The Internet of Things (IoT)

1. definition

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system of interrelated, internet-connected objects that are able to collect and transfer data over a wireless network without human intervention.

It is about extending the power of internet connectivity beyond computers to a whole range of other things, processes, and environments. Those connected, smarter, things are used to gather information, send information, or both.

2. How it Works

each object connected to the internet is transmitting valuable data that lets us better understand how these things works together but how exactly do these devices share large quantities of data ? and how do we put that information to work ?

It’s the common Internet of things platform that brings us diverse information together and provides the common language for the devices and apps to communicate with each other.

The process starts with the devices themselves which securely communicate with an Internet of Things platform this platform integrates the data from many devices and apply analytics to share the most valuable data with application that address industry specific needs.

First Example:

Imagine you wake up at 7 am every day to go to work. Your alarm clock does the job of waking you just fine. That is, until something goes wrong.

Your train’s cancelled and you have to drive to work instead. The only problem is that it takes longer to drive, and you would have needed to get up at 6.45am to avoid being late. Oh, and it’s pouring with rain, so you’ll need to drive slower than usual.

A connected or IoT-enabled alarm clock would reset itself based on all these factors, to ensure you got to work on time. It could recognize that your usual train is cancelled, calculate the driving distance and travel time for your alternative route to work, check the weather and factor in slower travelling speed because of heavy rain, and calculate when it needs to wake you up so you’re not late.

If it’s super-smart, if might even sync with your IoT-enabled coffee maker, to ensure your morning caffeine’s ready to go when you get up.

3. IoT architecture

The IoT architecture consist of five important layers that defines all the functionalities of IoT systems. These layers are:

1. Perception layer: consists of physical devices i.e. sensors, barcodes .. and other physical devices connected in IoT network. Main purpose of the layer is the identification of unique objects and the collection of information from the physical world to deliver it to the network layer.
2. Network layer: is a transmission medium to deliver the information from perception layer to the information processing system, using wired/wireless medium along with 3G/4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc.
3. middleware/support layer: The layer involves information processing systems which takes information in one form and processes (transforms) it into another form. This processed data is stored in a database and will be available when there is a demand. This layer works very closely with applications.
4. Application Layer: In this layer, there are practical and useful applications which are developed based on user requirements or industry specifications such as smart traffic, precise agriculture, smart home, mining monitor, etc

4. Issues and challenges of IoT

Security and privacy issues

One of the most important and challenging issues in the IoT is the security and privacy due to several threats, cyber attacks, risks and vulnerabilities.
The issues that give rise to device level privacy are insufficient authorization and authentication, insecure software, firmware, web interface and poor transport layer encryption. Security and privacy issues are very important parameters to develop confidence in IoT Systems with respect to various aspects.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) are one of the cryptographic protocols that are implemented between transport and application layer to provide security solutions in various IoT systems.

Interoperability/standard issues

Interoperability is the feasibility to exchange the information among different IoT devices and systems. This exchange of information does not rely on the deployed software and hardware. The interoperability issue arises due to the heterogeneous nature of different technology and solutions used for IoT development.

Ethics, law and regulatory rights

Another issue for IoT developers is the ethics, law and regulatory rights. There are certain rules and regulations to maintain the standard, moral values and to prevent the people from violating them.
Data security, privacy protection, trust and safety, data usability are some of those challenges. It has also been observed that majority of IoT users are supporting government norms and regulations with respect to data protection, privacy and safety due to the lack of trust in IoT devices. Therefore, this issue must be taken into consideration to maintain and improve the trust among people for the use of IoT devices and systems.

Scalability, availability and reliability

Scalability and availability both should be deployed together in the layered framework of IoT. A great example of scalability is cloud based IoT systems which provide sufficient support to scale the IoT network by adding up new devices, storage and processing power as required.

Another key challenge is the availability of resources to the authentic objects regardless of their location and time of the requirement. In a distributed fashion, several small IoT networks are timely attached to the global IoT platforms to utilize their resources and services. Therefore, availability is an important concern.

conclusion

IoT developers and researchers are working together to extend the technology on large scale and to benefit the society to the highest possible level. However, improvements are possible only if we consider the various issues and shortcomings in the present technical approaches.

Resources:

article 1: Internet of Things is a revolutionary approach for future technology enhancement

article 2: A Review of Security Concerns in Internet of Things

web page: https://www.oracle.com/fr/internet-of-things/what-is-iot/