3,202 research outputs found
Combining Bluetooth Mesh and KNX : the best of both worlds
Bluetooth Mesh (BT Mesh) is a promising wireless technology for building automation. At the same time, KNX is a well-established building automation system that has a vast installed base. Specifically, the strength of KNX lies in its proven semantic models. These models are the foundation for interoperability and the implementation of larger systems. The presented project demonstrates how a user can easily connect a new BT Mesh system to a well-established, wired KNX building automation system. Notably, the project achieves this through a self-developed stateless gateway, which allows controlling BT Mesh devices from the KNX network and vice versa. As a result, it is possible to leverage existing management systems from KNX building automation systems in BT Mesh networks. Furthermore, the project validates this concept using Home Assistant, a well- known open-source home automation platform and demonstrates, that heterogeneous KNX and BT Mesh systems are feasible
Long-Range Communications in Unlicensed Bands: the Rising Stars in the IoT and Smart City Scenarios
Connectivity is probably the most basic building block of the Internet of
Things (IoT) paradigm. Up to know, the two main approaches to provide data
access to the \emph{things} have been based either on multi-hop mesh networks
using short-range communication technologies in the unlicensed spectrum, or on
long-range, legacy cellular technologies, mainly 2G/GSM, operating in the
corresponding licensed frequency bands. Recently, these reference models have
been challenged by a new type of wireless connectivity, characterized by
low-rate, long-range transmission technologies in the unlicensed sub-GHz
frequency bands, used to realize access networks with star topology which are
referred to a \emph{Low-Power Wide Area Networks} (LPWANs). In this paper, we
introduce this new approach to provide connectivity in the IoT scenario,
discussing its advantages over the established paradigms in terms of
efficiency, effectiveness, and architectural design, in particular for the
typical Smart Cities applications
Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions
Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to
address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information
flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs
offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers,
involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems.
SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the
grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises
in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the
tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things
(IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the
generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by
incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as
well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such
devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG
systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes
of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues,
challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems
The Role of Licence-Exemption in Spectrum Reform
Spectrum reform initiatives in the US and Europe have identified a need to move away from the traditional command and control approach towards flexible and tradable licences and licence-exemption. Current regulatory initiatives are tending to focus on the flexible licensing route, and there is a risk that licence-exemption will be sidelined during the important formative years of this major policy transition. This must not happen; licence-exemption supports innovation and entrepreneurship and is an important second leg of a market-based spectrum management regime. A current case in point is the transition in UHF frequency bands from analogue to digital TV, where licence exempt use of resulting gaps in the spectrum could yield enormous benefits for citizens and consumers.spectrum policy, spectrum management, wireless services, deregulation, Telecommunications, regulation, Networks
Digital places: location-based digital practices in higher education using Bluetooth Beacons
The physical campus is a shared space that enables staff and students, industry and the public, to collaborate in the acquisition, construction and consolidation of knowledge. However, its position as the primary place for learning is being challenged by blended modes of study that range from learning experiences from fully online to more traditional campus-based approaches. Bluetooth beacons offer the potential to combine the strengths of both the digital world and the traditional university campus by augmenting physical spaces to enhance learning opportunities, and the student experience more generally. This simple technology offers new possibilities to extend and enrich opportunities for learning by exploiting the near-ubiquitous nature of personal technology. This paper provides a high-level overview of Bluetooth beacon technology, along with an indication of some of the ways in which it is developing, and ways that it could be used to support learning in higher education
A critical analysis of research potential, challenges and future directives in industrial wireless sensor networks
In recent years, Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs) have emerged as an important research theme with applications spanning a wide range of industries including automation, monitoring, process control, feedback systems and automotive. Wide scope of IWSNs applications ranging from small production units, large oil and gas industries to nuclear fission control, enables a fast-paced research in this field. Though IWSNs offer advantages of low cost, flexibility, scalability, self-healing, easy deployment and reformation, yet they pose certain limitations on available potential and introduce challenges on multiple fronts due to their susceptibility to highly complex and uncertain industrial environments. In this paper a detailed discussion on design objectives, challenges and solutions, for IWSNs, are presented. A careful evaluation of industrial systems, deadlines and possible hazards in industrial atmosphere are discussed. The paper also presents a thorough review of the existing standards and industrial protocols and gives a critical evaluation of potential of these standards and protocols along with a detailed discussion on available hardware platforms, specific industrial energy harvesting techniques and their capabilities. The paper lists main service providers for IWSNs solutions and gives insight of future trends and research gaps in the field of IWSNs
Low-Power Wireless for the Internet of Things: Standards and Applications: Internet of Things, IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, Physical layer, Medium Access Control,coexistence, mesh networking, cyber-physical systems, WSN, M2M
International audienceThe proliferation of embedded systems, wireless technologies, and Internet protocols have enabled the Internet of Things (IoT) to bridge the gap between the virtual and physical world through enabling the monitoring and actuation of the physical world controlled by data processing systems. Wireless technologies, despite their offered convenience, flexibility, low cost, and mobility pose unique challenges such as fading, interference, energy, and security, which must be carefully addressed when using resource-constrained IoT devices. To this end, the efforts of the research community have led to the standardization of several wireless technologies for various types of application domains depending on factors such as reliability, latency, scalability, and energy efficiency. In this paper, we first overview these standard wireless technologies, and we specifically study the MAC and physical layer technologies proposed to address the requirements and challenges of wireless communications. Furthermore, we explain the use of these standards in various application domains, such as smart homes, smart healthcare, industrial automation, and smart cities, and discuss their suitability in satisfying the requirements of these applications. In addition to proposing guidelines to weigh the pros and cons of each standard for an application at hand, we also examine what new strategies can be exploited to overcome existing challenges and support emerging IoT applications
QoS enabled heterogeneous BLE mesh networks
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a widely known short-range wireless technology used for various Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Recently, with the introduction of BLE mesh networks, this short-range barrier of BLE has been overcome. However, the added advantage of an extended range can come at the cost of a lower performance of these networks in terms of latency, throughput and reliability, as the core operation of BLE mesh is based on advertising and packet flooding. Hence, efficient management of the system is required to achieve a good performance of these networks and a smoother functioning in dense scenarios. As the number of configuration points in a standard mesh network is limited, this paper describes a novel set of standard compliant Quality of Service (QoS) extensions for BLE mesh networks. The resulting QoS features enable better traffic management in the mesh network, providing sufficient redundancy to achieve reliability whilst avoiding unnecessary packet flooding to reduce collisions, as well as the prioritization of certain traffic flows and the ability to control end-to-end latencies. The QoS-based system has been implemented and validated in a small-scale BLE mesh network and compared against a setup without any QoS support. The assessment in a small-scale test setup confirms that applying our QoS features can enhance these types of non-scheduled and random access networks in a significant way
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