Internet of Things (IoT) - Connecting the unconnected to generate business value

The first Internet “device”—an IP–enabled toaster that could be turned on and off over the Internet—was featured at an Internet conference in 1990. The toaster was connected to the internet via TCP/IP networking and had a single control, Simple Networking Management Protocol Management Information Base (SNMP MIB), which could turn the power of the toaster ‘on’. Once the command was given, it could switch on the power. Over the next several years, other things were IP–enabled, including a soda machine at Carnegie Mellon University (US) and a coffee pot in the Trojan Room at the University of Cambridge (UK) which remained Internet–connected until 2001. From these beginnings, a robust field of research and development into “smart object networking” helped create the foundation for today’s Internet of Things.

Predictions about connected devices

• Cisco - more than 24 billion Internet–connected objects by 2019
• Morgan Stanley - 75 billion networked devices by 2020
• Huawei - 100 billion IoT connections by 2025
• McKinsey Global Institute - the financial impact of IoT on the global economy may be as much as $3.9 to $11.1 trillion by 2025

KEVIN ASHTON used the term Internet of Things, for the first time in 1999 during a presentation on supply chain management. At that time he was an executive director at MIT’s Auto-ID center, where he contributed to the RFID applications into broader domains, which built the foundation for current IoT vision.

Definitions

The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) begins Architectural Considerations in Smart Object Networking’, with this description: 

All of the definitions describe scenarios in which network connectivity and computing capability extends to a constellation of objects, devices, sensors, and everyday items that are not ordinarily considered to be computers, this allows the devices to generate, exchange, and consume data, often with minimal human intervention.

The term Internet of Things refers to scenarios where network connectivity and computing capability extends to objects, sensors and everyday items, allowing these devices to generate, exchange and consume data with minimal human intervention. 

Ubiquitous Connectivity

Adoption of IP-based Networks

Computing Economics

Miniaturization

Data Analytics

Cloud Computing

Ubiquitous computing

(Ubicomp / Pervasive computing / Ambient Intelligence / Haptic Computing)

It is a concept in software engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using any device, in any location, and in any format. It is a network of small, inexpensive, robust networked processing devices, distributed at all scales throughout everyday life and generally turned to distinctly common-place ends

There were three basic forms for ubiquitous system devices

1.Tabs: wearable centimetre sized devices

2.Pads: hand-held decimetre-sized devices

3.Boards: metre sized interactive display devices

Now we talk about following forms of ubiquitous devices

1.Dust: devices can be without visual output displays, e.g. micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)

2.Skin: fabrics based upon light emitting and conductive polymers such as clothes and curtains

3.Clay: can be formed into arbitrary three dimensional shapes as artefacts resembling many different kinds of physical object

Miniaturization

It is the trend to manufacture ever smaller mechanical, optical and electronic products and devices. The bottom line of most tradeoffs in miniaturization is whether or not the market will support the cost of achieving a given size/performance level. 

IoT Structure

Sensor

A device which detects or measures a physical property and records, indicates, or otherwise responds to it. eg, Temperature sensor, Pressure sensor, Motion sensor, Heat sensor, Smoke and Gas Sensors, Moisture sensor, Weight sensor, Water level sensor, And many more…

Microcontroller to Processor (M2P) – 6LoWPAN

IPv6 enabled Low-power Wireless Personal Area Network - 6LoWPAN allows for the smallest devices with limited processing ability to transmit information wirelessly using an internet protocol.

Zigbee

It is an open global standard for wireless technology designed to use low-power, low data rate digital radio signals for personal area networks with close proximity. The standards created by the Zigbee alliance can be used to create multivendor interoperable offerings. There are three Zigbee specifications:

1.Zigbee PRO

2.Zigbee RF4CE

3.Zigbee IP

Zigbee PRO - It aims to provide the foundation for IoT with features to support low-cost, highly reliable networks for device-to-device communication. Zigbee PRO also offers Green Power, a new feature that supports energy harvesting or self-powered devices that don't require batteries or AC power supply. Zigbee’s addressing scheme is capable of supporting more than 64,000 nodes per network and multiple network coordinators can be linked together to support extremely large networks. 

Zigbee RF4CE (Radio frequency for consumer electronics) - It is designed for simple, two-way device-to-device control applications that don't need the full-featured mesh networking functionalities. It offers an immediate, low-cost, easy-to-implement networking solution for control products based on Zigbee Remote Control and  Zigbee Input Device. Eg: Home entertainment devices, Garage door openers, Keyless entry systems and many more. Some of the key features are, No line of sight limitation, Two-way communication, Signal goes through walls and floors and Lifetime battery.

Zigbee IP - It optimizes the standard for IPv6-based full wireless mesh networks, offering internet connections to control low-power, low-cost devices. Each node on a network can be individually addressed using IPv6 routing and addressing protocol. Zigbee IP provides multicast capability. It enables service discovery using multicast DNS (mDNS) and DNS-Service Discovery (DNS SD) protocols.

Zigbee alliance members create standards that offer reliable, secure, low-power and easy-to-use wireless communication, using an open standards development process 

Zigbee 3.0 (dotdot)

Recently, the Zigbee Alliance rolled out "dotdot," a program to extend its interoperability technology beyond Zigbee. Dotdot, a universal language for the internet of things, lets smart objects work together on any network, unlocking new markets for members and unifying the fragmented IoT.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) - Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC)

It uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information. Today RFID market is worth US$9 billion, market value is expected to rise to US$18.68 billion by 2026.

RFID Components - Passive tags collect energy from nearby RFID reader's interrogating radio waves. Active tags have a local power source (battery) and may operate at hundreds of meters from RFID reader. Two way radio transmitter-receiver called Interrogators or readers send a signal to the tag and read its response.

Near Field Communication (NFC) - NFC CTLS – NFC Contactless

It is a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices, one of which is usually a portable device such as a smartphone, to establish communication by bringing them within 4 cm (1.6 in) of each other.

Each full NFC device can work in three modes:

1.NFC card emulation—enables NFC-enabled devices such as smartphones to act like smart cards, allowing users to perform transactions such as payment or ticketing.

2.NFC reader/writer—enables NFC-enabled devices to read information stored on inexpensive NFC tags embedded in labels or smart posters.

3.NFC peer-to-peer—enables two NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other to exchange information in an adhoc fashion.

Summary