1 IoT Fundamentals: Definitions, Architectures, Challenges, and Promises
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Fig. 1.4 Simplified IoT
architecture
IoT Things (Devices)
Sensors, Actuators, Gateways
IoT Network
Fog computing, Pre-processing,
Filtering, Aggregation
IoT Cloud & Application
Ingestion, Storage, Processing,
Analytics, Visualization
• IoT Cloud and Application Layer – Manages and processes IoT devices, as well
as data created by the other two layers. It is also responsible for data ingestion,
data interpretation through software applications, as well as integration with
other platforms to improve business value.
1.3 IoT Frameworks and Platforms
1.3.1 FIWARE
FIWARE is funded by the European Union (EU) to be an open-source middleware
platform. This means that it specifies interfaces for application programmer interfaces, allowing anyone to be able to connect devices to a catalog hosted in the
cloud. The idea is to simplify the task of integrating devices into IoT and enable
an economy based on data. Since it is a standard, it relies on participation and
adoption, but the promise of interoperability is real and appealing. To that end there
is an active and well-funded community surrounding the platform and encouraging
participation [14].
1.3.2 SmartThings
SmartThings is a cloud-based platform offered by Samsung that focusses on building and running an IoT-driven smart home. The application management system
is used to process subscriptions from device type handlers. Over 300 different
21
Fig. 1.4 Simplified IoT
architecture
IoT Things (Devices)
Sensors, Actuators, Gateways
IoT Network
Fog computing, Pre-processing,
Filtering, Aggregation
IoT Cloud & Application
Ingestion, Storage, Processing,
Analytics, Visualization
• IoT Cloud and Application Layer – Manages and processes IoT devices, as well
as data created by the other two layers. It is also responsible for data ingestion,
data interpretation through software applications, as well as integration with
other platforms to improve business value.
1.3 IoT Frameworks and Platforms
1.3.1 FIWARE
FIWARE is funded by the European Union (EU) to be an open-source middleware
platform. This means that it specifies interfaces for application programmer interfaces, allowing anyone to be able to connect devices to a catalog hosted in the
cloud. The idea is to simplify the task of integrating devices into IoT and enable
an economy based on data. Since it is a standard, it relies on participation and
adoption, but the promise of interoperability is real and appealing. To that end there
is an active and well-funded community surrounding the platform and encouraging
participation [14].
1.3.2 SmartThings
SmartThings is a cloud-based platform offered by Samsung that focusses on building and running an IoT-driven smart home. The application management system
is used to process subscriptions from device type handlers. Over 300 different