The document discusses the use of virtualized objects and cognitive technologies in IoT. It describes how iCore aims to address issues like data overload by using virtual objects (VOs) that can be reused across applications and domains. This is achieved through common interfaces, metadata containers, and a VO registry. The document also discusses how cognitive technologies in iCore can help with automated object selection, refining algorithms based on system behavior, and growing real-world knowledge over time to better manage IoT systems.

1. iCore: use of virtualised objects
and cognitive technologies in IoT
Raffaele Giaffreda (CREATE-NET)
EU FP7 iCore Project Coordinator
First Italian IoT Day
Trento 9 March 2013 #iotitaly

2. transistor density / space efficiency
Turing’s Pilot ACE: Automatic
Computing Engine

3. bandwidth / spectral efficiency

4. Space Efficiency + Spectral Efficiency =
MAZE OF TINY, CONNECTED THINGS
Trend: more and more widespread sensing and monitoring data available

5. an example: the car
DATA /
INFORMATION
OVERLOAD
HUMAN
MACHINE
MACHINE
HUMAN
Trend: much more data than we can cope with

6. DATA / INFORMATION OVERLOAD, BUT...
siloed and bespoke IoT applications
APPS APPS APPS APPS APPS
APPS
APPS
APPS
APPS
PATIENT
PATIENT
FRIDGE
HOUSE
APPS
PATIENT
CAR
APPS
PATIENT
PATIENT
PATIENT
PATIENT
TRUCK
SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS

7. IoT innovation potential...
HUMAN
MACHINE
“Innovation”: one
can focus on apps!!!
MACHINE
HUMAN
OBD
On Board Diagnostics

8. IF A WELL-DEFINED INTERFACE INTO CAR SENSORS BRINGS SUCH POTENTIAL...
APPS APPS APPS APPS APPS
APPS
APPS
APPS
APPS
PATIENT
PATIENT
FRIDGE
HOUSE
APPS
PATIENT
CAR
APPS
PATIENT
PATIENT
PATIENT
PATIENT
TRUCK
SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS
SENSORS

9. iCore concepts
• Virtual Object
• Composite Virtual
Object
• Service / User Level

10. Virtual Object as OBD across silos
To upper iCore levels and Internet
VO registry
IoT services
Semantic VO descriptions
Virtual Object SW Agent
IoT services
Abstraction
Proprietary services
ICT objects
(heterogeneous world)
Sensors and actuators
Associated physical objects
10

11. what ingredients?
• common interfaces to interact with objects
(i.e. REST)
• + extra containers for metadata
• let the systems know what the object is good
for, its location (“I am a Temp sensor in Room
A”), its accuracy, its energy levels etc.

12. WHAT ARE VOs GOOD FOR?
• OBJECTS REUSE
– reuse across different apps, increase availability,
hence, increase monitoring / sensing granularity
• OBJECTS MGMT
– i.e. energy management, contextualised sensing
(accuracy vs. sensing frequency) etc.
• OBJECTS PROXIMITY
– automated selection “by relevance” (see arguments
for cognitive technologies in a minute...)
Providing IoT systems the ability to self-configure, based on various requirements, and ...

13. ...providing IoT systems the ability to adapt
APPS APPS APPS APPS
PATIENT
FRIDGE
HOUSE
CAR
SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS PATIENT is driving the CAR
CAR is near the HOUSE
PATIENT is near the FRIDGE
objects reuse
across domains
KitchenPresDetect PatientStatusDetect
Easy for us...not for a “dumb” computer...

14. the need for cognitive technologies
• iCore Composite Virtual Object (CVO)
– aggregation of simple sensing capability
– self-maintenance (service maintained in case of
failure) increased sensing granularity needed!
– System Knowledge
• what is available to meet reqs?
ability to select alternatives based on
what metadata we put in the extra VO
containers
“smart but not so much...”
CT 1

15. the need for cognitive technologies
• iCore Service Level and overall Cognitive
Management Framework
CT 2,3

16. DATA / INFORMATION OVERLOAD
IF “crash”
sight THEN “alertRSA”
<
distributed
sensing
sight hearing
centralised
sensing
smell touch
>
CT 2

17. the need for cognitive technologies
• factoring “smart logic algorithms” out of developers
concerns
– IF “crash” THEN “alertRSA”
– “crash” (IF VO_x = TRUE THEN crash := TRUE)
– (IF VO_x = TRUE AND VO_y = TRUE THEN crash := TRUE)
• iCore community: foster “ready meals” for IoT apps
factor out cognitive technologies
VO_x
TAG:
IF VO_x = TRUE
crash
THEN crash := TRUE
detect
IF (VO_x = TRUE) AND (VO_y = TRUE)
VO_y THEN crash := TRUE
TAG:
IF (VO_x > TH_x) AND (VO_y > TH_y)
crash
CT 2 detect
THEN crash := TRUE

18. the need for cognitive technologies
• rather than for the selection of appropriate templates,
here focus is on refinement of selected one according
to observed system-reality matching
• Real-World-Knowledge “growing”
VO_x REFINE
TAG: TH_x, and TH_y
crash
detect
assess
IF (VO_x > TH_x) AND (VO_y > TH_y) QUALITY of
VO_y THEN crash := TRUE PREDICTION
TAG:
crash
CT 3 detect

19. Summary
iCore and Cognitive Technologies
• CVO Level “system knowledge”
– SLA-driven VO selection / maintainance CT 1
– semantic enrichment semantic-based reasoning
– selection by relevance to the needs of the application
• deal with data / information overload
– template select CT 2
– given VO / CVO “types” find best algorithms that combine
these for desired output
• deal with data / information overload
– learn and predict
– given an algorithm, tweak parameters to better align iCore
system behaviour to the observed real situation
– Real World Knowledge (RWK) “growing” CT 3

20. main envisaged applications of iCore results
• smart-cities and IoT-based monitoring
[REF1] P. Vlacheas, R. Giaffreda et al. "Enabling Smart Cities Through
a Cognitive Management Framework for the Internet of Things“,
to appear in IEEE Communications Magazine - Special Issue on
Smart Cities (June 2013)
[REF2] 7th May 2013
The Sensing Smart City workshop

21. The Internet of Things evolution timeline
YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW
The Dumb IoT The Craft IoT The Cognitive IoT
Bear with us, we are building it!

22. thank you!
iCore Website ID Card
www.iot-icore.eu
3 yrs EU FP7 Integrated Project
Contacts: (started 1st Oct 2011)
20 Partners with strong industrial
Raffaele Giaffreda representation
raffaele.giaffreda@create-net.org 8.7mEur EU Funding
EU + China and Japan
Abdur Rahim
abdur.rahim@create-net.org
Japan