UNIT V APPLICATIONS

IOT APPLICATIONS - IoT applications for industry: Future Factory Concepts,

Brownfield IoT, Smart Objects, Smart Applications. Study of existing IoT platforms
/middleware, IoT- A, Hydra etc.

IOT APPLICATIONS - IoT applications for industry

IoT can be used for all types of applications ranging from connecting all the devices in
your house to create a smart home or even connecting all the government and civic services in
a city to create a smart city. The applications of IoT in different facets and industries of the
world are listed below:
1. Smart Agriculture
Food is an integral part of life without which we cannot survive. However, it is an
unfortunate fact that a lot of food is wasted in developed countries like America while people
starve in poorer countries like Chad, Sudan, etc. One way to feed everyone is better
agricultural practices which can be enhanced using IoT. This can be done by first collecting
data for a farm such as soil quality, sunlight levels, seed type, rainfall density from various
sources like farm sensors, satellites, local weather stations, etc. and then using this data with
Machine Learning and IoT to create custom recommendations for each farm that will optimize
the planting procedure, irrigation levels required, fertilizer amount, etc. All this will result in
better yield or crops with a focus on reducing world hunger in the future. This is done very
efficiently by SunCulture, which is an initiative by Microsoft AI for Earth.
2. Smart Vehicles
Smart vehicles or self-driving cars as they can be called are pretty dependent on IoT.
These cars have a lot of features that are integrated with each other and need to communicate
such as the sensors that handle navigation, various antennas, controls for speeding or slowing
down, etc. Here the Internet of Things technology is critical especially in the sense that self-
driving cars need to be extremely accurate and all the parts need to communicate with each
other in milliseconds on the road. Tesla Cars are quite popular and working on their self-
driving cars. Tesla Motors’ cars use the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence and the
Internet of Things. And they are quite popular as well!!! Tesla Model 3 was the most sold
plug-in electric car in the U.S. in 2018 with a total yearly sales of around 140,000 cars.
3. Smart Home

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 Maybe the most famous application of IoT is in Smart Homes. After all, who hasn’t
heard about connecting all the home applications like lighting, air conditioners, locks,
thermostat, etc. into a single system that can be controlled from your smartphone! These IoT
devices are becoming more and more popular these days because they allow you complete
freedom to personalize your home as you want. In fact, these IoT devices are so popular that
every second there are 127 new devices connected to the internet. Some popular ones that you
might have heard have, or even have in your home, include Google Home, Amazon Echo Plus,
Philips Hue Lighting System, etc. There are also all sorts of other inventions that you can
install in your home including Nest Smoke Alarm and Thermostat, Foobot Air Quality
Monitor, August Smart Lock, etc.
4. Smart Pollution Control
Pollution is one of the biggest problems in most of the cities in the world. Sometimes
it’s not clear if we are inhaling oxygen or smog! In such a situation, IoT can be a big help in
controlling the pollution levels to more breathable standards. This can be done by collecting
the data related to city pollution like emissions from vehicles, pollen levels, airflow direction,
weather, traffic levels, etc using various sensors in combination with IoT. Using this data,
Machine Learning algorithms can calculate pollution forecasts in different areas of the city
that inform city officials beforehand where the problems are going to occur. Then they can try
to control the pollution levels till it’s much safer. An example of this is the Green Horizons
project created by IBM’s China Research Lab.
5. Smart Healthcare
There are many applications of IoT in the Healthcare Industry where doctors can
monitor patients remotely through a web of interconnected devices and machines without
needing to be in direct contact with them. This is very useful if the patients don’t have any
serious problems or if they have any infectious diseases like COVID-19 these days. One of the
most common uses of IoT in healthcare is using robots. These include surgical robots that can
help doctors in performing surgeries more efficiently with higher precision and control. There
are also disinfectant robots that can clean surfaces quickly and thoroughly using high-intensity
ultraviolet light (which is pretty useful these days!) Other types of robots also include nursing
robots that can handle the monotonous tasks that nurses have to perform for many patients day
in and day out where there is little risk to the patients.
6. Smart Cities

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 Cities can be made more efficient so that they require fewer resources and are more
energy-efficient. This can be done with a combination of sensors in different capacities all
over the city that can be used for various tasks ranging from managing the traffic, controlling
handling waste management, creating smart buildings, optimizing streetlights, etc. There are
many cities in the world that are working on incorporating IoT and becoming smarter such as
Singapore, Geneva, Zurich, Oslo, etc. One example of creating smart cities is the Smart Nation
Sensor Platform used by Singapore which is believed to be the smartest city in the world. This
platform integrates various facets of transportation, streetlights, public safety, urban planning,
etc. using sensors in conjugation with IoT.
7. Smart Retail
There is a way to make shopping even more exciting for customers and that’s to use the
latest tech like IoT of course! Retail stores can make use of IoT in a wide range of operations
to make shopping a much smoother experience for customers and also easier for the
employees. IoT can be used to handle the inventory, improve store operations, reduce
shoplifting and theft, and prevent long queues at the cashiers. A prime example of this is
the Amazon Go stores which provide an IoT enabled shopping experience. These stores
monitor all their products using IoT so that customers can pick up any products and just walk
out of the store without stopping at the cashier’s queue. The total bill amount is automatically
deducted from the card associated with the customer’s Amazon account after they leave the
store.
Future factory concept in IoT
The future factory is the way the industry is implementing smart technologies that bring
together machine, people and products to communicate and interact in order to increase their
productivity.
To initiate the transformation of IoT in the mafucaturing industry, manufacturers have to
define a specific set of goals, to be assessed and validated initially on a pilot project, before the
implementation at scale of an end-to-end Industrial IoT solution. The next step is to deploy
an industrial internet pilot in one facility, or on a specific production line, which will be used as a
case study for learning how IoT works in this particular industrial environment. The pilot facility
is then reworked and developed according to observations. After the test phase, it is easy for a
company to apply the same principles, with proper adjustments, at scale to other facilities.

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The Future of IoT
It is easier to justify large investments in future industrial internet in environments where
industrial internet is incorporated into production by transitioning directly to automated, advanced
IIoT environments. The transition phase is less complicated when the existing infrastructure is
light, because there are fewer things that must be accounted for in applying new solutions.

Industrial internet in practice

Applications of IoT in manufacturing are already a reality. There are dozens of different use cases
of IIoT in enterprises. Companies are developing IoT applications that work, and they have started
making a difference. For example, transportation and warehousing benefit from automated
vehicles and asset tracking. In manufacturing, predictive maintenance (PdM) and asset
performance management (APM]) are key areas where industrial internet boosts value creation.
Predictive maintenance keeps assets up and running, decreasing operational costs and
saving companies millions of dollars. Data streaming from sensors and devices can be used to
quickly assess current conditions, recognize warning signs, deliver alerts and automatically trigger
appropriate maintenance processes. IoT coupled with AI or ML thus turns maintenance into a
dynamic, rapid and automated task.
Other potential advantages include increased equipment lifetime, increased
plant safety and fewer accidents with a negative impact on the environment.
The importance of edge analytics
Companies have been proactive in moving the processing of IIoT
to cloud services. However, it is not necessarily a wise move to have everything in the cloud.
During critical stages of the manufacturing process it is crucial that decisions can be made
instantaneously. Here, manufacturers can benefit from edge analytics.
Edge computing enables real-time analytics. Edge analytics is an approach to data
collection and analysis where automated analytical computation is performed on data at a sensor,
network switch or another device instead of waiting for the data to be sent back to a centralized
data store. IIoT can be supplemented with Arduino-based, open-source computer hardware and
software applications that allow some of the processing to take place on site, at the edge of the
network and near the source of the data. Edge computing has many benefits and it helps ensure
that the right processing takes place at the right time, in the right place.
Edge computing is a preferable option for the cloud in terms of security, as proprietary
data is kept within the company firewall. Moreover, edge computing becomes vital when you
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need real-time analysis and automated action to save critical-mission production lines or facilities
from potential heavy damages.
Creating future value with IIoT
There’s no value in the data without advanced algorithms of machine learning. Value can
be created in surprisingly simple ways by putting data to work. Peloton Tech’s truck platooning
system is a case study that illustrates how IIoT is already creating value. The system uses vehicle-
to-vehicle communication to connect the braking and acceleration between two trucks. The lead
truck controls the simultaneous acceleration and braking of the whole fleet, reacting faster than a
human or even a sensor system could. What follows is a reduction in aerodynamic drag, which
leads to companies saving around seven per cent in fuel cost. In terms of annual savings, this is a
remarkable number.
The simple capacity of devices to seize data is not what the Industrial Internet of Things is
essentially about. Even if you have all the infrastructure and the technology to get the data –
sensors, WiFi, the gateway, the cloud – and the capacity of analyzing the data, there’s no value in
it without AI, more specifically advanced algorithms of machine learning.
Future IIoT is about AI or ML analyzing data in real time so as to make decisions and act,
most of the times several days or even weeks before a potential issue. This process results in
actual business outcomes. Prescriptive analytics react autonomously, real-time: In a mission-
critical situation, a prescriptive system will autonomously decide what to do. This is where edge
analytics is imperative.
Brownfield IoT Technologies: Extending the Internet of Things to Legacy Devices
Brownfield designates industrial or commercial property that is either underused or
considered as a potential site for redevelopment. In urban planning, this is an area that has been
previously built on. In software development, this is software building on heritage systems or
created to work alongside already existing systems. Implementing IoT technologies in brownfield
scenarios poses a similar challenge.
Rather than freely building from scratch, one has to consider the existing architectures and
work within pre-established constraints. Heightened implementation effort is needed here as well.
The heritage hardware and software may have taken years to put in use and cannot simply be
discarded. When it comes to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), companies need to build on
infrastructures that cannot be easily replaced or where a replacement is not commercially viable.
The challenges pile up—taking legacy devices and connecting them to the cloud, maintaining

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connectivity, collecting data, and performing data analytics now take place within a highly
heterogeneous landscape.
Extending The Brownfield With An IoT Platform
To say that implementing brownfield IoT technologies is challenging would be an
understatement. Within an increasingly diversified IoT landscape, however, finding actionable IoT
brownfield solutions gets all the more interesting. Services such as Record Evolution IoT
development studio—our IoT platform that acts as an end-to-end enabler integrating an app
development studio with a device management suite—allow IoT devices to seamlessly connect,
bringing forth their functionality and power within a heterogeneous landscape. The platform
allows you to connect legacy devices coming from different vendors as well as devices belonging
to different generations.
Strategies For The Brownfield
Arming facilities with brownfield IoT technologies for more IoT connectivity is a transformation
process that can be seen from several different angles.
Retrofitting
Wolfgang Thieme, Chief Product Officer at BTI, enumerates current approaches, the most
prominent of which is outfitting existing infrastructure with smart sensors to collect data on the
shop floor. In this scenario, an IoT gateway aggregates data from remote sensors and
communicates the data to the cloud. Retrofitting legacy assets—including assets that have no
history of prior sensor capabilities—with current IoT sensors is one step towards becoming IoT-
ready.
Using Converters
Another approach towards full connectivity is to bring IoT to the programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) that manage and supervise existing automation systems. Operating in a local environment
without the ability to communicate with “the outside world”, the PLCs process, not retain, huge
amounts of production data that can be brought to the cloud for analysis. Recommended here is
the use of a converter that extracts sensor data from the PLCs using automation-specific protocols,
and further communicates the data with the help of wireless IoT connectivity. This is a non-
invasive approach whereby the converter acts as an IoT edge node transmitting the data over long
distances to an IoT gateway.
Substituting Remote I/O Modules
A third approach is to substitute remote I/O modules with IoT-ready ones. Thanks to cloud
services and wireless technologies, remote management today is distributed across wide areas and
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can even have a global span. IoT-ready remote I/O modules can close the gap between the edge
and the cloud by passing data from the edge directly to a variety of cloud platforms via MQTT and
RESTful APIs. The IoT-ready I/O modules are robust, suited for outdoor applications, and
equipped with wide-area communication capabilities.
Managing The Brownfield
The platform is flexible and adaptable, allowing the connection of components at different
levels across brownfield IoT technologies. The platform has built-in infrastructure for custom app
development, an array of integrated development tools, cloud services, and APIs. Developers can
now focus on the essentials, that is, on their app creation and device management efforts.
Adding Devices Step By Step
The IoT development platform enables seamless transition into the world of connected
devices. There is no disruption to anticipate: you can focus on the development work without
having to consider production downtime. Tests can be run in the platform’s test environment until
the finalization of a fully customized migration strategy. Devices can be added on a step-by-step
basis. Once ready to roll out, the scalability of the platform allows you to experiment on devices
using open-source technologies. You can upscale when needed, eventually incorporating your
entire fleet of devices into the swarm.
Platform Collaboration
Collaborative and community-building features enable developers to share their findings
with other users or external partners. Developers can collect ideas, or, in the case of large
enterprises, use the platform internally across the entire company. The one-platform-for-all model
generates tremendous value in terms of accumulated human capital. Developers can write apps,
move them between layers, mine for insights, share, and bring more value back to the platform.
This user-centric, service-oriented infrastructure gives developers access to cross-vendor and
company-wide know-how, thus amplifying creative potential.
Holistic Brownfield Development
The platform establishes connectivity to legacy devices, handles device management, and
can shift apps and functions across the network. And once in the world of IoT, you are much
better equipped to generate value out of data. You speed up decision-making, streamline
processes, and boost efficiency. And of course, you get ready to face many more entirely different
challenges.

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 Smart Objects
Smart Object is an object that enhances interplay with not solely humans however also
with different smart objects. Also recognized as smart connected products or smart connected
things (SCoT), they are products, assets, and different matters embedded with processors,
sensors, software program and connectivity that helps in permitting information to be
exchanged between the product and its environment, and different products and systems.
Connectivity additionally allows some abilities of the product to present outside the physical
device, in what is regarded as the product cloud. The records gathered from these products can
be then analyzed to inform decision-making, allow operational efficiencies, and constantly
enhance the overall performance of the product.
Smart objects are an autonomous physical and/or digital object that have sensing, processing,
and networking capabilities, and carry application logic. They make sense of their local
environment and interact with human users.
They sense, log, and interpret what’s occurring within themselves and the world, act on their
own, intercommunicate with each other, and exchange information with people.
Smart objects are small computers with a sensor or actuator and a communication device,
embedded in objects such as thermometers, car engines, light switches, andindustry
machinery.
Smart objects enable a wide range of applications in areas such as home automation, building
automation, factory monitoring, smart cities, structural health management systems, smart grid
and energy management, and transportation.
Until recently, smart objects were realized with limited communication capabilities, such as
RFID tags, but the new generation of devices has bidirectional wireless communication and
sensors that provide real-time data such as temperature, pressure, vibrations, and energy
measurement.
 Smart objects can be battery-operated, but not always, and typically have three components: a
CPU (8, 16- or 32-bit micro-controller), memory and a low-power wireless communication
device.
 The size is small and the price is low.
Advantages in designing IoT systems based on smart objects are as follows:
1. Energy saving is one of them. Smart objects are usually powered by battery.
2. The second advantage is automation. IoT smart objects are autonomous and self-governed.
3. They operate independently and can collaborate with other objects globally.
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 Challenges of Using Smart Objects:
1. Smart objects are often constrained devices and are usually powered by battery.
2. Frequently they are working in real-time mode. These are the main causes of the
challenges.
3. Other challenge is connectivity. Currently a large number of networking technologies are
being employed in connecting physical devices together and to the Internet.
4. Security and privacy is of big concern for smart object based loT systems.
5. Diversity of communication technologies: Depending on the application and the
environment in which the system is deployed, smart objects can use a wide range of
communication technologies.
Classification of Smart objects : Smart objects are categorized as :
 Mobile or Static – This classification is predicated on whether the “thing” should move or
always reside in the identical location. A sensor might also be cell due to the fact it is moved
from one object to some other (Example, a viscosity sensor moved from batch to batch in a
chemical plant) or due to the fact it is connected to a transferring object (Example, an area
sensor on transferring items in a warehouse or manufacturing unit floor). The frequency of the
movement may additionally vary, from occasional to permanent. The range of mobility (from
some inches to miles away) often drives the possible power source.
 Low or Excessive Reporting Frequency – This classification is primarily based on how
regularly the object must report monitored parameters. A rust sensor can also report values as
soon as a month. A motion sensor can also report acceleration at various hundred instances per
second. Higher frequencies force greater strength consumption, which can also create
constraints on the feasible strength supply (and consequently the object mobility) and the
transmission range.
 Battery-Powered or Power-Connected – This classification is primarily based on whether or
not the object incorporates its very own energy supply or receives non-stop power from an
exterior power source. Battery-powered matters can be moved greater without difficulty than
line-powered objects. However, batteries restrict the lifetime and quantity of power that the
object is allowed to consume, for this reason, riding transmission varies and frequency.
 Simple or Rich Data – This classification is based totally on the extent of records exchanged at
every reporting cycle. A humidity sensor in an area can also report an easy daily index value
(on a binary scale from zero to 255), whilst an engine sensor may also record various
parameters, including temperature to pressure, compression speed, carbon index, etc. Richer
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 records normally drive greater strength consumption. This classification is regularly mixed
with the preceding to decide the object information throughput (low throughput to excessive
throughput). A medium-throughput object may additionally ship easy records at as an
alternative high frequency (in which case the glide shape appears continuous) or may
additionally send prosperous information at as a substitute low frequency (in which case the
flow shape appears bursty).
 Object Density Per Cell – This classification is based totally on the number of smart objects
(with a comparable need to communicate) over a given area, linked to the identical gateway.
An oil pipeline can also make use of a single sensor at key places every few miles. By
contrast, telescopes like the SETI Colossus telescope at the Whipple Observatory set up
hundreds, and occasionally thousands, of mirrors over a small area, each with more than one
gyroscopes, gravity, and vibration sensors.
 Report Range – This classification is primarily based on the distance at which the gateway is
located. For example, for your fitness band to speak with your phone, it desires to be
positioned a few meters away at most. The assumption is that your smartphone needs to be at a
visible distance for you to seek advice from the said records on the smartphone screen. If the
phone is a long way away, you commonly do not use it, and reporting records from the band to
the phone is now not necessary. By contrast, a moisture sensor in the asphalt of a street might
also want to speak with its reader numerous hundred meters or even kilometres away.
Smart Applications
The Internet of Things (IoT) provides the ability to interconnect computing devices, mechanical
machines, objects, animals or unique identifiers and people to transfer data across a network
without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer is a system of conversation. IoT
applications bring a lot of value in our lives. The Internet of Things provides objects, computing
devices, or unique identifiers and people's ability to transfer data across a network without
the human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

A traffic camera is an intelligent device. The camera monitors traffic congestion,

accidents and weather conditions and can access it to a common entrance.
This gateway receives data from such cameras and transmits information to the city's traffic
monitoring system.

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 For example, the municipal corporation has decided to repair a road that is connected to
the national highway. It may cause traffic congestion to the national highway. The insight is sent
to the traffic monitoring system.
The intelligent system analyzes the situation, estimate their impact, and relay information
to other cities connected to the same highway. It generates live instructions to drivers by smart
devices and radio channels. It creates a network of self-dependent systems that take advantage of
real-time control.
Smart Applications
IoT is a platform where embedded devices are connected to the Internet
to collect and exchange data. It enables machines to interact, collaborate and learn from
experiences like humans. IoT applications equipped billions of objects
with connectivity and intelligence.
Applications of IoT
1. Wearables
Wearable technology is the hallmark of IoT applications and one of the earliest industries to
deploy IoT. We have fit bits, heart rate monitors and smartwatches these days.
Guardian glucose monitoring device has been developed to help people with diabetes. It detects
glucose levels in our body, uses a small electrode called the glucose sensor under the skin, and
relates it to a radiofrequency monitoring device.
2. Smart Home Applications
The smart home is probably the first thing when we talk about the IoT application. The example
we see the AI home automation is employed by Mark Zuckerberg. Alan Pan's home automation
system, where a string of musical notes uses in-house functions.
3. Health care
IoT applications can transform reactive medical-based systems into active wellness-based systems.
Resources that are used in current medical research lack important real-world information. It uses
controlled environments, leftover data, and volunteers for clinical trials. The Internet of
Things improves the device's power, precision and availability. IoT focuses on building systems
rather than just tools. Here's how the IoT-enabled care device works.
4. Smart Cities
Most of you have heard about the term smart city. Smart city uses technology to provide services.
The smart city includes improving transportation and social services, promoting stability and
giving voice to their citizens. 11
 The problems faced by Mumbai are very different from Delhi. Even global issues, such as clean
drinking water, declining air quality, and increasing urban density, occur in varying intensity
cities. Therefore, they affect every city.
Governments and engineers use the Internet of Things to analyze the complex factors of town and
each city. IoT applications help in the area of water management, waste control and emergencies.
Example of a smart city - Palo Alto.
Palo Alto, San Francisco, is the first city to acquire the traffic approach. He realized that
most cars roam around the same block on the streets in search of parking spots. It is the primary
cause of traffic congestion in the city. Thus, the sensors were installed at all parking areas in the
city. These sensors pass occupancy status to the cloud of each spot. This solution involves the use
of sensor arrays that collects data and uses it for many purposes.
5. Agriculture
By the year 2050, the world's growing population is estimated to have reached about 10 billion. To
feed such a large population, agriculture needs to marry technology and get the best results. There
are many possibilities in this area. One of them is Smart Greenhouse. Farming techniques grow
crops by environmental parameters. However, manual handling results in production losses,
energy losses and labor costs, making it less effective. The greenhouse makes it easy to monitor
and enables to control the climate inside it.
6. Industrial Automation
It is one of the areas where the quality of products is an essential factor for a more significant
investment return. Anyone can re-engineer products and their packaging to provide superior
performance in cost and customer experience with IoT applications. IoT will prove as a game-
changer. In industrial automation, IoT is used in the following areas:
o Product flow monitoring
o Factory digitization
o Inventory management
o Safety and security
o Logistics and Supply Chain Optimization
o Quality control
o Packaging customization
7. Hacked Car

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A connected car is a technology-driven car with Internet access and a WAN network. The
technology offers the user some benefits such as in-car infotainment, advanced navigation and fuel
efficiency.
8. Healthcare
Healthcare do real-time monitoring with the help of smart devices. It gathers and transfers health
data such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, weight, oxygen, and ECG. The patient can contact
the doctor by the smart mobile application in case of any emergency.
9. Smart Retail
IoT applications in retail give shoppers a new experience. Customers do not have to stand in long
queues as the checkout system can read the tags of the products and deduct the total amount from
the customer's payment app with IoT applications' help.
10. Smart Supply Chain
Customers automate the delivery and shipping with a smart supply chain. It also provides details
of real-time conditions and supply networks.
11. Smart Farming
Farmers can minimize waste and increase productivity. The system allows the monitoring of fields
with the help of sensors. Farmers can monitor the status of the area.

Study of existing IoT platforms /middleware

IoT middleware is software that sits between the hardware and applications layers in an
Internet of Things (IoT) system, providing a set of services and functionalities to manage the
communication and interaction between different IoT devices, platforms, and applications. IoT
middleware is essentially the glue that connects different components of an IoT system, enabling
them to work together seamlessly.
Importance of IoT Middleware in IoT Application
IoT middleware plays a crucial role in the development and deployment of IoT
applications. It provides a range of services and functionalities that enable the integration,
interoperability, and management of diverse IoT devices, platforms, and applications. Without IoT
middleware, it would be difficult to manage the vast amount of data generated by IoT devices, and
to enable the communication and coordination of different IoT devices and systems.
IoT middleware enables developers to build modular and reusable IoT applications, reducing the
time and cost involved in creating custom solutions from scratch. It also helps to ensure the
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 scalability, security, and reliability of IoT applications, enabling them to be deployed in a variety
of environments and use cases. In addition, IoT middleware enables the development of IoT
applications that can leverage multiple data sources and platforms, enhancing the richness and
usefulness of the data generated by IoT devices.
How IoT Middleware Works?
IoT middleware works by providing a layer of software between the hardware and
applications layers in an IoT system. The middleware layer provides a range of services and
functionalities that enable the communication, coordination, and management of different IoT
devices, platforms, and applications.
IoT middleware typically includes the following components
 Communication middleware − This middleware layer is responsible for managing the
communication between different IoT devices and platforms. It provides a set of protocols and
standards for data exchange, and enables the translation of data between different formats and
protocols.
 Data management middleware − This middleware layer is responsible for managing the data
generated by IoT devices. It provides a set of tools for collecting, storing, and processing data, and
enables the integration of data from multiple sources.
 Device management middleware − This middleware layer is responsible for managing the
configuration, monitoring, and control of IoT devices. It provides a set of tools for device
registration, provisioning, and firmware updates, and enables remote management of IoT devices.
 Security middleware − This middleware layer is responsible for providing security and privacy
services to IoT applications. It provides a set of tools for authentication, authorization, and
encryption, and enables secure communication between IoT devices and applications.
Types of IoT Middleware and Their Functionalities
There are several types of IoT middleware, each with its own set of functionalities and use cases.
Some of the most common types of IoT middleware include −
 Application enablement platforms (AEPs) − AEPs provide a set of tools and services for building,
deploying, and managing IoT applications. They typically include a range of data management,
device management, and security features, as well as tools for creating custom dashboards,
analytics, and visualizations.
 Integration middleware − Integration middleware provides a set of tools for integrating different
IoT devices and platforms. It enables the translation of data between different formats and
protocols, and provides a set of APIs for accessing and managing IoT data.
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 Gateway middleware − Gateway middleware provides a layer of software between IoT devices
and the cloud, enabling local processing and analysis of IoT data. It also enables communication
between devices that use different protocols, and provides a set of tools for managing device
connectivity and data transfer.
 Message-oriented middleware (MOM) − MOM provides a set of tools for managing message-
based communication between different IoT devices and platforms. It enables reliable and
efficient delivery of messages between devices, and supports features such as publish/subscribe,
point-to-point messaging, and message queuing.
Advantages of Using IoT Middleware
There are several advantages to using IoT middleware in the development and deployment of IoT
applications. Here are some of the key benefits −
 Integration and interoperability − IoT middleware provides a layer of abstraction that enables
different IoT devices, platforms, and applications to communicate and interact with each other.
This makes it easier to integrate disparate systems and devices, and enables seamless
interoperability between them.
 Scalability − IoT middleware enables the development of modular and reusable IoT applications
that can be easily scaled up or down as needed. This makes it easier to manage and maintain large-
scale IoT deployments, and enables organizations to quickly adapt to changing business needs and
requirements.
 Security − IoT middleware provides a range of security tools and services that help to protect IoT
devices and data from unauthorized access and attack. This includes features such as
authentication, authorization, encryption, and access control, which help to ensure the
confidentiality, integrity, and availability of IoT data.
 Reduced development time and cost − IoT middleware provides a range of pre-built modules,
libraries, and APIs that can be used to quickly and easily build IoT applications. This reduces the
time and cost involved in developing custom solutions from scratch, and enables developers to
focus on building value-added features and functionality.
Various IoT platforms are now a day available that can be used for developing an IoT
solution listed below:
Google Cloud Platform
Developers can code, test and deploy their applications with highly scalable and reliable
infrastructure that is provided by Google and Google itself uses it. Developers have to just
pay attention to the code and Google handles issues regarding infrastructure, computing
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 power and data storage facility. [7] Google is one of the popular IoT platform because of:
Fast global network, Google's BigData tool, Pay as you use strategy, Support of various
available services of cloud like RiptideIO, BigQuery, Firebase, PubSub, Telit Wireless
Solutions, Connecting Arduino and Firebase and Cassandra on Google Cloud Platform and
many more.

Figure 2. Real Time Stream Processing- Google IoT [8]

Figure-2 shows real time stream processing by Google. Devices send their status information
to App Engine. So first load balancer makes sure that the load is balanced among various app
engines. Then compute engine performs data computation and publication of data. Multiple
instances of compute engine are available to insure reliability and scalability. The data is
stored and backed up using cloud storage. Big query allows speedy insertion of data in tables
of cloud database. The results can be presented to the end users by means of various analysis
and visualisation technique.
Key features:
 Run on Google's infrastructure
 Scalability
 Compute, storage and services
 Higher performance
 Provided support if required
 Assurance of Google Grade security and compliance for your applications
 Environment safe cloud
IBM BlueMix:
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 IBM BlueMix is a platform as a service (PaaS) cloud which is developed by IBM. It
supports programing languages like java, php, Python, Node.js, Go and many more.
Integrated DevOps allows to build, run, deploy as well as to manage applications over IBM
BlueMix cloud. BlueMix platform is based on Cloud Foundry open technology. It runs on
Soft- Layer infrastructure. [9] The IBM Internet of Things Foundation is powered by IBM's
following leading products and services: IBM DataPower Gateway, IBM WebSphere
Application Server Liberty Core, IBM Informix TimeSeries, IBM MessageSight, Cloudant
and SoftLayer.
IoT foundation shown in Figure-3 combined with IBM BlueMix platform provides
powerful application access to IoT data and devices. IBM BlueMix support rapid
development of analytics applications, visualization dashboard, and mobile IoT applications.
You can create your IoT application with IBM Bluemix and then IBM provide REST and
secure API to connect your device data with your application. IBM IoT foundation is the hub
where you can set up and manage your connected devices. IBM IoT foundation uses MQTT
protocol to securely transfer device data to cloud.
Key features:
 Powerful web dashboard
 Device Registration
 Scalable connectivity
 Security of communication
 Storage of data
 Provided support if required

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 Figure 3. IBM IoT Foundation [10]

ThingWorx
ThingWorx is the first software platform designed to build and run the connected world
applications. ThingWorx focuses on reducing the time, cost, and risk required to build
innovative Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
ThingWorx accelerates
IoT application development by compressing the design-develop-deploy cycle and
reducing time to market. ThingWorx lets you deploy exactly the way you want either from
cloud, on premise, federated or embedded, to fit the needs of any scenario. ThingWorx
supports rapid creation of smart applications like: Smart Agriculture, Smart Cities, Smart
Grid, Smart Water, Smart Buildings, and Telematics. It is a development suite that enables
complete application design, runtime, and intelligence environment. [11] The ThingWorx
Internet of Things Foundation is powered by a ThingWorx's following leading products and
services: ThingWorx Composer, Codeless Mashup Builder, Event-Driven Execution and 3D
Storage, ThingWorx SQUEAL, ThingWorx Edge MicroServer.As shown in Figure-4
ThingWorx IoT platform provides device cloud to connect millions of devices with IoT
application. It provides always on communication using REST, MQTT and sockets. Above
the layer of communication there are system service integration, 3D storage engine and
business logic. System service integration interact with business systems like ERP, CRM etc.
3D storage engine enables big data analytics. Above it there is a layer for REST APIs that
helps to implement and use social services and cloud services. Then the data is presented via
various visualization techniques.

Key Features

 Modern and Complete Platform provisioning

 Faster deployment
 Integrate People, Systems and Machines
 Deploy in the way You Like to do it
 Let your Application evolve and grow Over Time
 Search-based Intelligence
 Allows collaboration
 Flexible Connectivity 18
OptionsMicrosoft Azure Cloud:
According to Microsoft, Internet of Things for your business starts with the things that are
involved in your business and affect it the most. It starts from the infrastructure of your
business by adding devices and services into it with technological expansion, will lead you to
get insight of the information and make powerful and informative business decision.
Thus, here IoT is actually Internet of Your things. The piece of data about customers, sales,
business processes or other inventory data is valuable asset to your organisation and it can
help you to power your business.[12] Microsoft has the ability to transform your current
business to a flexible intelligent system on your existing investment to achieve true
flexibility.
Microsoft provides Microsoft Azure Intelligent System Service which forms an
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 integrated platform and services that builds Internet of Things systems and applications by
gathering, storing and processing data. Intelligent systems services build upon Microsoft
Azure helps organizations to securely connect, manage, capture and transform machine
generated data into valuable information. Power BI, Office 365 and HD insight are powerful
Microsoft assets that can be used to produce meaningful insights. Intelligent Systems Service
provides agents and open-source agent software which help to support heterogeneous
operating systems and protocols for Internet of Things System. With the help of Microsoft
Cloud Compute facility, scalable data collection, processing and analysis can be done for
your business processes. Cloud provides solution for data storage, data processing, data
consumption and data analysis on real time or latent data. [13]
Figure-5 shows how Microsoft provides IoT solution. The core of Microsoft IoT
foundation is Microsoft Azure cloud platform. It provides connectivity of millions of devices
and sensors with IoT application. It provides remote access, monitoring, and content
distribution and configuration management facilities for connected devices. It provides big
data analysis, social as well as business integration and dash boarding tools to IoT application
to build an IoT solution.

Figure 5. Microsoft IoT foundation

Key features:

 Build on what already established

 Get more benefits from your existing assets 20
 Small changes and big reflection
 Trusted support
 Expertise in development to deployment
 Connectivity of any device
 Skilled partners and powerful innovation
 Data insights
 Scalability
 Easy way for business transformation
 Agility
ThingSpeak
ThingSpeak is an application platform for the development of IoT systems. It can help you to
build the application which works upon the data collected by sensors. ThingSpeak is an open
data platform for IoT application development. ThingSpeak is the perfect complement to an
existing enterprise system to tap into the Internet of Things. It provides the ability to integrate
your data with a variety of third-party platforms, systems and technologies, including other
leading IoT platforms such as ioBridge and Arduino. [15] ThingsSpeak channel is used to
send and store data. Each channel has: Eight fields that can hold any type of data, three
location fields, and one status field. After creating a ThingSpeak channel, one can publish
data to the channel, the data can be processed and application can retrieve the data.
ThingSpeak platform provides following functionality to support IoT system: 1) Collect:
Sends sensor and device data collected from it to the cloud so that the data can be further
analysed. 2) Analyse: ThingSpeak can analyse the data received from sensors or devices and
can derive the virtual representation of the data. 3) Act: Based upon the analysis, it will
trigger the action to enable functioning of IoT system and application.

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 Figure 6. Electric Imp and ThingSpeak IoT [16]

Figure-6 shows ThingSpeak IoT with Electric Imp platform. Here Electric Imp is a platform
with provides connectivity of Wi-Fi devices with cloud services. It provides access to the
Electric Imp modules. Once the connectivity to such modules is simplified by Electric Imp
cloud, data services from ThingSpeak are used to get IoT experience.
Key features:
 It provides real time collection of data storage
 Data analytics and Visualization using MATLAB
 Device Communication
 Open API support
 Provides Geolocation data
 Facilitates plugins
Digital Service Cloud:

Digital service cloud (DSC) is an open IoT platform. It allows IoT innovators to own their
customers the way customers own their products. It supports product start-ups, global
technological brands and product innovators. It is a platform that accelerates time to
market process for a new innovation. By using the readymade infrastructure provided by
Digital Service Cloud, one can build needed customised IoT solutions by connecting devices
and using plug and play dashboard. Then one has to monitor and manage the product over its
lifetime. It connects your product with a network of millions of devices. It runs a UI-driven
rules engine that requires no coding. It monitors and streams a petabyte of real time data. It
operates on a secure tenant based system and provides quick launch of your application with a
wizard based app builders. [17]

Figure-7 shows DSC IoT foundation. Here consumer devices equipped with variety of
sensors can connect to IoT application available on cloud and can communicate with
application. Various networking and connectivity techniques are available that can connect
the devices over cloud. Cloud provides device management and app development. Data
analytics and visualisation through powerful dashboard are supported to end users.

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 Figure 7. Digital Service Cloud IoT foundation [18]

Key features:

 Scalability
 Security
 Plug and Play
 Unified customer service
 Big data analytics
 Monitoring, maintenance and management of devices
 Multi-channel support delivery
 Preventive support through support cloud
 Users across diverse verticals
Amazon Web Services:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) allows Internet of Things on a global scale by facilitating
security, services and support. It facilitates immediate access to desired computing power
by means of Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2). Helps to performs big data analytics
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 and supports high volume data. Amazon Kinesis helps to ingest data from thousands of
sensors. AWS provides security to your data which can be in transit or at rest. AWS provide
pay-as-you-go model for IoT applications. It has it multiple pricing models like tiered
pricing, Reserved Instances, and an active marketplace. AWS supports on demand
infrastructure to accommodate need of IoT system..
It provides access to more storage, compute capability and global resources when
needed. AWS provides flexibility for IoT applications in terms of tools, programing
languages, data management and other infrastructure resources. ActiveMq and Mosquitto
servers help in managing and analysing IoT applications. User identity, device analytics,
and device messaging/notifications are all common parts of an Internet of Things application.
Amazon Web Services provides services that take the effort out of these important parts of
your application. Services like Amazon Cognito, Amazon Mobile Analytics, and Mobile
Push to take care of the undifferentiated heavy lifting while you focus on the differentiated
benefits of application. [24] As shown in Figure-9, Amazon Kinesis can collect high
throughput data from devices and gateways, and then it can analyze and store it over cloud
so that applications can consume it and can generate quick decision. It can support data up to
any scale.

Figure 9. Data streaming from Gateway to cloud by Amazon Kinesis [25]

Key features:
 Scalability
 Privacy and Security
 Pay-as-you go model
 High availability and flexibility
 Data analytics and storage of high volume data
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 On demand services like other platforms
 Provides Hardware resources

IOT-A [IOT ARCHITECTURE]

Defines it as “The idea of a globally interconnected continuum of devices, objects and things
in general emerged with the RFID technology, and this concept has considerably been extended to
the current vision that envisages a plethora of heterogeneous objects interacting with the physical
environment.”

IoT architecture consists of the devices, network structure, and cloud technology that allows
IoT devices to communicate with each other.
Edge Technology layer
This is a hardware layer that consists of embedded systems, RFID tags, sensor networks and
all of the other sensors in different forms. This hardware layer can perform several functions, such
as collecting information from a system or an environment, processing information and supporting
communication.

Access Gateway layer

This layer is concerned with data handling, and is responsible for publishing and subscribing
the services that are provided by the Things, message routing, and hovelling the communication
between platforms.
Middleware layer
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 This layer has some critical functionalities, such as aggregating and filtering the received data
from the hardware devices, performing information discovery and providing access control to the
devices for applications.
Application layer
This layer is responsible for delivering various application services. These services are
provided through the middleware layer to different applications and users in IoT- based systems.
The application services can be used in different industries such as, logistics, retail, healthcare, etc.
HYDRA
The Hydra middleware allows developers to incorporate heterogeneous physical devices
into their applications by offering easy-to-use web service interfaces for controlling any type of
physical device irrespective of its network technology such as Bluetooth, RF, ZigBee, RFID,
WiFi, etc. Hydra incorporates means for Device and Service Discovery, Semantic Model Driven
Architecture, P2P communication, and Diagnostics. Hydra enabled devices and services can be
secure and trustworthy through distributed security and social trust components of the middleware.
Due to trademark rights, the name “Hydra” can not be used for the middleware when
marketed after the end of the project. So the partners registered a commercial name LinkSmart,
which will be used for post-project artefacts, whereas Hydra only refers to project-related events
and artefacts. The Hydra project was a 4½-year Integrated Project that developed middleware for
Networked Embedded Systems. The project ended in 2010.
Rationale
Producers of devices and components are increasingly facing the need for networking their
own and complementary products in order to provide higher value-added solutions for their
customers or because citizen centred demands require much more focus on intelligent solutions
where the complexity is hidden behind user-friendly interfaces to promote Inclusion. Given the
enormous amount of heterogeneous devices, sensors and actuators with embedded systems already
existing in the market, the diversity of the producers and manufactures, the different clock speed
of the deployed technologies (from several decades to some months), there is a very large need for
technologies and tools that easily can add, implement and exploit the intelligence embedded in the
devices. The goal for the producers is to be able to build cost-efficient ambient intelligence
systems with optimal performance, high confidence, reduced time to market and faster
deployment and still build on the enormous assets of the installed base.

Architecture
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 The software architecture is an abstract representation of the software part of the Hydra
middleware. The architecture is a partitioning scheme, describing components and their interaction
with each other.
The middleware constitutes a software layer between the operating system of software
enabled device and a user application that communicates with that device.
The middleware provides protocols that execute on top of the transport layer and provide
services to the application layer.
Figure 1 gives a structural overview of the middleware and explains how the elements are
logically grouped together. “Hydra Managers” constitute the major building blocks that make up
the middleware.
A Hydra Manager encapsulates a set of operations and data that realise a specific functionality.

Figure 1 The Hydra architecture

The main technical components in the Hydra architecture are:

 Service-Oriented Architecture
 Model-Driven Approach
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 3-layered Discovery Architecture
 P2P-based Network Architecture
 Dynamic Runtime Architecture
 Context Management
 Self-* Management
 Security and Trust enabled
 Storage Management
All devices and services comprising the middleware have been integrated in a Service
Oriented Architecture (SoA), which effectively turns all devices into web services and thus
provides extensive interoperability at the syntactic level, i.e. the capability of components to talk
to each other regardless of the interface technology and their physical locations, is achieved by
means of standard protocols from the world of web services, e.g. XML, XSL-t, SOAP, WSDL,
XML Schema, WS-Security, WS-Addressing and several others.
A key feature of the Hydra middleware is to bring semantic web technologies down to the
device level, i.e., each device can act as a semantic web service accessible by other devices, users
and software applications. Ontologies are also used to create models of applications enabling
context-related semantic support.
Due to the model-driven architecture, the middleware uses metadata on devices and lower-
level protocols to semantically resolve new devices as they enter a Hydra Network during run-
time and automatically generate the software drivers for the web services. The middleware
provides a discovery architecture that builds on UPnP technology. The approach implements a
three layered discovery architecture that includes physical device detection, UPnP network
announcement and semantic resolution of devices against a device ontology.
The middleware distinguishes between powerful devices that are capable of running the
Hydra middleware natively and smaller devices that are too constrained or closed to run the
middleware. For the latter devices, proxies are used and once proxies are in place, all
communication is based on the IP protocol. Ontologies are also used to create models of
applications enabling context-related semantic support.
The Hydra Access Control Framework is policy-driven: access control policies are used to
define and enforce resource access security. Hydra uses the declarative eXtensible Access Control
Markup Language (XACML) format to define and evaluate access control policies.

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