Unit-II Fundamental IoT Mechanisms and

Key Technologies

Identification of IoT Objects and Services, Structural Aspects of the IoT,

Environment Characteristics, Traffic Characteristics, Scalability,
Interoperability, Open Architecture, Key IoT Technologies, Device
Intelligence, Communication Capabilities, Mobility Support, Device Power,
Sensor Technology, RFID Technology, Satellite Technology.
 IDENTIFICATION OF IoT OBJECTS AND SERVICES

Identification codes can be classified as

(i) Object IDs (OIDs) and (ii) communication IDs.

 Object IDs - (RFID)/electronic product code (EPC), content ID,1

telephone number, and uniform resource identifier (URI)/uniform
resource locator (URL)

 Communication IDs - Media access control (MAC) address, network

layer/IP address, and session/protocol ID.
 OID with NAdr

 All objects to have a permanent unique identifier, an OID. It is also

desirable as well as feasible for all end-point network locations
and/or intermediary-point network locations to have a durable,
unique network address (NAdr); the IPv6 address space enables the
concrete realization of these location identification goals.
 OID with Dynamic Environment

 Every object then has a tuple (OID, NAdr) that is always unique,
although the second entry of the tuple may change with time,
location, or situation. In a stationary, non-variable, or mostly static
environment, one could opt, if one so chose, to assign the OID to be
identical to the NAdr where the object is expected to attach to the
network.
 Hierarchical grouping and IPv6
 It is useful to have mechanisms for hierarchical grouping to deal with
large populations. The aggregation feature of IPv6 address provides such
hierarchical grouping. For a number of applications, there is a need to
map/bind IP addresses (communications IDs) with other relevant OIDs.

 Additionally, modern layered communication architectures also require

addressing and processing capabilities at several layers, for example, at
the Data Link Layer, at the Network Layer, at the Transport (Protocol ID),
and at the session/application layer.
 EPC with RFID

 An EPC is a number assigned to an RFID tag representative of an

actual EPC. Their value is that they have been carefully characterized
and categorized to embed certain meanings within their structure.
Each number is encoded with a header, identifying the particular
EPC version used for coding the entire EPC number.
 Electronic Product Code (EPC)

 An EPC is a unique identification code that is generally thought of as

the next generation of the traditional bar code. Like the bar code,
EPC uses a numerical system for product identification, but its
capabilities are much greater.

 An EPC is actually a number that can be associated with specific

product information, such as date of manufacture and origin and
destination of shipment. This provides significant advantages for
businesses and consumers. The EPC is stored on an RFID tag, which
transmits data when prompted by a signal emitted by a special
reader.
Electronic Product Code (EPC)
 Object Naming
 Domain name system (DNS) is one example of a mechanism for
Internet-based naming;

 Object name service (ONS)

 Lightweight WS protocols

 REST is a software architecture for distributed systems to implement

WSs
 Location of Physical Object

 There is a need to know the precise physical location of objects;

thus, the challenge is how to cost-effectively obtain location
information; methods that rely on GPS or cellular services may be
too expensive for some applications.

 In some cases, objects move independently; in other cases, the

objects move as the one group. Different tracking methods may be
required to achieve efficient handling of tracking information.
 The locator/ID separation protocol

Design Goals :
(i) an architecture description,
(ii) deployment models,
(iii) a description of the impacts of LISP,
(iv) LISP security threats and solutions,
(v) allocation of end-point identifier (EID) space,
(vi) alternate mapping system designs, and
(vii) data models for management of LISP.
 The locator/ID separation protocol
 The basic idea behind the separation is that the Internet
architecture combines two functions, routing locators (where one is
attached to the network) and identifiers (where one is located), in
one number space: the IP address.

 Shim6 Protocol is a layer 3 shim for providing locator agility with

failover capabilities for IPv6 nodes. Hosts that employ Shim6 use
multiple IPv6 address prefixes and setup state with peer hosts.
Shim6 Protocol
Structural Aspects of the IoT
 Environment Characteristics

 Low power (with the requirement that they will run potentially for
years on batteries)

 Low cost (total device cost in single-digit dollars)

 Significantly more devices than in a LAN environment

 Severely limited code and RAM space (e.g., generally desirable to fit
the required code
 Environment Characteristics

 MAC, IP, and anything else needed to execute the embedded

application.

 Requirement for simple wireless communication technology. In

particular, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard is very promising for the lower
(physical and link) Layers
 Traffic Characteristics

 The characteristics of IoT/M2M communication is different from

other types of networks or applications

 For example, cellular mobile networks are designed for human

communication, it entails interactive communication between
humans (voice, video), or data communication involving humans
(web browsing, file downloads, and so on).

 communication takes place with a certain length (sessions) and data

volume; furthermore, communication takes place with a certain
interaction frequency and patterns.
 Traffic Characteristics

IoT/M2M,the expectation is that there are many devices,

 long idle intervals,

 Transmission entails small messages,

 Relaxed delay requirements,

 Device energy efficiency is paramount.

 Scalability
 While some applications (e.g., smart grid, home automation, and so
on) may start out covering a small geographic area or a small
community of users.

 Also, the efficiency of a larger system should be better than the

efficiency of a smaller system.

 The goal is to make sure that capabilities such as addressing,

communication, and service discovery, among others, are delivered
efficiently in both small and large scale.
 Scalability

 There is a need for enough name space to support increasing

populations of devices and new applications.

 In particular, note that IPv6 is an ideal component (but not the only
one) to be employed to support scalability, both for a given
application as it reaches more users and for use for a wide class of
applications spanning many fields
 Interoperability

 Because of the plenty of applications, technology suppliers, and

stakeholders, it is desirable to develop and/or re-use a core set of
common standards.

 To the degree possible, existing standards may prove advantageous

to a rapid and cost-effective deployment of the technology. Product
and service interoperability is of interest.
 Open Architecture

 The goal is to support a wide range of applications using a common

infrastructure, preferably based on a service-oriented architecture
(SOA) over an open service platform, and utilizing overly networks

 SOA is an architectural approach in which applications make use of

services available in the network.

 These devices may provide their functionality as a WS that can in

turn be used by other entities (other devices or other business
applications).
KEY IoT TECHNOLOGIES
 Device Intelligence
 In order for the IoT to become a reality, the objects should be able
to intelligently sense and interact with the environment, possibly
store some passive or acquired data, and communicate with the
world around them.

 Object-to-gateway device communication, or even direct object-to-

object communication, is desirable.

 Some have called this mode of communication Any Services,

Any Time, Any Where, Any Devices, and Any Networks (also known
as ―5-Any‖)
 Communication Capabilities
 To achieve continuous connectivity human-to-object and object-to-
object communications, networking capabilities will need to be
implemented in the objects (―things‖).

 In particular, IP is considered to be key capability for IoT objects;

furthermore, the entire TCP/IP Internet Suite is generally desirable.

 Self-configuring capabilities, especially how an IoT device can

establish its connectivity automatically without human intervention.

 IPv6 auto-configuration
 Protocol support in Network layer and
Transport layer
 Some applications, especially those using simple sensors and/or
where is there a very large number of dispersed sensors and/or
where there is limited remote energizing power, may have a need to
support leaner protocols both at the network layer (e.g., route
and/or topology management) and at the transport layer (e.g., using
UDP).
 Need for proxy gateways

 Some existing applications may not even support the IP protocol

(even IPv4) and the IP addressing scheme. Hence, there is a need to
support heterogeneous (IP and non-IP) networking interfaces, at
least in the short term.

 There may be a need for proxy gateways; such gateways would

support multiple interfaces that have evolved from different
heterogeneous networks.
 Mobility Support
 Yet another consideration relates to tracking and mobility support of mobile
object.

 Mobility-enabled architectures and protocols are required. Some objects move

independently, while others will move as one of group. Therefore, according to
the moving feature, different tracking methods are required.

 It is important to provide ubiquitous and seamless communication among

objects while tracking the location of objects. Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) offers
several capabilities that can address this requirement.
 Device Power

 M2M/IoT applications are almost invariably constrained by the following factors:

devices have ultra-low-power capabilities, devices must be of low cost, and
devices generally must have small physical size and be light. Specifically, efficient
communication mechanisms are needed.

 Number of devices operate with a small battery, while other devices use a self-
energizing energy source, for example a small solar cell array.

 Yet other devises are passive (e.g., passive RFID) and, thus, need to derive energy
indirectly from the environment, such as an intercepting electric/magnetic field.
 In general, wireless technologies require significant amounts of
power; hence, the need for low energy (LE) wireless technologies.

 Batteries are critical to all sorts of products including laptops, pads,

smartphones, and IoT objects. The so-called ―coin batteries,‖ also
known as ―button batteries,‖ are typical in many IoT applications.

 Batteries convert chemical energy released in particular chemical

reactions into electrical energy.

 Batteries have a positive and a negative electrode (the cathode and

the anode), separated by an electrolyte.
 Batteries can be classified into primary and secondary systems.

 Primary batteries are disposable batteries, that is, batteries that

cannot be recharged, and their conversion of chemical energy into
electrical energy is irreversible (the chemicals are consumed while
the battery discharges).

 Secondary batteries can be recharged, and the electrode material is

reconstituted using an electric charge, so that discharge process can
be repeated a number of times during the lifecycle of the battery.
 Micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology is being investigated for
this purpose. MEMSs are miniaturized mechanical devices that are already used
in solar cells and flat-screen TVs.

 Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) is a process technology used to

create tiny integrated devices or systems that combine mechanical and
electrical components.

 Some evolving technologies use small solar panels embedded in the screen of a
smartphone or object.

 Solar cells are an example of an energy harvester, but they are for low efficiency
when converting ambient light into useful electrical energy. A 3 cm2 solar cell
(dimensions similar to the common CR2032 coin cell) yields only 12 μW.
 Factors to be considered for selecting battery
There are a number of factors that must be considered in selecting the
most suitable battery for a particular application,
 Operating voltage level
 Load current and profile
 Duty cycle—continuous or intermittent
 Service life
 Physical requirement
 Size
 Shape
 Weight
 Environmental conditions
 Temperature
 Pressure
 Humidity
 Vibration
 Shock
 Safety and reliability
 Maintenance and replacement
 Environmental impact and recycling capability
 Cost
Sensor technology
 Sensor technology

A sensor network is an infrastructure comprising sensing (measuring),

computing, and communication elements that gives the administrator
the ability to instrument, observe, and react to events and phenomena
in a specified environment.
 Sensor Classification
 Passive Sensor - Can not independently sense the input. Ex- Accelerometer, soil moisture, water level
and temperature sensors.
 Active Sensor – Independently sense the input. Example- Radar, sounder and laser altimeter sensors.
 Analog Sensor – The response or output of the sensor is some continuous function of its input
parameter. Ex- Temperature sensor, LDR, analog pressure sensor and analog hall effect.
 Digital sensor –Response in binary nature. Design to overcome the disadvantages of analog sensors.
Along with the analog sensor, it also comprises extra electronics for bit conversion. Example – Passive
infrared (PIR) sensor and digital temperature sensor(DS1620).
 Scalar sensor – Detects the input parameter only based on its magnitude. The answer for the sensor is a
function of magnitude of some input parameter. Not affected by the direction of input parameters.
Example – temperature, gas, strain, color and smoke sensor.
 Vector sensor –The response of the sensor depends on the magnitude of the direction and orientation
of input parameter. Example – Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic field and motion detector sensors.
 Types of sensors

Electrical sensor : Electrical proximity sensors may be contact or non contact.

Simple contact sensors operate by making the sensor and the component complete an electrical
circuit.
Non- contact electrical proximity sensors rely on the electrical principles of either induction for
detecting metals or capacitance for detecting non metals as well.
Light sensor: Light sensor is also known as photo sensors and one of the important sensor.
Light dependent resistor or LDR is a simple light sensor available today.
Touch sensor: Detection of something like a touch of finger or a stylus is known as touch sensor.
It’s name suggests that detection of something.
They are classified into two types:
Resistive type
Capacitive type
Today almost all modern touch sensors are of capacitive types.
Because they are more accurate and have better signal to noise ratio.
 Mechanical sensor:
Any suitable mechanical / electrical switch may be adopted but because a certain
amount of force is required to operate a mechanical switch it is common to use
micro-switches.
 Pneumatic sensor:
These proximity sensors operate by breaking or disturbing an air flow.
The pneumatic proximity sensor is an example of a contact type sensor. These
cannot be used where light components may be blown away.
 Optical sensor:
In there simplest form, optical proximity sensors operate by breaking a light beam
which falls onto a light sensitive device such as a photocell. These are examples of
non contact sensors.
 Application area of networked sensor

Network(ed) sensor systems support a plethora of applications,

 Data collection, monitoring, surveillance, and medical telemetry.

 Sensors facilitate the instrumenting and controlling of factories, offices,

homes, vehicles, cities.

 With sensor network technology, specifically, with embedded

networked sensing, ships, aircrafts, and buildings can ―self-detect
structural faults
 Places of public assembly can be instrumented to detect airborne agents such as
toxins and to trace the source of the contamination, should any be present (this
also can be done for ground/underground situations).

 Earthquake-oriented sensors in buildings can locate potential survivors and can

help assess structural damage;

 Tsunami-alerting sensors can certainly prove useful for nations with extensive
coastlines. Sensors also find extensive applicability in battlefield for reconnaissance
and surveillance. In addition to sensing, one is often also interested in control and
activation.
Networked Sensor
 Components
There are four basic components in a sensor network:
(i) an assembly of distributed or localized sensors;
(ii) an interconnecting network (usually, but not always, wireless
based)
(iii) a central point of information clustering; and
(iv) a set of computing resources at the central point (or beyond) to
handle data correlation, event-trending, querying, and data mining.
 Wireless sensor network

 Because the interconnecting network is generally wireless, these

systems are known as wireless sensor networks (WSNs). I

 Sensing and computation nodes are considered part of the sensor

network; in fact, some of the computing may be done in the network
itself.
 Because of the potentially large quantity of data collected,
algorithmic methods for data management play an important role in
sensor networks.
 Usage of WSN
 Sensors, the things or objects are active devices that measure some variable.

 The radar networks used in air traffic control, the national electrical power grid,
and the nation-wide weather stations deployed are all examples of early-
deployment sensor networks.

 Less expensive WSNs are now being planned for novel applications in physical
security, healthcare, and commerce.

 The technology for sensing and control includes electric and magnetic field
sensors; radio-wave frequency sensors; optical, electro-optic, and infrared sensors;
radars; lasers; location/navigation sensors; seismic and pressure-wave sensors;
environmental parameter sensors.
Wireless sensor network
 Sensors can be described as smart inexpensive devices equipped with multiple
on-board sensing elements: they are low cost, low power, multifunctional nodes
that are logically homed to a central sink node.

 Sensors are typically internetworked via a series of multi hop short distance low
power wireless links.

 They typically utilize the Internet or some other network for long-haul delivery of
information to a point (or points) of final data aggregation and analysis.

 In general, within the sensor WSNs employ contention-oriented random access

channel sharing/transmission techniques that are now incorporated in the IEEE 802
family of standards.
 WSN consists of densely distributed nodes that support sensing,
signal processing, embedded computing, and connectivity.

 Sensors are logically linked by self-organizing means (sensors that are

deployed in short-hop point-to-point master-slave pair arrangements
are also of interest).

 Wireless sensors typically transmit information to collecting

(monitoring) stations that aggregate some or all of the information.
 Sensors Physical size
 Sensors span several orders of magnitude in physical size; they (or,
at least some of their components) range from nano scopic-scale
devices to meso scopic-scale devices at one end; and, from
microscopic-scale devices to macroscopic-scale devices at the other
end.

 Nano scopic (also known as nano scale) refers to objects or devices

in the order of 1–100 nm in diameter; meso scopic scale refers to
objects between 100 and 10,000 nm in diameter;

 The microscopic scale ranges from 10 to 1000 microns; and the

macroscopic scale is at the millimeter-to-meter range
 Power requirement

 Sensors may be passive and/or be self-powered; further along in the

power consumption chain, some sensors may require relatively low
power from a battery or line feed.

 At the high end of the power-consumption chain, some sensors may

require very high power feeds (e.g., for radars). Chemical-, physical-,
acoustic-, and image-based sensors can be utilized to study ecosystems
(e.g., in support of global parameters such as temperature,
microorganism populations, and so on)
 Commercial market segments
 Industrial monitoring and control
 Commercial building and control
 Home automation
 Wireless automated meter reading
 Metropolitan operations (traffic, automatic tolls, fire, and so on)

Homeland Security applications: chemical, biological, radiological, and

nuclear wireless sensors
 Military sensors
 Environmental (land, air, sea)/agricultural wireless sensors
RFID Technology
 RFIDs are electronic devices associated with objects (―things‖) that
transmit their identity (usually a serial number) via radio links.

 RFID tags are devices that typically have a read-only chip that stores
a unique number but has no processing capability. RFID tags have
broad applications, including the rapid collection of data in
commercial environments.
 When an RFID tag or contactless SC passes within a defined range, a reader
generates electromagnetic waves; the tag’s integrated antenna receives the
signal and activates the chip in the tag/SC, and a wireless communications
channel is set up between the reader and the tag enabling the transfer of
pertinent data.
 Active RFID. An active RFID tag has its own power source, often a battery.
 Passive RFID. A passive RFID tag receives its power from the reading antenna,
whose electromagnetic wave induces a current in the RFID tag's antenna.
 Passive RFID tag does not include a constant power source or a battery. Passive
RFID system tags don't need a battery because they collect their energy from
the reader's interrogation signal. To read tags in this arrangement, a reader will
send out a powerful signal to all tags in its read frequency range
 RFID Interrogator
 Interrogators (also called readers or transceivers) read and write data to and from
tags. Interrogators are responsible for remotely powering the tags establishing the
bidirectional data flow between themselves and the tags, and performing analog
to digital as well as digital to analog signal conversion.

 Interrogators can also run attached to peripheral devices, such as light stacks or
alerting horns that provide feedback on conditions within the system; and
triggering devices, which control when the interrogators are turned on and off

 Interrogators can also communicate with and control nearby sensors integrated
within the interrogation zone and are responsible for communications over
networks for alerting back-end systems of the assets or goods they are tracking.
RFID Interrogator
 According to their capabilities, interrogators are often called either smart or dumb.
Smart interrogators carry built-in computers that run programs, which filter, aggregate,
and analyse data to turn it into meaningful events for the back-end system. A dumb
interrogator reads tag data and reports what it sees to the back-end system.
 Interrogators often have a graphical user interface (GUI) by which they can be
controlled. An interrogator GUI is typically accessible through a web interface using any
commercial Internet browser on the computer or through a simple application program.
Following are some typical features of a GUI:
• Read from and write to tag capability
• Network configuration settings
• Antenna settings
• Power settings
• Input/output port configuration settings
• Firmware upgrade capability
RFID Interrogator Components
 RFID Layer

• An RFID system is logically comprising several layers, as follows: the

tag layer, the air interface (also called media interface) layer, and the
reader layer;
• Tag (device) layer: Architecture
• Media interface layer: Frequency bands, antennas, read range,
modulation, encoding, data rates
• Reader layer: Architecture, antenna configurations.
 RFID STANDARDS

 ISO 14443 standard – 13.56 MHz, Distance 10 cm

 ISO 15693 standard – 13.56 MHz, distance 1m

 ISO 18000 standard - defines parameters for air interface

communications associated with frequency such as 135 KHz, 13.56
MHz, 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz, 860–960 MHz, and 433 MHz.
 Comparison between smart card and RFID
Smart Card RFID Tag
Strong Security capabilities Minimal security capabilities

Read and Memory capacity of 512 Small memory, often Read only.
bytes with very large memory
storage possible.

Short distance data exchange Larger distance, data exchange.

 RFID examples applicable to IoT

 Warehouse retailer automotive

 Grocery chain transportation
 Distribution centre asset management
 Inventory management
 Warehousing and distribution
 Shop floor (production)
 Document tracking and asset management
 Industrial applications (e.g., time and attendance, shipping document tracking,
receiving fixed assets)
 Satellite IoT technology
 Satellite IoT refers to the use of satellite communication networks
and services to connect terrestrial IoT sensors and IoT end-nodes to
a server (e.g., in a public or private cloud), either in conjunction with
or as an alternative to terrestrial communication networks.”

 Satellite IoT refers to IoT services provided by networks of satellites

IoT enables interconnectivity between objects such that they can
communicate and relay orders without requiring human-to-human
or even human-to-computer interaction.
 Drawbacks of Cellular networks

 Traditional IoT devices use cellular networks to connect to the

internet, however, cellular networks have major limitations in terms
of availability in remote locations.

 An example could be an oil ring in the middle of the sea or a remote

location in a dessert or in the mountains.

 In general, it is estimated that terrestrial networks cover only about

15% of the Earth’s surface and around 50% of the total landmass
area.
 IoT services provided by satellites can overcome the limitations of
scalability by providing truly global connectivity that can even reach
devices with limited or no access to terrestrial networks.

 Satellites can even provide connectivity over places that have

underdeveloped infrastructure or none at all like vast seas and
oceans, mountainous regions, remote areas with harsh
environmental conditions etc.
 Satellite and its types
 An artificial body placed in orbit round the earth or moon or another
planet in order to collect information or for communication.
 GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) at about 36,000km above the
earth's surface.
 LEO (Low Earth Orbit) at about 500-1500km above the earth's
surface.
 MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) at about 6000-20,000 km above the
earth's surface.
 HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbit) – Follows elliptical path.
 Satellite IoT’s scalability

 Monitoring and management of containers and goods transported

via ships traveling over oceans and seas or trucks traveling through
mountain terrains.
 Scientific equipment and recording instruments deployed in terrains
inaccessible to humans.
 Industrial activities usually take place in remote locations far away
from human settlements with minimal terrestrial network coverage
and hence can only be accessed via satellite connectivity.
 Long pipeline networks for transporting water, fuel gases, waste
disposal can be accessed Satellite IoT.
 Advantages of satellite IoT:

 Satellite IoT is useful in areas where other internet options are not
available.

 Satellite connections are wireless which eliminates the need for

wired connectivity such as phone lines, a DSL line or coaxial.

 Satellites provide secured communication by using encryption units

at hub stations and user terminals.
 Limitations of Satellite IoT:
 There is a delay of about 120 -240 ms when relaying signals, this
poor latency may affect some applications of satellite IoT.
 Troubleshooting any system failures or hardware faults that may
appear in satellite networks is very difficult compared to cellular
networks.
 Satellites connectivity may be affected by bad weather conditions
such as rain, thunderstorm.
 Satellite signals can get attenuated due to obstructions (tree
branches, buildings) in the path of signal transmission.