The Emerging Internet of Things Marketplace From an Industrial Perspective: A Survey

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a dynamic global information network consisting of internet-connected objects, such as Radio-frequency identification (RFIDs), sensors, actuators, as well as other instruments and smart appliances that are becoming an integral component of the future internet. Over the last decade, we have seen a large number of the IoT solutions developed by start-ups, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, academic research institutes (such as universities), and private and public research organisations making their way into the market. In this paper, we survey over one hundred IoT smart solutions in the marketplace and examine them closely in order to identify the technologies used, functionalities, and applications. More importantly, we identify the trends, opportunities and open challenges in the industry-based the IoT solutions. Based on the application domain, we classify and discuss these solutions under five different categories: smart wearable, smart home, smart, city, smart environment, and smart enterprise. This survey is intended to serve as a guideline and conceptual framework for future research in the IoT and to motivate and inspire further developments. It also provides a systematic exploration of existing research and suggests a number of potentially significant research directions.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing 201

Integration of UAVS with Real Time Operating Systems and Establishing a Secure Data Transmission

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)In today’s world, the applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems are leaping by extending their scope from military applications on to commercial and medical sectors as well. Owing to this commercialization, the need to append external hardware with UAV systems becomes inevitable. This external hardware could aid in enabling wireless data transfer between the UAV system and remote Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) using low powered architecture like Thread, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The data is being transmitted from the flight controller to the ground control station using a MAVlink (Micro Air Vehicle Link) protocol. But this radio transmission method is not secure, which may lead to data leakage problems. The ideal aim of this research is to address the issues of integrating different hardware with the flight controller of the UAV system using a light-weight protocol called UAVCAN (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Controller Area Network). This would result in reduced wiring and would harness the problem of integrating multiple systems to UAV. At the same time, data security is addressed by deploying an encryption chip into the UAV system to encrypt the data transfer using ECC (Elliptic curve cryptography) and transmitting it to cloud platforms instead of radio transmission

An IoT-oriented fast prototyping platform for BLE-based star topology networks

The Internet of Things (IoT) is characterized by many technologies, standards, tools and devices for a wide range of application fields and often, for the end-users (makers and developers), is hard to orientate in an equally wide range of offers from various manufacturers. In recent years, the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication protocol is achieving a large portion of the market, thanks to its low-power and low-cost orientation and its pervasiveness in mobile devices, like smartphones. For these reasons, BLE is increasingly used in IoT-oriented Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), where a small set of devices arranged in star topology network and connected to a smartphone and a Wi-Fi gateway, can cover a large number of monitoring and controlling use case scenarios. This work presents the ST’s STM32 Open Development Environment (ODE), a complete suite of hardware and software tools representing a reference point for end-users willing to create BLE-based star topology networks for a wide range of applications. Through a simple use case in a smart home context, it is shown how all provided tools can be used to fast prototype applications addressing all user requirements

Evolving SDN for Low-Power IoT Networks

Software Defined Networking (SDN) offers a flexible and scalable architecture that abstracts decision making away from individual devices and provides a programmable network platform. However, implementing a centralized SDN architecture within the constraints of a low-power wireless network faces considerable challenges. Not only is controller traffic subject to jitter due to unreliable links and network contention, but the overhead generated by SDN can severely affect the performance of other traffic. This paper addresses the challenge of bringing high-overhead SDN architecture to IEEE 802.15.4 networks. We explore how traditional SDN needs to evolve in order to overcome the constraints of low-power wireless networks, and discuss protocol and architectural optimizations necessary to reduce SDN control overhead - the main barrier to successful implementation. We argue that interoperability with the existing protocol stack is necessary to provide a platform for controller discovery and coexistence with legacy networks. We consequently introduce {\mu}SDN, a lightweight SDN framework for Contiki, with both IPv6 and underlying routing protocol interoperability, as well as optimizing a number of elements within the SDN architecture to reduce control overhead to practical levels. We evaluate {\mu}SDN in terms of latency, energy, and packet delivery. Through this evaluation we show how the cost of SDN control overhead (both bootstrapping and management) can be reduced to a point where comparable performance and scalability is achieved against an IEEE 802.15.4-2012 RPL-based network. Additionally, we demonstrate {\mu}SDN through simulation: providing a use-case where the SDN configurability can be used to provide Quality of Service (QoS) for critical network flows experiencing interference, and we achieve considerable reductions in delay and jitter in comparison to a scenario without SDN

Ten Quick Tips for Using a Raspberry Pi

Much of biology (and, indeed, all of science) is becoming increasingly computational. We tend to think of this in regards to algorithmic approaches and software tools, as well as increased computing power. There has also been a shift towards slicker, packaged solutions--which mirrors everyday life, from smart phones to smart homes. As a result, it's all too easy to be detached from the fundamental elements that power these changes, and to see solutions as "black boxes". The major goal of this piece is to use the example of the Raspberry Pi--a small, general-purpose computer--as the central component in a highly developed ecosystem that brings together elements like external hardware, sensors and controllers, state-of-the-art programming practices, and basic electronics and physics, all in an approachable and useful way. External devices and inputs are easily connected to the Pi, and it can, in turn, control attached devices very simply. So whether you want to use it to manage laboratory equipment, sample the environment, teach bioinformatics, control your home security or make a model lunar lander, it's all built from the same basic principles. To quote Richard Feynman, "What I cannot create, I do not understand".Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Intelligent Egg Incubator

This research presents the design and development of a chicken egg incubator. The aim is to design and construct an “Intelligent Egg Incubator” that can hatch chicken eggs automatically. In the design, author used a temperature control system that controls the temperature of the incubator. This system consists of a temperature sensor, heating and cooling elements and a controller. If the temperature of the incubator exceeds a certain value, the cooling unit will operate to reduce the temperature while if the temperature goes below another threshold value, the heating element will start to operate to increase the temperature. Furthermore, author used a motion sensor to detect the movements of the eggs. If there is a movement inside the incubator, the owner of the incubator will get the notification about the conditions of the egg

Reserved Parking Validation

A common situation that we can testify every day: fossil fuel cars occupying electric cars charge only places, and handy capped reserved places, occupied with cars without the proper authorization. This is something that plagues our society, where the values and moral are forgotten, and our duties and rights are lost in the day-to-day life. There are more and more cars moving, every day, to the city center, where the lack of available parking, together with the lack of proper public transportation creates a chaotic situation. Also, the large proliferation of electric cars, that is not accompanied by a proportional availability of electric chargers, raises issues, where these cars’ drivers are not allowed to charge their vehicles, most of the times, because they are being used as abusive parking. This dissertation has the goal to identify and propose a universal solution, with low implementation and maintenance costs, that allows a fast and unambiguous validation of authorization of a user, for parking in a reserved parking space

Implementing a design thinking approach to de-risk the digitalisation of manufacturing SMEs

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has proposed a significant shift in the way companies approach manufacturing. However, this new paradigm is not without faults. The integration of processes and equipment (‘digitalisation’) can be prohibitively expensive or too technically complex for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources and technical expertise. Another barrier to digitalisation lies in the ambiguity of not knowing what precise practices to adopt to improve productivity. Although these challenges have been identified in the literature, there is still little evidence on how to tackle them. Thus, we explore how design thinking can help overcome these challenges, given that it has been used in many organisations and disciplines to deal with complex and ambiguous problems. We do so by investigating the research question ‘How can designers and design thinking processes assist manufacturing SMEs’ digitalisation?’ We address this research question by presenting a case study of a university–industry collaboration where the authors utilised a design-thinking process to select and implement technologies to capture, process and analyse data for an Australian medical device manufacturer. By reflecting on the case study, we identified the user-centeredness of design thinking as crucial in selecting technologies for implementation that prioritised usability and brought value to all stakeholders. Furthermore, iterative prototyping was critical to scale up the required expertise and deliver a successful sustainable solution without investing vast resources. Our work suggests that designers and design thinking have the potential to help de-risk digitalisation. Finally, we suggest a framework that may assist in guiding other SMEs approaching digitalisation and provide a starting point for further design thinking research in this area

Blind guide: anytime, anywhere

Sight dominates our mental life, more than any other sense. Even when we are just thinking about something the world, we end imagining what looks like. This rich visual experience is part of our lives. People need the vision for two complementary reasons. One of them is vision give us the knowledge to recognize objects in real time. The other reason is vision provides us the control one need to move around and interact with objects. Eyesight helps people to avoid dangers and navigate in our world. Blind people usually have enhanced accuracy and sensibility of their other natural senses to sense their surroundings. But sometimes this is not enough because the human senses can be affected by external sources of noise or disease. Without any foreign aid or device, sightless cannot navigate in the world. Many assistive tools have been developed to help blind people. White canes or guide dogs help blind in their navigation. Each device has their limitation. White canes cannot detect head level obstacles, drop-offs, and obstructions over a meter away. The training of a guide dog takes a long time, almost five years in some cases. The sightless also needs training and is not a solution for everybody. Taking care of a guide dog can be expensive and time consuming. Humans have developed technology for helping us in every aspect of our lives. The primary goal of technology is helping people to improve their quality of life. Technology can assist us with our limitations. Wireless sensor networks is a technology that has been used to help people with disabilities. In this dissertation, the author proposes a system based on this technology called Blind Guide. Blind Guide is an artifact that helps blind people to navigate in indoors or outdoors scenarios. The prototype is portable assuring that can be used anytime and anywhere. The system is composed of wireless sensors that can be used in different parts of the body. The sensors detect an obstacle and inform the user with an audible warning providing a safety walk to the users. A great feature about Blind Guide is its modularity. The system can adapt to the needs of the user and can be used in a combination with other solution. For example, Blind Guide can be used in conjunction with the white cane. The white cane detects obstacles below waist level and a Blind Guide wireless sensor in the forehead can detect obstacles at the head level. This feature is important because some sightless people feel uncomfortable without the white cane. The system is scalable giving us the opportunity to create a network of interconnected Blind Guide users. This network can store the exact location and description of the obstacles found by the users. This information is public for all users of this system. This feature reduces the time required for obstacle detection and consequent energy savings, thus increasing the autonomy of the solution. One of the main requirements for the development of this prototype was to design a low-cost solution that can be accessible for anyone around the world. All the components of the solution can provide a low-cost solution, easily obtainable and at a low cost. Technology makes our life easier and it must be available for anyone. Modularity, portability, scalability, the possibility to work in conjunction with other solutions, detecting objects that other solutions cannot, obstacle labeling, a network of identified obstacles and audible warnings are the main aspects of the Blind Guide system. All these aspects makes Blind Guide an anytime, anywhere solution for blind people. Blind Guide was tested with a group of volunteers. The volunteers were sightless and from different ages. The trials performed to the system show us positive results. The system successfully detected incoming obstacles and informed in real time to its users. The volunteers gave us a positive feedback telling that they felt comfortable using the prototype and they believe that the system can help them with their daily routine