INTER-IoT: Interoperability of Heterogeneous IoT Platforms

Regel G. Usach,

Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)

1st CHARIOT Workshop

Rome 11th October 2018

Hyper-connected Society

IoT Platforms Connecting Everything Everywhere

Everything connected, everything analysed,

Embedded intelligence everywhere

What is interoperability?

Compatibility De-facto standard Interoperability

Interoperability is defined as the ability of different technology systems, system components or software applications to establish communication between them, exchange data, and interpret properly the received information, being capable of using it

Value of Interoperability

• Enables the integration of systems and elements, also coordination and cooperation among systems

• Enables synergies and sharing of information• Important benefits and massive creation of added value when we interconnect the

unconnected

• 40% of the potential benefits from IoT are not possible without interoperability (McKensey Global study, 2015)

Example of IoT interoperability among

IoT systems (port environment)

Road Haulier ITS IoT platform IoT platform

Interoperability among port IoT systems and platforms of different entities

• Coordination and sharing of relevant information about truck access

• Optimization of port process -> Better coordination, fluid traffic, lower waitingtime, less queues, time saving, very important economic benefits, more control, more security, less bureaocracy but more information and more accesible..

VERY IMPORTANT BENEFITS THANKS TO SYSTEMS INTEROPERABILITY !!

Interoperability: major challenge in IoT

VAST HETEROGENEITY - IoT is highly heterogeneous : it is composed by a wide variety of devices, technologies, protocols, IoT platforms that use different standards, have different vendors’ specifications.. •

-> It is complex to make them work together within a system-> It is very complex to make IoT systems interoperate

LACK OF A GLOBAL STANDARD FOR IOT

Currently there is no defacto global standard .. and none is foreseen in the future

CAUSES:

De-facto standard

Real Problem: heterogeneity & over-existence

of standards

Interoperability: major challenge in IoT

CURRENT SITUATION

IoT platforms and IoT systems use their own specific data formats, semantics, standards..

• Babel-tower situation• Vertical silos of isolated information• No interoperability among IoT platforms/systems

Major Issues Facing IoT

• Issue 1: Vertical silos hamper organisations' efforts to act globally: while an endless stream of

new smart and connected things hits the market every day, it mostly feeds ‘vertical silos’ that are

closed to the rest of the IoT, thus resulting in:

• islands of information and knowledge

• market separation per application domain, hindering technical innovation and investments

in the IoT business.

Major Issues Facing IoT

• Issue 2. People and organizations may be reluctant to step into the IoT arena:

the reason is multifold: One of the causes is the difficulties associated to the lack of

interoperability

Difficulties in perceiving the real added value that the IoT may bring in all sectors of society;

Inter-IoT Interoperability solution

INTER-IoT: interoperable open IoT framework (+engineering tools

+ guiding methodology) for achieving a seamless, transparent integration of

heterogeneous IoT platforms at all levels, regardless the application domains

Acting as a middle element among IoT platforms, provides interoperability at all levels among them.

-> It allows different systems to talk to each other, seamlessly, at different layers

-> Layer-oriented approach

PlatformA

PlatformB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPW4bVu4msg

INTER-IoT Concept

INTEROPERABILITY

D2D: device-to-deviceN2N: network-to-networkMW2MW: middleware-to-middlewareAS2AS: app&services-to-app&servicesDS2DS: data&semantics-to-d&semantics

INTER-IoT Concept

Guiding methodology & tools for implementingINTER-IoT

Framework for :• monitoring and configuring the

whole INTER-IoTimplementation and integrationof systems

• Easily developing applicationand services on top

INTER-LAYER

INTER-APIInteroperability solutions for each

specific layer

INTER-IoT Software Architecture

INTER-METH

INTER-API

INTER-FRAMEWORK

INTER-LAYER

INTER-METH

INTER-API

SERVICES

CROSS LAYER

SECURITYAPI MANAGER

INTERMW

GATEWAY SDN

IPSM

INTERAS

INTER-FRAMEWORK

INTER-IoT Architecture concepts

INTER-IoT architecture provides

full interoperability according to

the Levels of Information System

Interoperability Model

• Isolated/connected the initial

status

• Functional achieved with

N2N,MW2MW, AS2AS layers

• Domain achieved in DS2DS

layer

• Enterprise achieved with

INTERFW/INTER-APIISOLATED

CONNECTED

FUNCTIONAL

DOMAIN

ENTERPRISE

NO INTER-IoT

SIMPLE ADAPTERS

Before ICT-30

Other approaches

INTERMW/D2D/AS2AS

+ IPSM

+ INTERFW/INTERAPI

N2N

INTER-LAYER

Layered approach that provides very tighintegration, higher than a general approach

Each INTER-IoT solution layer has a set of tools and methods to provideinteroperability at that specific layer

Each layer solution is:• virtualized, to provide an easy and

quick set-up• exposes an API and it is securized• independent• extensible,scalable, flexible to each case

Smart Gateway – D2D

Allows:

• D2D interoperability

• suitable for SDN N2N networks

• highly adaptable – to new technologies to new

updates

• partially virtualized

Smart Gateway – D2D

GW separated in two planes

INTER-FWINTER-API

VIRTUAL PHYSICAL

INTER-MW: MW2MW interoperability

INTER-MW

IOT PLATFORM N

IOT PLATFORM 1

INTER-MW: MW2MW interoperability

Middleware-to-Middleware interoperability

Broker for sharing information among platforms at MW level

• under subscription and agreed conditions

• real time flows of (sensor)data

Provides syntactic interoperability: • performs real time adaptation of data formats (syntactic translation)

+ other MW funtionality

Inter Platform Semantic Mediator (IPSM)

• Component that provides semantic interoperability among IoT

platforms & systems, at data and semantic level

• Automatic real-time semantic translation among streams of data of

any pair of IoT platforms -> common semantic interpretation of data

Platform Platform

IPSM

IPSM Architecture

AS2AS – Service composition

• Access to IoT Platform Native Services

• Composition of services from different IoT platforms

• Usable Graphical Interface for creating service flows

INTER-API

Providing methods for flexible, reliable and interoperable APIs

supporting the development of use cases and allowing application

developers to produce new added value across multiple systems

API

…

INTER - Framework

INTER-API

INTER-FW High-level features

Inter-IoT Interoperability Solution?

Practically

infinite

scenarios

Not Unique

Approach

Application on IoT domains

e-Health Transport

and

Logistics

Active &

Healthy

Ageing• Medical devices

+ wearables

+ mobile gateways

• CE marking

• Coordination of

port services &

port entities

• Optimization of

port processes

• Home

monitoring

• Enabling

independent

life & safety

Domain agnostic: can be applied on ANY domain

or across domains

Who is INTER-IoT for?

Who is INTER-IoT for?

•

More Information at:http://www.inter-iot.eu and http://www.iot-epi.eu

@INTER_IoT @interiot.H2020 INTER-IoT

Horizon 2020 – Research and Innovation Framework Programme

THANK YOU,Are there any questions?

CONTACT