A Review On Internet of Things (Iot) : International Journal of Computer Applications March 2015
A Review On Internet of Things (Iot) : International Journal of Computer Applications March 2015
A Review On Internet of Things (Iot) : International Journal of Computer Applications March 2015
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ABSTRACT computing was first given by Mark Weiser [5]. However in 1999,
Bill Joy gave a clue about Device to Device communication in his
Internet, a revolutionary invention, is always transforming into taxonomy of internet [6]. In the very same year, Kevin Ashton pro-
some new kind of hardware and software making it unavoidable posed the term ”Internet of Things” to describe a system of inter-
for anyone. The form of communication that we see now is either connected devices [7].
human-human or human-device, but the Internet of Things (IoT)
promises a great future for the internet where the type of commu- The basic idea of IoT is to allow autonomous exchange of useful
nication is machine-machine (M2M). This paper aims to provide information between invisibly embedded different uniquely iden-
a comprehensive overview of the IoT scenario and reviews its en- tifiable real world devices around us, fueled by the leading tech-
abling technologies and the sensor networks. Also, it describes a nologies like Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) and Wireless
six-layered architecture of IoT and points out the related key chal- Sensor Networks (WSNs) [2] which are sensed by the sensor de-
lenges. vices and further processed for decision making, on the basis of
which an automated action is performed [1].
Keywords:
Internet of Things, RFID, WSN, IOT architecture, IoT Vision, IoT
applications, IoT security.
1. INTRODUCTION
With the continuous advancements in technology a potential in-
novation, IoT is coming down the road which is burgeoning as
an ubiquitous global computing network where everyone and ev-
erything will be connected to the Internet [1]. IoT is continually
evolving and is a hot research topic where opportunities are infi-
nite. Imaginations are boundless which have put it on the verge
of reshaping the current form of internet into a modified and inte-
grated version. The number of devices availing internet services is
increasing every day and having all of them connected by wire or
wireless will put a powerful source of information at our finger tips.
The concept of enabling interaction between intelligent machines is
a cutting-edge technology but the technologies composing the IoT
Fig. 1. Expected penetration of connected objects by the year 2020, ac-
are not something new for us [2]. IoT, as you can guess by its name,
cording to Cisco
is the approach of converging data obtained from different kinds of
things to any virtual platform on existing Internet infrastructure [3].
The concept of IoT dates back to 1982 when a modified coke ma- The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 analyzes the vision of
chine was connected to the Internet which was able to report the the IoT. Section 3 describes the generic architecture of the IoT. Sec-
drinks contained and that whether the drinks were cold [4]. Later, tion 4 discusses the technologies that IoT is composed of. Section
in 1991, a contemporary vision of IoT in the form of ubiquitous 5 forecasts the future applications. Section 6 discusses the privacy
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2. VISION
In 2005, ITU reported about a ubiquitous networking era in which
all the networks are interconnected and everything from tires to
attires will be a part of this huge network [8]. Imagine yourself do-
ing an internet search for your watch you lost somewhere in your
house. So this is the main vision of IoT, an environment where
things are able to talk and their data can be processed to perform
desired tasks through machine learning [9]. A practical implemen-
tation of IoT is demonstrated by a soon-to-be released Twine, a
compact and low-power hardware working together with real-time
web software to make this vision a reality [10]. However different
people and organizations have their own different visions for the
IoT [11].
An article published in Network World revealed IoT strategies of
top IT vendors, they carried out some interviews from the key IT
vendors. As of HP’s vision, they see a world where people are al-
ways connected to their content. Cisco believes in the industrial Fig. 2. Six-Layered Architecture of IoT
automation and convergence of operational technology. Intel is fo-
cused on empowering billions of existing devices with intelligence. 3.2 Perception Layer
Microsoft does not consider IoT as any futuristic technology; they
This is the device layer of IoT which gives a physical meaning to
believe that it already exists in today’s powerful devices and that
each object. It consists of data sensors in different forms like RFID
the devices just need to be connected for a large amount of informa-
tags, IR sensors or other sensor networks [23] which could sense
tion which could be helpful. While, IBM has a vision of a Smarter
the temperature, humidity, speed and location etc of the objects.
Planet by remotely controlling the devices via secured servers [12].
This layer gathers the useful information of the objects from the
Despite of having different visions, they all agree about a network sensor devices linked with them and converts the information into
of interconnected devices therefore more developments within the digital signals which is then passed onto the Network Layer for
coming decades are expected to be seen including that of a new further action.
converged information society [13].
3.3 Network Layer
3. ARCHITECTURE The purpose of this layer is receive the useful information in the
form of digital signals from the Perception Layer and transmit it to
More than 25 Billion things are expected to be connected by 2020 the processing systems in the Middleware Layer through the trans-
[14] which is a huge number so the existing architecture of Internet mission mediums like WiFi, Bluetooth, WiMaX, Zigbee, GSM, 3G
with TCP/IP protocols, adopted in 1980 [15], cannot handle a net- etc with protocols like IPv4, IPv6, MQTT, DDS etc [24].
work as big as IoT which caused a need for a new open architecture
that could address various security and Quality of Service (QoS) 3.4 Middlware Layer
issues as well as it could support the existing network applications
using open protocols [16]. Without a proper privacy assurance, IoT This layer processes the information received from the sensor de-
is not likely to be adopted by many [17]. Therefore protection of vices [2]. It includes the technologies like Cloud computing, Ubiq-
data and privacy of users are key challenges for IoT [18]. uitous computing which ensures a direct access to the database to
store all the necessary information in it. Using some Intelligent Pro-
For further development of IoT, a number of multi-layered security cessing Equipment, the information is processed and a fully auto-
architectures are proposed. [19] described a three key level archi- mated action is taken based on the processed results of the infor-
tecture of IoT while [20] described a four key level architecture. mation.
[21] proposed a five layered architecture using the best features of
the architectures of Internet and Telecommunication management 3.5 Application Layer
networks based on TCP/IP and TMN models respectively. Simi-
larly a six-layered architecture was also proposed based on the net- This layer realizes the applications of IoT for all kinds of industry,
work hierarchical structure [22]. So generally it’s divided into six based on the processed data. Because applications promote the de-
layers as shown in the Fig. 2. velopment of IoT so this layer is very helpful in the large scale de-
velopment of IoT network [21]. The IoT related applications could
The six layers of IoT are described below: be smart homes, smart transportation, smart planet etc.
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any time and any place [35]. Cloud computing is the most important combined with Nano technologies are a cost-effective solution for
part of IoT, which not only converges the servers but also processes improvising the communication system of IoT and other advan-
on an increased processing power and analyzes the useful infor- tages like size reduction of sensors and actuators, integrated ubiq-
mation obtained from the sensors and even provide good storage uitous computing devices and higher range of frequencies etc [39].
capacity [36]. But this is just a beginning of unleashing the true po-
tential of this technology. Cloud computing interfaced with smart 4.7 Optical Technologies
objects using potentially millions of sensors can be of enormous
benefits and can help IoT for a very large scale development so re- Rapid developments in the field of Optical technologies in the form
searches are being carried out since IoT will be totally dependent of technologies like Li-Fi and Cisco’s BiDi optical technology
on the Cloud Computing. could be a major breakthrough in the development of IoT. Li-Fi,
an epoch-making Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology,
will provide a great connectivity on a higher bandwidth for the ob-
jects interconnected on the concept of IoT. Similarly Bi-Directional
(BiDi) technology gives a 40G ethernet for a big data from multi-
farious devices of IoT [40].
5. APPLICATIONS
Most of the daily life applications that we normally see are al-
ready smart but they are unable to communicate with each other
and enabling them to communicate with each other and share use-
ful information with each other will create a wide range of inno-
vative applications [41]. These emerging applications with some
autonomous capabilities would certainly improve the quality of our
lives. A few of such applications are already in the market [26], let’s
take the example of the Google Car which is an initiative to provide
a self-driving car experience with real-time traffic, road conditions,
Fig. 5. A typical Cloud Computing Scenario weather and other information exchanges [42], all due to the con-
cept of IoT. There are a number of possible future applications that
can be of great advantage. In this section, we present few of these
applications.
4.4 Networking Technologies
5.0.1 Smart Traffic System. Traffic is an important part of a soci-
These technologies have an important role in the success of IoT ety therefore all the related problems must be properly addressed.
since they are responsible for the connection between the objects, There is a need for a system that can improve the traffic situation
so we need a fast and an effective network to handle a large number based on the traffic information obtained from objects using IoT
of potential devices. For wide-range transmission network we com- technologies [43]. For such an intelligent traffic monitoring sys-
monly use 3G, 4G etc. but As we know, mobile traffic is so much tem, realization of a proper system for automatic identification of
predictable since it only has to perform the usual tasks like making vehicles and other traffic factors is very important for which we
a call, sending a text message etc. so as we step into this modern era need IoT technologies instead of using common image processing
of ubiquitous computing, it will not be predictable anymore which methods [44]. The intelligent traffic monitoring system will provide
calls for a need of a super-fast, super-efficient fifth generation wire- a good transportation experience by easing the congestion. It will
less system which could offer a lot more bandwidth [37]. Similarly provide features like theft-detection, reporting of traffic accidents,
for a short-range communication network we use technologies like less environmental pollution. The roads of this smart city will give
Bluetooth, WiFi etc. diversions with climatic changes or unexpected traffic jams due to
which driving and walking routes will be optimized [1]. The traf-
4.5 Nano Technologies fic lighting system will be weather adaptive to save energy. Avail-
ability of parking spaces throughout the city will be accessible by
everyone.
This technology realizes smaller and improved version of the things
that are interconnected. It can decrease the consumption of a sys- 5.0.2 Smart Environment. Prediction of natural disasters such as
tem by enabling the development of devices in nano meters scale flood, fire, earthquakes etc will be possible due to innovative tech-
which can be used as a sensor and an actuator just like a normal nologies of IoT. There will be a proper monitoring of air pollution
device. Such a nano device is made from nano components and in the environment.
the resulting network defines a new networking paradigm which is
Internet of Nano-Things [38]. 5.0.3 Smart Home. IoT will also provide DIY solutions for
Home Automation with which we will be able to remotely con-
4.6 Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) trol our appliances as per our needs. Proper monitoring of utility
meters, energy and water supply will help saving resources and
Technologies detecting unexpected overloading, water leaks etc. There will be
MEMS are a combination of electric and mechanical components proper encroachment detection system which will prevent burglar-
working together to provide several applications including sensing ies. Gardening sensors will be able to measure the light, humidity,
and actuating which are already being commercially used in many temperature, moisture and other gardening vitals, as well as it will
field in the form of transducers and accelerometers etc. MEMS water the plants according to their needs.
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5.0.4 Smart Hospitals. Hospitals will be equipped with smart 6.3 Cloud Computing Abuse
flexible wearable embedded with RFID tags which will be given to
the patients on arrivals, through which not just doctors but nurses Cloud Computing is a big network of converged servers which
will also be able to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, temperature allow sharing of resources between each other. These shared re-
and other conditions of patients inside or outside the premises of sources can face a lot of security threats like Man-in-the-middle
hospital [45]. There are many medical emergencies such as cardiac attack (MITM), Phishing etc. Steps must be taken to ensure the
arrest but ambulances take some time to reach patient, Drone Am- complete security of the clouding platform [49]. Cloud Security
bulances are already in the market which can fly to the scene with Alliance (CSA) proposed some possible threats among which few
the emergency kit so due to proper monitoring, doctors will be able are Malicious Insider, Data Loss, Accounts Hijacking and Mon-
to track the patients and can send in the drone to provide quick strous use of Shared Computers etc [50] which are summarized as
medical care until the ambulance arrive. followed:
5.0.5 Smart Agriculture. It will monitor Soil nutrition, Light, (1) Malicious Insider is a threat that someone from the inside who
Humidity etc and improve the green housing experience by au- have an access to the user’s data could be involved in data ma-
tomatic adjustment of temperature to maximize the production. nipulating.
Accurate watering and fertilization will help improving the water (2) Data Loss is a threat in which any miscreant user who has an
quality and saving the fertilizers respectively [46]. unauthorized access to the network can modify or delete the
existing data.
5.0.6 Smart Retailing and Supply-chain Management. IoT with (3) Man-in-the-middle (MITM) is a kind of Account Hijacking
RFID provides many advantages to retailers. With RFID equipped threat in which the attacker can alter or intercept messages in
products, a retailer can easily track the stocks and detect shoplift- the communication between two parties.
ing. It can keep a track of all the items in a store and to prevent them
from going out-of-stock, it places an order automatically. Moreover (4) Cloud computing could be used in a monstrous ways because if
the retailer can even generate the sales chart and graphs for effec- the attacker gets to upload any malicious software in the server
tive strategies. e.g. using a zombie-army (botnet), it could get the attacker a
control of many other connected devices.
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