Author: Dipl.-Ing. G\u00fcnter Oblitschnig, Applied Informatics Software Engineering<\/p>\n
The Internet of Things (IoT) is currently the hottest topic. But what exactly is it? Is it simply network-enabled embedded systems, or is there more to it? This article provides the most important basics, terminology, and technologies related to the Internet of Things and answers the following questions: How do "things" differ from ordinary embedded systems? Which new technologies are relevant to the Internet of Things? Besides embedded systems, what else is needed to implement the Internet of Things? What does a typical IoT system architecture look like? What about security? What new business models will become possible?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Internet of Things (IoT) and related concepts like Cyber-Physical Systems, Industry 4.0, and the Industrial Internet are currently on everyone's lips. But what exactly is it? According to Wikipedia, the Internet of Things is "the network of physical objects or 'things' with embedded electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity, which enables value creation and new services by exchanging data with the manufacturer, operator, or other connected devices. Each 'thing' is uniquely identifiable through its built-in computer system and can interact with the existing internet infrastructure."\u201e<\/p>\n The term "Internet of Things" was first documented in 1999 by Briton Kevin Ashton in connection with RFID technology (radio frequency identification for the contactless identification of objects). The idea was to equip physical objects with an RFID transponder to make them uniquely identifiable electronically. Each physical object would essentially have a counterpart in cyberspace, with the connection between the real and virtual instances established via a unique code, such as a URL.<\/p>\n After the initial hype surrounding RFID soon subsided at the beginning of the previous decade, the term Internet of Things disappeared for a while, until it reappeared with a new meaning at the beginning of this decade.<\/p>\n So what exactly is behind the Internet of Things? First of all, you need things \u2013 networked smart products and other objects that combine a computer system (microcontroller), sensors, and software with communication technology. Furthermore, you need communication infrastructure to connect these things to the internet. This includes energy-efficient wireless PANs (Personal Area Networks), such as ZigBee or Bluetooth, local area networks (WLAN, Ethernet), and even extensive broadband networks (ADSL, UMTS, 4G). Finally, you need a high-performance computing infrastructure to manage all the connected devices and process the resulting data. It is precisely through the processing of all the massive amounts of data generated \u2013 the key term being Big Data \u2013 using innovative data acquisition and analysis software that new forms of value creation and new business ideas emerge (see Figure 1).,\u00a0PDF<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Internet of Things (IoT) is the logical continuation of a development that began with the widespread adoption of the internet in the mid-1990s. With the availability of the iPhone and other smartphones from 2007 onward, as well as corresponding developments in mobile communications, the internet transitioned from location-bound access (PC) to constant, mobile availability, although still limited to specific devices (smartphones, tablets). The Internet of Things ultimately integrates the internet into everyday objects, devices, and machines, thus making it independent of dedicated end devices.<\/p>\n The Industrial Internet refers to the application of IoT technologies in the industrial sector, where "industry" in this context encompasses not only industrial manufacturing but everything outside the consumer sector. Thus, in addition to conventional automation technology, areas such as medical technology, building technology, smart grids, logistics, and more fall under the umbrella of the Industrial Internet. The term is therefore not directly comparable to the German concept of Industry 4.0, which has a much closer connection to industrial production, particularly the optimization of the manufacturing process down to a theoretical batch size of one using new technologies\u2014essentially the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Generally, the term Industry 4.0 suffers from being heavily politicized and primarily generating working groups and a lot of paperwork. A more pragmatic approach is being pursued by the US-dominated, but now internationally staffed, Industrial Internet Consortium, which is working specifically on testbeds and quasi-standards.<\/p>\n To clear up a potential misunderstanding: Industrial Internet, or Industry 4.0, does not mean simply "connecting" the entire manufacturing process to the internet. Rather, it refers to the use of internet technologies, which can certainly take place within a company network that is well-secured from the open internet. The goal is improved integration of the automation level and the resulting product with each other, as well as with the company's IT systems (e.g., ERP and CRM) throughout the entire product lifecycle.<\/p>\n Looking at various market studies on the topic of IoT, one is inevitably bombarded with gigantic, fanciful figures. Depending on the study, between 5 and 50 billion "connected devices" are expected by 2020. Whether these forecasts will come true remains to be seen. What can be said with certainty, however, is that the concepts behind IoT will remain, even if the term IoT itself is perhaps replaced by a new marketing term in a few years.<\/p>\n From a technical perspective, it's worth noting that all the technologies necessary for the IoT are already available. Therefore, the IoT is no longer primarily a technical problem. The real challenge lies in the complete restructuring of business models and processes, which companies will have to master.<\/p>\n The example of a manufacturer of hygiene products (soap and paper towel dispensers, etc.) illustrates how such a business model transformation process can look. The company has begun equipping soap and paper towel dispensers with sensors and wireless modules that transmit fill level and usage data via a base station to a company server. This helps the local facility management ensure that empty soap and paper towel dispensers are a thing of the past. Combined with an integrated visitor counter, further interesting data can be derived. Thanks to a fairly large database, the company now knows very precisely how much a toilet visit ultimately costs. This, in turn, enables a complete overhaul of the business model. Instead of selling towels and soap and having to compete with potentially cheaper alternatives, the company now only charges for the number of toilet visits. This is more convenient for the customer, as it simplifies budgeting, and the customer no longer has to worry about reordering supplies in a timely manner. On the other hand, the company naturally gains an advantage over potential competitors who cannot offer this type of customer service and customer loyalty.<\/p>\n In the example just mentioned, a clear shift in the business model from product sales (soap, paper towels) to services (toilet use) is evident. This shift is characteristic of the Internet of Things. The importance of software must be particularly emphasized in this context. From the firmware in the soap dispenser to the base station and the enterprise software that manages the entire logistics process, from automatic reordering to delivery, and analyzes the resulting data (business intelligence) \u2013 software is everywhere.<\/p>\n Let's now consider the Internet of Things from a technical perspective. In recent years, a multitude of new technologies have emerged, covering various aspects and levels of the IoT. A typical reference architecture for an IoT system consists of the following components: sensors and actuators, which are connected, for example, via a wireless sensor network to an IoT gateway (also called a base station). This IoT gateway is responsible for communicating with the connected sensors and actuators and subsequently establishing the connection to the next higher level, often referred to as the "cloud." In the cloud, all the applications that analyze the collected data and integrate it into the company's business processes run. Whether these applications run on a "public" cloud service on the internet or in a company's private data center ("private" cloud) is of secondary importance, as the communication process is the same in both cases. However, security aspects, especially encrypted communication and data protection, must be considered. This architecture is, of course, not set in stone. The roles of IoT gateway and sensor\/actuator can be fulfilled by the same device. Communication flows in both directions. Devices can retrieve information from the cloud and also communicate locally with each other, without going through the cloud (see Figure 2).,\u00a0PDF<\/a>).<\/p>\n Let's start with the smallest devices, typically sensors or actuators, which are connected to each other and to an IoT gateway (base station) via a so-called sensor network. These devices are usually based on a small 8-, 16-, or 32-bit microcontroller such as an Atmel AVR or Arm Cortex M. A wireless network, typically IEEE 802.15.4-based, is used for networking. A number of small, specialized operating systems have been developed for these devices, such as Contiki, Tiny OS, RIOT, or mbed. These operating systems have in common that they are designed from the ground up for networking and energy efficiency. 6LoWPAN and CoAP are likely to establish themselves as standard network protocols here, as these protocols are open and freely available. Technologies such as ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, EnOcean, and even Wi-Fi are also used. Especially in the industrial sector, fieldbus systems are also found, and OPC UA and DDS are equally important.<\/p>\n The IoT gateway acts as the link between small devices, sensor networks, and the internet. IoT gateways are often Linux-based devices with powerful Arm Cortex A or Intel Quark\/Atom CPUs. Various network interfaces provide connectivity, and a UMTS\/4G module for mobile internet access may be integrated. Besides their function as translators and intermediaries between sensors and the cloud\/IT world, gateways can also run more complex applications. Examples include filtering, preprocessing, and logging sensor data; (non-critical) control tasks; sending alerts via SMS or email; and visualizing system states via a website. Secure remote access via VPN or relay services like my-devices.net is also part of this functionality. Ultimately, however, the goal is usually to forward the collected data to a server, where it is stored in a database, combined with other data, and analyzed. Two protocols have become established for communication between the gateway and the server. Firstly, HTTP\/REST web services are used, which have largely established themselves as a standard in the internet sector. However, the MQTT protocol is particularly well-suited for the Internet of Things (see Figure 3).,\u00a0PDF<\/a>).<\/p>\n Although developed since 1999, it has only recently gained widespread popularity. One reason for this is its efficiency, especially compared to HTTP. Another is MQTT's robustness, which is particularly advantageous in the case of poor connections (e.g., mobile internet). MQTT is optimized for transmitting telemetry data, as reflected in its name \u2013 Message Queueing Telemetry Transport. A special feature of MQTT is that the sender and receiver of a message do not communicate directly with each other. Communication always takes place via a so-called broker, using the publish-subscribe method. This means that a device or application that wants to send messages sends them under a "topic," a hierarchically structured name. Devices or applications that want to receive data specify the topics for which they want to receive messages. The broker's task is then to deliver all messages to the respective interested recipients. Every participant (in MQTT terminology, a "client") can be both a sender and a receiver simultaneously. The MQTT broker is responsible for authenticating and authorizing clients, and communication is typically encrypted (SSL\/TLS), thus ensuring a high level of data security. A key reason for MQTT's popularity is the availability of high-quality open-source implementations for a wide variety of platforms.<\/p>\n Thanks to affordable hardware like the Raspberry Pi and freely available open-source software, tech enthusiasts who enjoy experimenting and playing around can get started quite quickly. For example, the German company Tinkerforge offers a variety of sensors and actuators that can be easily connected via USB to a PC or small computer, such as a Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone, which acts as an IoT gateway. The open-source project macchina.io is a good option for IoT gateway software. It allows you to develop an application for Linux-based IoT gateways in JavaScript. Programming interfaces for accessing a wide range of sensors and cloud services enable rapid success.<\/p>\n In summary, the Internet of Things is not a distant vision of the future, but is already being used profitably by some companies. However, in addition to the introduction of new technologies, this requires a fundamental shift in thinking at the business process level. Thanks to affordable hardware and open-source software, getting started with these new technologies is relatively easy.<\/p>\n Download the article as a PDF<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Do you want to bring yourself up to date with the latest technology?<\/strong><\/p>\n Then find out more\u00a0here<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>MircoConsult offers training courses\/seminars\/workshops and individual coaching on the topic of Internet of Things\/system and hardware development.<\/p>\n Training & coaching on the other topics in our portfolio can be found here.\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Valuable expertise in the field of Internet of Things\/system and hardware development is available.\u00a0here\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>Available for you to download free of charge.<\/p>\nThings, communication and computers<\/h2>\n
Industrial Internet and Industry 4.0<\/h2>\n
High expectations, major challenges<\/h2>\n
New business models<\/h2>\n
Technical aspects<\/h2>\n
Sensors and actuators<\/h2>\n
IoT Gateway as an intermediary<\/h2>\n
Quick start to the Internet of Things<\/h2>\n
Summary<\/h2>\n
\nSystem and hardware development \u2013 our training & coaching<\/h2>\n
\nSystems and Hardware Engineering \u2013 Expertise<\/h2>\n