has, at a minimum, the following four defining
characteristics:
1. Processing unit
2. Sensor(s) and/or actuator(s)
3. Communication device
4. Power source
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4. CHARACTERISTICS SMART OBJECTS
1. Processing Unit
A smart object has some type of processing unit for acquiring data, processing and analyzing
sensing information received by the sensor(s), coordinating control signals to any actuators,
and controlling a variety of functions on the smart object, including the communication and
power systems.
The most common is a microcontroller because of its small form factor, flexibility, programming
simplicity, ubiquity, low power consumption, and low cost
2. Sensor(s) and/or actuator(s):
A smart object can interact with the physical world through sensors and actuators.
A sensor learns and measures its environment, whereas an actuator can produce some
change in the physical world.
A smart object does not need to contain both sensors and actuators.
In fact, a smart object can contain one or multiple sensors and/or actuators, depending upon
the application.
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5. CHARACTERISTICS SMART OBJECTS
3. Communication device:
The communication unit is responsible for connecting a smart object with other smart objects
and the outside world (via the network).
Communication devices for smart objects can be either wired or wireless
In IoT networks smart objects are wirelessly interconnected for a number of reasons, including
cost, limited infrastructure availability, and ease of deployment.
There are myriad different communication protocols for smart objects.
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6. CHARACTERISTICS SMART OBJECTS
4. Power source:
Smart objects have components that need to be powered.
Most significant power consumption comes from the communication unit of a smart object.
The power requirements vary greatly from application to application.
Smart objects are limited in power, are deployed for a very long time, and are not easily
accessible.
This combination, when the smart object relies on battery power, implies that power efficiency,
judicious power management, sleep modes, ultra-low power consumption hardware, and so on
are critical design elements
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9. 9
The overall SmartThings solution has 4 logical architectural layers:
End Devices - Which connect to the SmartThings Hub, or in some cases directly to the Cloud
Smart Things Hub- Which acts as a gateway for getting events & messages to/from the Cloud
Smart Things Cloud- Which provides the abstraction and intelligence layers described above,
as well as the Web Services that support the presentation layer.
User Experience- Which provides the presentation layer for SmartThings in the form of mobile
applications and our Web IDE 10
10. 10
Within the SmartThings Cloud however there are also four logical “layers” of the
architecture as well:
Connectivity - Which is responsible for maintaining persistent connectivity to SmartThings
Hubs and the SmartThings Mobile application
Event Processing & Routing - This layer routes events from hubs/devices to SmartApps that
are subscribed to specific devices/events.
Applications - This layer provides the Data Access Layer for data about accounts, users, and
devices and is responsible for the execution of SmartApps.
Web Services - This layer provides the web services or Application Programmatic Interface
(API) layer that supports both the mobile applications as well as developers who want to
integrate from an external system using the SmartThings APIs
13. DEVICE-TO-DEVICE PATTERN
device talks directly to another local device (often smart phone or wearable)
Security & trust often based on direct relationship between the devices (pairing)
Rarely used IP today but apps instead directly sit over link layer protocol
Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Zigbee
Results in many organization doing somewhat redundant work, with differing information models for the
same type of device
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Smart Object Other Device
Local
Network
15. DEVICE-TO-CLOUD PATTERN
Device connects directly to some cloud service
Allows users to access data/device from anywhere
Requires choosing L2 already widely deployed, e.g., Wi-Fi
Many different config. bootstrap solutions exist today
Often service and device are from same vendor • Can
lead to silos with proprietary protocols
Device might become unusable if ASP goes away or
changes hosting provider
Standard protocols and/or open source can mitigate
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Application
Service Provider
Smart Object
Local Network
Internet
17. DEVICE-TO-ALG PATTERN
Typically used in any of these cases:
a) Uses L2 media not already ubiquitous (e.g., 802.15.4)
b) Special local authentication/authorization is required
c) Interoperability needed with legacy non-IP devices
Often ALG and device are from same vendor
Another common model is ALG in a smartphone
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Application
Service Provider
App- Layer
Gateway
Local Network
Internet
ALG - App- Layer Gateway
Local Network
Local Network
Smart Object
Other Device
18. DEVICE-TO-ALG PATTERN
ALG also allows integrating IPv6-only devices and legacy IPv4-only
devices/apps/cloud services
Cheaper and more reliable generic gateways more likely if devices use standard
protocols not requiring an app-layer gateway
Lack of standard data models for device types hampers this
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ALG - App- Layer Gateway
21. BACK-END DATA SHARING PATTERN
Data silos result from proprietary schemas
Intentionally or simply due to lack of any standardization
Many usage scenarios need data/devices from multiple sources
Results in federated cloud services and/or (often RESTful) cloud APIs
Standard protocols (HTTP, OAuth, etc.) help but are not sufficient
Standardized information models generally outside scope of IETF 18
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What are data silos? A data silo is a repository of data that's controlled by one department or business unit and isolated from
the rest of an organization
24. “Communications Criteria,” describes the characteristics and attributes should be
considered when selecting and dealing with connecting smart objects.
The various technologies used for connecting sensors can differ greatly depending on
the criteria used to analyze them.
1. Range
2. Frequency Bands
3. Topology
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25. RANGE
How far does the signal need to be propagated?
what will be the area of coverage for a selected wireless technology?
Should indoor versus outdoor deployments be differentiated? i. Short range: The
classical wired example is a serial cable
The simplest approach to answering these types of questions is to categorize the
technologies
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26. RANGE
i. Short Range
The classical wired example is serial cable. Wireless short-range technologies are often
considered as an alternative to a serial cable, supporting tens of meters of maximum
distance between two devices. Examples of short-range wireless technologies are IEEE
802.15.1 Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.7 Visible Light Communications(VLC)
ii. Medium Range
This range is the main category of IoT access technologies. In the range of tens to
hundreds of meters, many specifications and implementations are available. The
maximum distance is generally less than 1 mile between two devices, although RF
technologies do not have real maximum distances defined, as long as the radio signal
is transmitted and received in the scope of the applicable specification.
Example: IEEE 802.3 Ethernet and IEEE 1901.2 Narrowband Power Line
Communications (PLC)
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27. RANGE
iii. Long Range
Distances greater than 1 mile between two devices require long-range technologies.
Wireless examples are cellular (2G, 3G, 4G) and some applications of outdoor IEEE
802.11 Wi-Fi and Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) technologies. LPWA communications
have the ability to communicate over a large area without consuming much power.
These technologies are therefore ideal for battery-powered IoT sensors. IEEE 802.3 over
optical fiber and IEEE 1901 Broadband Power Line Communications are classified as
long range
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28. FREQUENCY BANDS
Radio spectrum is regulated by countries and/or organizations, such as the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC).
These groups define the regulations and transmission requirements for various
frequency bands.
For example, portions of the spectrum are allocated to types of telecommunications
such as radio, television, military, and so on
On IoT access technologies, the frequency bands leveraged by wireless
communications are split between licensed and unlicensed bands.
Licensed spectrum is generally applicable to IoT long-range access technologies and
and allocated to communications infrastructures deployed by services providers,
public services (for example, first responders, military), broadcasters, and utilities.
Examples of licensed spectrum commonly used for IoT access are cellular, WiMAX,
and Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) technologies.
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29. FREQUENCY BANDS
The ITU has also defined unlicensed spectrum for the industrial, scientific, and
medical (ISM) portions of the radio bands for short-range devices (SRDs).
Unlicensed means that no guarantees or protections are offered in the ISM bands for
device communications.
For IoT access, these are the most well-known ISM bands:
1. 2.4 GHz band as used by IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
2. IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth
3. IEEE 802.15.4 WPAN(Wireless Personal Area Network).
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30. TOPOLOGY
Among the access technologies available for connecting IoT devices, three main
topology schemes are dominant: star, mesh, and peer-to-peer.
For long range and short-range technologies, a star topology is prevalent, as seen
with cellular, LPWA, and Bluetooth networks.
Star topologies utilize a single central base station or controller to allow
communications with endpoints.
For medium-range technologies, a star, peer-to-peer, or mesh topology is
common.
Peer-to-peer topologies allow any device to communicate with any other device as
long as they are in range of each other.
Obviously, peer-to-peer topologies rely on multiple full-function devices. Peer-to-
peer topologies enable more complex formations, such as a mesh networking
topology.
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33. SMART CITIES
• Controlling shipping traffic in the
Netherlands canals with wireless sensors
• Saving water with Smart Irrigation System in
Barcelona
• Traffic and Road conditions monitoring in
Malaga
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34. SMART AGRICULTURE
• Precision farming to control irrigation and
improve fertilization strategies on corn corps
• Improving banana crops production and
agriculture sustainability in Colombia
• Preventing environmental impact in
wastewater irrigation area for the largest
meat industry in Australia
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35. SMART ENVIRONMENT
• Rain forest monitoring for climate change in
Peru
• Water and air quality monitoring in civil
works
• Monitoring bee health and global pollination
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36. SMART HOME
• Smart appliances: remote diagnostic,
proactive alerts etc.
• Water treatment: automated consumable
ordering
• Fire and safety: property monitoring,
emergency alert etc.
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38. Please find the characteristics of these Access Technologies. The characteristics should
include wired or wireless, frequency bands, topology, range and data rate. Make a table
for this tutorial
List of Access Technologies
1. IEEE 802.15.4
2. IEEE 802.15.4g
3. IEEE 1901.2a
4. IEEE 802.11ah
5. LoRaWAN
6. NB-IOT
