KTU SCHEME 2019

ECT445 IOT AND APPLICATION

Module 2

Prepared by
Ms. Meenu Atul
Lecturer in ECE

College of Engineering Poonjar

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Syllabus Module 2
IoT and M2M- M2M, Difference between IoT and M2M, SDN and NFV for IoT, Smart
Objects: The “Things” in IoT: Sensors, Actuators, and Smart Objects, Sensor Networks-
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), Communication Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks-
Connecting Smart Objects- Communication Criteria.

M2M
Machine to machine (M2M) refers to networking of Machines for the purpose of remote
monitoring and control and data exchange. M2M are networks-Comprises of machines which
have embedded hardware module for sensing actuation and communication. Communication
protocols- Zigbee, Bluetooth, Power line Communication, 6LoWPAN… These
Communications protocols provide connectivity between M2M nodes within and M2M area
network. The Communications Network provides connectivity to remote m2m area network.
Communication network can use wired or wireless network. The M2M is a network uses either
proprietary or non IP based protocol. Non-IP based protocols - within M2M area
networks, the M2M nodes within one network cannot communicate with nodes in an
external network. To enable the communication remote M2M area networks, M2M
gateways are used.

The end-to-end architecture for M2M systems

M2M GATEWAY

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 The protocols of M2M:

i. Zig Bee
ii. Bluetooth
iii. 6LoWPAN
iv. IEEE802.15.4
v. Mod Bus
vi. M-Bus
vii. Wireless M-Bus
viii. PLC
ZigBee:
1. It is a new wireless technology based on IEEE802.15.4 standards.
2. It is created for remote control and sensor networks.
3. It is created by ZigBee Alliance.
4. It is implemented with low cost. It provides reliable data transfer, short range
operations, very low power consumptions, adequate security features.
5. Useful for home automation.

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth is a widely used short-range, low-power wireless communication
technology that plays a significant role in the Internet of Things (IoT). It enables devices to
connect and exchange data, making it ideal for applications like smart homes, wearable
devices, and asset tracking. While Bluetooth offers advantages like low cost and standardized
protocols, challenges like range limitations and security concerns need to be addressed.

6LoWPAN:
(IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks) is a crucial technology for
the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling low-power devices to connect to the internet using
IPv6. It acts as a bridge, allowing resource-constrained devices with limited processing power
and memory to participate in IoT networks by adapting IPv6 to the constraints of low-power
wireless networks, like IEEE 802.15.4.
 6LoWPAN is a standard that specifies how to transmit IPv6 packets over low-power,
lossy networks like IEEE 802.15.4.
 It's designed for devices with limited resources, enabling them to connect to the internet
using standard IP protocols.
How it works:
 6LoCORAN utilizes header compression and other optimizations to fit IPv6 packets
into the smaller packet sizes of low-power wireless networks.
 It provides mechanisms for addressing, forwarding, routing, and security adaptations to
enable IPv6 communication over these networks.

ModBus:
1. It is a serial communication protocol.

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 2. It is used for PLC (programmable logic controllers).
3. It is a method for transmitting information over serial lines between electronic
devices.
4. It is an open protocol i.e it’s free for manufacturers to build into their equipment
without having to pay royalties.
5. It is typically used to transmit signals from instrumentation and control devices back
to main controller or data gathering system. Ex: A system measures temperature and
humidity and communicate the result to computer. ModBus is generally used to
connect a supervisory computer with remote terminal unit in supervisory control and
data acquisition (SCADA).

M-Bus (Meter bus):

1. It is an Europian Standard for the remote reading of gas or electricity meters.

2. M-Bus is also usable for other type of consumption meters(ex-water, gas).
3. The M-Bus interface is made for communication on two-wires, making it cost
effective.

PLC (Power Line Communication):

1. It is a communication technology that enables sending data over existing power

cables.
2. The power cable can both power up the device and at the same time control/ retrieve
data from it in a half duplex manner.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IOT AND M2M

Both M2M and IoT involve networking of machines or devices, They differ in the
underlying technologies, system architectures and types of applications.

1) Machines in M2M vs Things in IoT

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 The "things " IoT refers to Physical objects that have unique identifier (IP or MAC
address) and can sense and communicate with the external environment or their internal
physical status
M2M systems, in contrast to IoT, typically have homogeneous machine types within an
M2M area network

2) Hardware versus software emphasis

The emphasis of M2M is more on hardware with embedded modules. The
emphasis of IoT is more on software.

3) Data collection and analysis

M2M data is collected in point solutions and often in on premises storage
infrastructure. In contrast to M2M, the data in IoT is connected in the cloud.

4) Applications

Since M2M data is collected in point solutions and can be accessed by on premises
application Whereas since loT data is collected in the cloud it can be accessed by cloud
applications.
M2M IoT

Some degree of intelligence is observed in this. Devices have objects that are responsible for
decision making

The connection is a point to point The connection is via Network and using
various communication types.

Traditional protocols and communication Internet protocols are used such as HTTP, FTP,
technology techniques are used and Telnet.

Data is shared with only the communicating Data is shared between other applications that
parties. are used to improve the end-user experience.

Devices are not dependent on the Internet. Internet connection is required for
communication
It supports point-to-point communication
usually embedded within hardware at the It supports Multipoint Communication. Ex: By
customer site. Ex (Tap to pay, NFC). The showing the ID card then your attendance will
service in Samsung taps to pay without using be registered. Monitoring the health parameters
card. You just need to bring your mobile near through the help of android app or web app.
the swipe machine. Using your ID card to open
or close the door.

Mostly hardware-based technology Involves the usage of both Hardware and

Software.

Limited Scope for devices. A large number of devices yet scope is large.

Business2Business(B2B) Business2Business(B2B)and Business 2

Consumer(B2C)

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 There is no support for Open APIs Supports Open API integrations.

Specialized device solutions. Generic commodity devices.

Communication and device centric. Information and service centric

Vertical system solution approach . Horizontal enabler approach

Components used Device, area networks, Devices/sensors, connectivity, data processing,

gateway, Application server. user interface
The devices used are homogeneous type within
The devices used are heterogeneous type such
an M2M area network. as fire alarms, door alarms, lighting control
devices, etc..
M2M protocols include ZigBee, Bluetooth, IoT protocols include HTTP, CoAP, Web
ModBus, M-Bus, Wireless M-Bus, Power Line Socket, MQTT, XMPP, DDS, AMQP etc.. The
communication (PLC), 6LoWPAN, protocols work above the network layer.
IEEE802.15.4, Z-wave. These protocols work
below the network layer.

SDN (Software defined network):

SDN is defined as a network architecture that separates the control plane from the data
plane and centralizes the network controller. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an
approach to networking that uses software- based controllers or application programming
interfaces (APIs) to communicate with underlying hardware infrastructure and direct traffic on
a network.
The limitations of the conventional network - Complex network devices, Management
overhead, Limited scalability
Flexibility and Adaptability, Scalability, Simplified Management etc helps to overcome
the limitations
SDN uses a virtual networking approach. It uses centralized control. This network is
programmable. Software Defined Network is an open interface. It supports automatic
configuration so it takes less time. It can prioritize and block specific network packets.
The main components of SDN are Control Plane, Data Plane and centralized SDN
controller, programmable open APIs, standard communication interface (open flow).

SDN architecture:

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 1. Control Plane (CP): The control plane is responsible for maintaining the routing
table of a switch which determines the best path to send the network packets and the data
plane is responsible for forwarding the packets based on the instructions given by the control
plane. Whereas in SDN, the control plane and data plane are separate entities, where the
control plane acts as a central controller for many data planes.
It takes the decision about how the packets should flow through the network. It decides the
path as well as the metrics to be followed in order to decrease the traffic. The CP allows
dynamic access and administration. A network administrator can shape the traffic from a
centralized controller console without touching individual switches to change the metrics in
the preloaded program in switches and routers (i.e the administrator can change any network
switches rules when necessary). Prioritizing, de-prioritizing or even blocking specific type of
packets i.e called dynamic routing. This is especially helpful in cloud computing.

2. Data plane: It is the part of the network that carries the payload data traffic from one
place to other. The data plane consists of network elements, which expose their capabilities to
the control plane via southbound interface. Provide interfaces communicating to the control
plane for Programmatic control of all functions offered by the network element, Capability
advertisement, Event notification.

3. SDN controller: SDN controller manages the data traffic. The SDN controller is a
software installer in server at data centre. It is based on protocols. It acts in between
network devices at one end and applications at other end. Any communication between
applications and devices has to go through controller.

Rule Placement
The SDN controller places rules in three phases upon receiving a new flow at a switch:
(a) In the first phase, the controller determines optimal forwarding path to route the
flow from source to destination;
(b) In the second phase, the controller selects optimal switch in the selected path for
exact- match rule placement in order to get per-flow statistics;
(c) Finally, flow-rule is redistributed among the switches to accommodate new flows in
the network upon detecting rule congestion at a switch
Controller Placement

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 1. In a distributed SDN controller architecture, multiple controllers are deployed to
minimize communication latency between the switch and the control plane.
2. The controllers are strategically placed to optimize network performance.
3. Controllers define flow-rule according to the application specific requirements.
4. The controllers must be able to handle all incoming requests from switches.
5. Rule should be placed without incurring much delay.
6. Typically, a controller can handle 200 requests in a second (through a single thread).
7. The controllers are logically connected to the switches in one hop distance and
physically, they are connected to the switches in multi-hop distance.
8. If we have a very small number of controllers for a large network, the network might
be congested with control packets (i.e., PACKET-IN messages).

4. Programmable open APIs: The SDN applications can be deployed through

programmable open APIs. It acts as an interface between SDN application and control layers
(north bound interface). This helps to implement various network services like routing, access
control and quality of service (QoS).

5. Standard communication interface (Open flow): It is the interface between the control
and infrastructure layers (south bound interface). Open Flow is defined by Open networking
Foundation (ONF). With the Open Flow the forwarding plane of the network devices can be
directly accessed and manipulated. It uses concept of flows to identify network traffic based on
predefined match rules. Flows can be programmed statically or dynamically by the SDN
control software.
The components of Open Flow switch are one or more flow tables and group table, which
perform packet lookups and forwarding and open flow channel to an external controller. The
controller manages the switch via Open Flow switch protocol. The controller can add, update,
and delete flow entries.

Open Flow table:

1. Each flow table contains set of flow entries.
2. Each flow entry consists of match fields. Counters and set of instructions to apply to
matching packets.
3. Matching starts at the first flow table and may continue to additional flow table of the
pipeline.

6. Application-plane

• Applications specify the resources and behaviors required from the network, with the
context of business and policy agreement.
• It may need to orchestra the objectives, (Cloudify, Unify)
• Programming languages help developing applications.

Security in SDN
Software-defined network security involves virtualizing security functions from the traditional
hardware they tend to operate on. They enforce virtual network functions, with data and
monitoring accessible through one intuitive interface.
The latest generation of software-defined security applications make use of automation to

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 better detect anomalies in network traffic and improve the enforcement of security policies.
This makes it easier to detect suspicious activity more quickly and respond more efficiently to
prevent intrusions and minimize damage in the event of a breach.
There is Enhanced security using SDN.
The Security is implemented using Firewall, Proxy, HTTP, Intrusion detection system (IDS)

Benefits of SDN over conventional network architecture:

1. It makes networks flexible with the help of software by removing the demerits of
traditional or conventional network architecture.
2. It reduces the complexity of increasing number of distributed protocols and the use of
proprietary hardware and interfaces which are used to be implemented in conventional
network. It uses simple packet forwarding technique as opposing to conventional network.
3. It separates control plane from the data plane and centralizes the network controller. But in
conventional network architecture the control plane and data plane are coupled.
4. The other benefit of SDN is network management and end to end visibility. The network
admin only deal with one centralized controller to distribute policies to the connected
switches instead of configuring multiple individual devices.
5. SDN applications can be deployed through programmable open APIs so this speeds up the
innovation as the network administrators no longer need to wait for the device vendors to
embed new features in their proprietary hardware.

Challenges of SDN:
If the controller will be hacked or corrupted then whole system will not work.

NFV (Network Function Virtualization):

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) replaces traditional hardware-based network

appliances (like routers, firewalls, load balancers) with software-based virtual functions that
can run on standard servers or cloud platforms. It is a technology which gets maximum
benefits by providing virtualization to the industry standard high volume servers, switches
and storages. So it reduces the hardware cost and power consumption. It comprise of
software implemented functions that can run in the cloud. So it is able to differentiate
among hardware and software.
●NFV provides infrastructure on which SDN can run. SDN and NFV are complementary to
each other. But they can work independently.
●Hardware remains same so network functions can be easily tested and upgraded.
●NFV is applicable to fixed and mobile network control plane and data plane.

The NFV framework consists of three major components:

1. Virtual Network Functions (VNFs)
These are the virtualized software components that implement network functions such as
firewalls, routers, and load balancers. VNFs are designed to run on the NFVI, and they can be

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instantiated, scaled, and managed using virtualization technologies such as hypervisors or
containers.
These are the software implementations of traditional network functions like: Firewall, Load
balancer, Deep packet inspection, NAT (Network Address Translation), EPC (Evolved
Packet Core for LTE/5G). Each VNF runs in a virtual machine or container on generic
hardware.

2. NFV Infrastructure (NFVI)

This is the underlying physical infrastructure that provides the computing (e.g., servers),
Storage (e.g., SSDs, storage arrays), and networking (e.g., physical and virtual
switches/routers). resources required to host virtualized network functions. The NFVI
typically consists of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers, storage, and networking
equipment. The NFVI provides the virtualization layer to host VNFs.

3. NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO)

This is a software component that manages the lifecycle of VNFs and the underlying NFVI
resources. The NFV Orchestrator is responsible for deploying, scaling, and managing VNFs
across the NFVI, and it provides a centralized interface for network operators to configure and
manage the network.
This is the brain of NFV, managing: Lifecycle of VNFs (deployment, scaling, updating,
termination), Resource allocation, Automation and orchestration, The MANO stack is made up
of: VNF Manager (VNFM), Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM)(e.g., Open Stack), NFV
Orchestrator(NFVO)

 EX: Use of NFV for virtualization of home networks

The home network includes:

 Home Gateway
 IP enabled devices
1. Home gateway provides wide area network connectivity to the IP enabled
devices such as IPTV, VoIP.
2. Various functionalities of home gateway are: DHCP (Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol), NAT (Network Address Translation), application
specific gateway and Firewall.
3. Through the help of the DHCP the IP enabled devices will be able to get IP
addresses whenever they will switch on and connected to the home gateway.

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 DHCP is configured in the Home Gateway.
4. Whatever the devices will be connected to the home network they will get the
private address. So to communicate with the internet i.e outer world they need a
public IP. That public IP is configured at the external interface of the home
gateway. So whenever the devices will try to connect to the internet the private
address will be translated to one public address through the help of the NAT.
5. The gateway provides application specific routing for applications such as VOIP
and IPTV.

What is IoT orchestration?

1. It is the process of integrating IoT applications with enterprise IT systems, cloud
services, mobile applications within and across the boundaries of the company.
2. It is typically used to automate or improve process, and potentially synchronise
data all in real-time.

Difference between SDN and NFV:

Services SDN NFV

Abbreviation Software Defined Network Network Function virtualization
Basic Idea SDN separates control plane from NFV transfers dedicated
data plane and centralizes the control application to generic servers
and programmability of the network. (routing, policy management,
load balancing).
Areas of SDN operates in data It operates in service Provider
Operations Centre, campus and/or cloud. network or operators.
Initial SDN targets cloud or NFV targets router, firewalls,
application orchestrations and networking gateways, WAN, CDN,
Target accelerators and SLA assurance.
Protocols Uses Open Flow as a communication There is no protocol
protocol. determined yet.
Supporting Open Networking Foundation. ETSI NFV working group
organization
Advantage SDN reduces cost of network NFV increases scalability and
because now there is no need of agility as well as speed up
expensive switches & routers time-to-market as it
dynamically allot hardware a
level of capacity to network
functions needed at a
particular time.
Application  Networking  Routers, firewalls,
 Cloud orchestration gateways
 WAN accelerators
 SLA assurance
 Video Servers
 Content Delivery
Networks (CDN)

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 SMART OBJECTS: The “Things” in IoT

Smart objects are any physical objects that contain embedded technology to sense
and/or interact with their environment in a meaningful way by being interconnected and
enabling communication among themselves or an external agent.
Some of the fundamental building blocks of IoT networks are
Sensors
Actuators
Smart Objects

Sensors:
A sensor does exactly as its name indicates: It senses.
A sensor measures some physical quantity and converts that measurement reading
into a digital representation.
That digital representation is typically passed to another device for transformation into
useful data that can be consumed by intelligent devices or humans.
Sensors are not limited to human- like sensory data.
Sensors provide super human sensory capabilities.
Sensors can be readily embedded in any physical objects that are easily connected to
the Internet by wired or wireless networks, they can interpret their environment and
make intelligent decisions.

Characteristics of Sensors

1. Range: It is the minimum and maximum value of physical variable that the sensor can
sense or measure. For example, a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) for the
measurement of temperature has a range of -200 to 800oC.

2. Span: It is the difference between the maximum and minimum values of input. In above
example, the span of RTD is 800 – (-200) = 1000oC.

3. Accuracy: The error in measurement is specified in terms of accuracy. It is defined as the

difference between measured value and true value. It is defined in terms of % of full scale or
% of reading.

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4. Precision: It is defined as the closeness among a set of values. It is different from
accuracy.

5. Linearity: Linearity is the maximum deviation between the measured values of a sensor from
ideal curve.

6. Hysteresis: It is the difference in output when input is varied in two ways- increasing and
decreasing.

7. Resolution: It is the minimum change in input that can be sensed by the sensor.

8. Reproducibility: It is defined as the ability of sensor to produce the same output when same
input is applied.

9. Repeatability: It is defined as the ability of sensor to produce the same output every time
when the same input is applied and all the physical and measurement conditions kept the same
including the operator, instrument, ambient conditions etc.

10. Response Time: It is generally expressed as the time at which the output reaches a certain
percentage (for instance, 95%) of its final value, in response to a step change of the input.
Sensors have been grouped into different categories
Active or passive:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether they produce an energy output and
typically require an external power supply (active) Example: Thermocouple, Photodiode,
Piezoelectric sensor or whether they simply receive energy and typically require no external
power supply (passive). Example: Strain gauge.

Analog Sensors
• Analog Sensors produces a continuous output signal or voltage which is generally
proportional to the quantity being measured.
• Physical quantities such as Temperature, speed, Pressure, Displacement, Strain etc. are all
analog quantities as they tend to be continuous in nature.
• For example, the temperature of a liquid can be measured using a thermometer or
thermocouple (e.g. in geysers) which continuously responds to temperature changes as the
liquid is heated up or cooled down.

Digital Sensors
• Digital Sensors produce discrete output voltages that are a digital representation of the
quantity being measured.

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• Digital sensors produce a binary output signal in the form of a logic "1" or a logic "0" ,
("ON" or "OFF).
 Digital signal only produces discrete (non-continuous) values, which may be output as a
signal "bit" (serial transmission), or by combing the bits to produce a signal "byte" output
(parallel transmission).
Eg: digital temperature sensors, digital pressure sensors, and proximity sensors

Invasive or non-invasive:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether a sensor is part of the environment it is
measuring (invasive) or external to it (non-invasive).
Eg: blood glucose monitors that require a needle prick and invasive blood pressure
monitoring, which uses a catheter inserted into an artery. Non-invasive sensors include pulse
oximeters that clip onto a finger and non-invasive blood pressure cuffs.

Contact or no-contact:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether they require physical contact with what
they are measuring (contact) or not (no-contact).
Eg: thermocouples for temperature and pressure sensors for fluid levels. Non-contact sensor
examples include infrared thermometers and ultrasonic sensors for distance
measurement.

Absolute or relative:
Sensors can be categorized based on whether they measure on an absolute scale
(absolute) or based on a difference with a fixed or variable reference value (relative).
Eg: a barometer, which measures atmospheric pressure, uses an absolute pressure sensor,
while a tire pressure gauge uses a relative pressure sensor

Scalar Sensors
• Scalar Sensors produce output signal or voltage which generally proportional to the
magnitude of the quantity being measured.
• Physical quantities such as temperature, color, pressure, strain, etc. are all scalar quantities
as only their magnitude is sufficient to convey an information.
• For example, the temperature of a room can be measured using thermometer or
thermocouple, which responds to temperature changes irrespective of the orientation of the
sensor or its direction.

Vector Sensors
• Vector Sensors produce output signal or voltage which generally proportional to the
magnitude, direction, as well as the orientation of the quantity being measured.
• Physical quantities such as sound, image, velocity, acceleration, orientation, etc. are all
vector quantities, as only their magnitude is not sufficient to convey the complete
information.
• For example, the acceleration of a body can be measured using an accelerometer, which
gives the components of acceleration of the body with respect to the x,y,z coordinate axes.

How sensors measure: Sensors can be categorized based on the physical mechanism used to
measure sensory input (for example, thermoelectric, electrochemical, piezo resistive, optic,
electric, fluid mechanic, photo elastic).

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What sensors measure: Sensors can be categorized based on their applications or what
physical variables they measure.
The physical phenomenon a sensor is measuring is shown in Table-2.1

Different types of sensors in a smart phone is shown in figure 2.1

Actuators:
Actuators are natural complements to sensors.
Figure demonstrate the symmetry and complementary nature of these two types of devices.
Sensors are designed to sense and measure any measurable variable in the physical world.
They convert the measurements (typically analog) into electric signals or digital
representations that can be consumed by an intelligent agent(a device or a human).
Actuators, on the others hand, receive some type of control signal (commonly an electric
signal or digital command) that triggers a physical effect, usually some type of motion, force,
and so on.

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 Eg: The precision agriculture example can demonstrate how actuators can be complement
and enhance a sensor-only solution. For example, the smart sensors used to evaluate soil
quality (by measuring a variety of soil, temperature, and plant characteristics) can be
connected with electrically or pneumatically controlled valve actuators that control water,
pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and so on. Intelligently triggering a high-precision
actuator based on well-defined sensor readings of temperature, pH, soil/air humidity,
nutrient levels, and so on to deliver a highly optimized and custom environment-specific
solution is truly smart farming.

Much like sensors, actuators also vary greatly in function, size, design, and soon. Some
common ways that they can be classified include the following:
▪ Type of motion: Actuators can be classified based on the type of motion they produce (for
example, linear, rotary, one/two/three-axes).
Eg: servo motors, pneumatic cylinders, and hydraulic cylinders

▪ Power: Actuators can be classified based on their power output (for example, high power,
low power, micro power)

▪ Binary or continuous: Actuators can be classified based on the number of stable- state
outputs.
▪ Area of application: Actuators can be classified based on the specific industry or vertical
where they are used.
▪ Type of energy: Actuators can be classified based on their energy type.

▪ Hydraulic Actuators: Hydraulic actuators operate by the use of a fluid-filled cylinder

with a piston suspended at the centre. Commonly, hydraulic actuators produce linear
movements, and a spring is attached to one end as a part of the return motion. These
actuators are widely seen in exercise equipment such as steppers or car transport carriers.
Eg: Linear Actuator, Servo Motor, Gripper, fluid motor

▪ Pneumatic Actuators: Pneumatic actuators are one of the most reliable options for
machine motion. They use pressurized gases to create mechanical movement. Many
companies prefer pneumatic-powered actuators because they can make very precise
motions, especially when starting and stopping a machine. Examples of equipment that
uses pneumatic actuators include: Bus brakes, Exercise machines, Vane motors,
Pressure sensors.

▪ Electric Actuators: Electrical actuators, as you may have guessed, require electricity to
work. Well-known examples include electric cars, manufacturing machinery, and robotics

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 equipment. Similar to pneumatic actuators, they also create precise motion as the flow of
electrical power is constant. Eg: e.g., smart locks

▪ Thermal and Magnetic Actuators: Thermal and magnetic actuators usually consist of
shape memory alloys that can be heated to produce movement. The motion of thermal or
magnetic actuators often comes from the Joule effect, but it can also occur when a coil is
placed in a static magnetic field. The magnetic field causes constant motion called the
Laplace-Lorentz force. Most thermal and magnetic actuators can produce a wide and
powerful range of motion while remaining lightweight. Eg: MRI machines

▪ Mechanical Actuators: Some actuators are mostly mechanical, such as pulleys or rack
and pinion systems. Another mechanical force is applied, such as pulling or pushing, and
the actuator will leverage that single movement to produce the desired results. For
instance, turning a single gear on a set of rack and pinions can mobilize an object from
point A to point B. The tugging movement applied on the pulley can bring the other side
upwards or towards the desired location. Eg; racks, pinions, and braking mechanisms.

▪ Soft Actuators: Soft actuators (e.g., polymer based) are designed to handle fragile objects
like fruit harvesting in agriculture or manipulating the internal organs in biomedicine.

They typically address challenging tasks in robotics. Soft actuators produce flexible
motion due to the integration of microscopic changes at the molecular level into a
macroscopic deformation of the actuator materials.

Different types of Actuators are presented in Table -2.2

Micro- Electro - Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS referred to as micro-machines, can integrate and
combine electric and mechanical elements, such as sensors and actuators, on a very small
(millimeter or less) scale.
The combination of tiny size, low cost, and the ability to mass produce makes MEMS an
attractive option for a huge number of IoT applications.

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Ex: Inkjet printers use micro pump MEMS. Smart phones also use MEMS technologies for
things like accelerometers and gyroscopes

SMART OBJECTS

Smart objects are any physical objects that contain embedded technology to sense
and/or interact with their environment in a meaningful way by being interconnected and
enabling communication among themselves or an external agent.
Smart objects are the building blocks of IoT. They are what transform everyday
objects into a network of intelligent objects that are able to learn from and interact with
their environment in a meaningful way. It can’t be stressed enough that the real power of
smart objects in IoT comes from being networked together rather than being isolated as
stand alone objects. This ability to communicate over a network has a multiplicative effect
and allows for very sophisticated correlation and interaction between disparate smart
objects.
For instance, recall the smart farming sensors described previously. If a sensor is a
standalone device that simply measures the humidity of the soil, it is interesting and useful,
but it isn’t revolutionary. If that same sensor is connected as part of an intelligent network
that is able to coordinate intelligently with actuators to trigger irrigation systems as needed
based on those sensor readings. Extending that even further, imagine that the coordinated
sensor/actuator set is intelligently interconnected with other sensor/actuator sets to further
coordinate fertilization, pest control, and so on—and even communicate with an intelligent
backend to calculate crop yield potential. This now starts to look like a complete system
that begins to unlock the power of IoT and provides the intelligent automation to expect
from such a revolutionary technology.

Smart Objects: A Definition

The term smart object, despite some semantic differences, is often used interchangeably
with terms such as smart sensor, smart device, IoT device, intelligent device, thing, smart
thing, intelligent node, intelligent thing and intelligent product. A smart object, is described
as a device that has one of the following four defining characteristics

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 Fig: Basic architecture of a smart object

 Processing unit: A smart object has some type of processing unit for acquiring data,
processing and analyzing sensing information received by the sensor(s), coordinating
control signals to any actuators, and controlling a variety of functions on the smart
object, including the communication and power systems. The most common is a
microcontroller because of its small form factor, flexibility, programming simplicity,
ubiquity, low power consumption, and low cost.
● Sensor(s) and /or actuator(s): A smart object is capable of interacting with the physical
world through sensors and actuators. A smart object does not need to contain both
sensors and actuators. In fact, a smart object can contain one or multiple sensors and/or
actuators, depending upon the application.
● Communication device: The communication unit is responsible for connecting a smart
object with other smart objects and the outside world (via the network). Communication
devices for smart objects can be either wired or wireless. In IoT networks smart objects
are wirelessly interconnected for a number of reasons, including cost, limited
infrastructure availability, and ease of deployment. There are different communication
protocols for smart objects.
● Power source: Smart objects have components that need to be powered. Interestingly,
the most significant power consumption usually comes from the communication unit of a
smart object. Typically, smart objects are limited in power, are deployed for a very long
time, and are not easily accessible. This combination, especially when the smart object
relies on battery power, implies that power efficiency, judicious power management,
sleep modes, ultra-low power consumption hardware, and so on are critical design
elements. For long-term deployments where smart objects are, for all practical purposes,
inaccessible, power is commonly obtained from scavenger sources (solar, piezoelectric,
and soon) or is obtained in a hybridized manner, also tapping into infrastructure power.

Trends in Smart Objects

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 Smart objects vary wildly in function, technical requirements, form factor,
deployment conditions, and so on. There are certain important macro trends that can be
inferred from recent and planned future smart object deployments. Of course, these don’t
apply to all smart objects because there will always be application-dependent variability,
but these are broad generalizations and trends impacting IoT:
● Size is decreasing: As discussed earlier, in reference to MEMS, there is a clear trend of
ever- decreasing size. Some smart objects are so small they are not even visible to the
naked eye. This reduced size makes smart objects easier to embed in everyday objects.
● Power consumption is decreasing: The different hardware components of a smart object
continually consume less power. This is especially true for sensors, many of which are
completely passive. Some battery-powered sensors last 10 or more years without battery
replacement.
● Processing power is increasing: Processors are continually getting more powerful and
smaller. This is a key advancement for smart objects, as they become increasingly
complex and connected.
● Communication capabilities are improving: It’s no big surprise that wireless speeds are
continually increasing, but they are also increasing in range. IoT is driving the
development of more and more specialized communication protocols covering a greater
diversity of use cases and environments.
 Communication is being increasingly standardized: There is a strong push in the
industry to develop open standards for IoT communication protocols. In addition, there are
more and more open source efforts to advance IoT.
These trends in smart objects begin to paint a picture of increasingly sophisticated devices
that are able to perform increasingly complex tasks with greater efficiency. The power of IoT
is truly unlocked when smart objects are networked together in sensor/actuator networks.

SENSOR NETWORK
SANET
A sensor/actuator network (SANET), as the name suggests, is a network of sensors that
sense and measure their environment and/or actuators that act on their environment.
The sensors and/or actuators in a SANET are capable of communicating and cooperating
in a productive manner.
SANETs offer highly coordinated sensing and actuation capabilities.
Smart homes are a type of SANET that display this coordination between distributed
sensors and actuators.
For example, smart homes can have temperature sensors that are strategically networked
with heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) actuators. When a sensor detects a
specified temperature, this can trigger an actuator to take action and heat or cool the home
as needed.
The following are some advantages and disadvantages that a wireless based solution offers:

Advantages:
Greater deployment flexibility (especially in extreme environments or hard-to-reach

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 places)
Simpler scaling to a large number of nodes
Lower implementation costs
Easier long-term maintenance
Effortless introduction of new sensor/actuator nodes
Better equipped to handle dynamic/rapid topology changes

Disadvantages:
Potentially less secure (for example, hijacked access points)
Typically, lower transmission speeds
Greater level of impact/influence by environment

SENSOR WEB

The sensor web is a type of sensor network that is especially well suited for
environmental monitoring. The sensor web is also associated with a sensing system which
heavily utilizes the World Wide Web.

Sensor Web Enablement (SWE)

Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) is a suite of standards developed and maintained by Open
Geospatial Consortium. SWE standards enable developers to make all types of sensors,
transducers and sensor data repositories discoverable, accessible and usable via the Web.
SWE Standards include:
• Sensor Observation Service
• Sensor Planning Service
• Observations and Measurements
• Sensor Model Language
• Sensor Things API

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a collection of spatially distributed, battery-

powered sensing devices (called sensor nodes) that monitor physical or environmental
parameters—such as temperature, humidity, pressure, motion, light, or pollutants—and
communicate this data wirelessly to a central system for processing and decision-making.
WSN Consists of a large number of sensor nodes, densely deployed over an area.
Sensor nodes are capable of collaborating with one another and measuring the condition of
their surrounding environments (i.e., Light, temperature, sound, vibration). The sensed
measurements are then transformed into digital signals and processed to reveal some
properties of the phenomena around sensors.
Wireless sensor networks are made up of wirelessly connected smart objects, which
are sometimes referred to as motes. The fact that there is no infrastructure to consider with
WSNs is surely a powerful advantage for flexible deployments, but there are a variety of
design constraints to consider with these wirelessly connected smart objects.
Key Components of a WSN
1. Sensor Nodes
o Equipped with sensors, microcontrollers, and wireless transceivers.

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 o Collect data from the environment.
2. Gateway / Sink Node
o Aggregates data from multiple sensor nodes.
o Connects the WSN to the internet or cloud (via Wi-Fi, cellular, Ethernet, etc.).
3. Communication Module
o Uses low-power wireless protocols like Zigbee, LoRa, BLE, or IEEE
802.15.4.
4. Power Supply
o Often battery-powered, sometimes supported by energy harvesting (solar,
vibration, etc.)

Wireless Sensor Network Architecture

A WSN architecture is structured into three main layers:

 Physical Layer: This layer connects sensor nodes to the base station using
technologies like radio waves, infrared, or Bluetooth. It ensures the physical
communication between nodes and the base station.

 Data Link Layer: Responsible for establishing a reliable connection between

sensor nodes and the base station. It uses protocols such as IEEE 802.15.4 to
manage data transmission and ensure efficient communication within the network.

 Application Layer: Enables sensor nodes to communicate specific data to the base
station. It uses protocols like ZigBee to define how data is formatted, transmitted,
and received, supporting various applications such as environmental monitoring or
industrial control
WSN Network Topologies
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can be organized into different network
topologies based on their application and network type. Here are the most common types:
 Bus Topology: In a Bus Topology, multiple nodes are connected to a single line or bus.
Data travels along this bus from one node to the next. It's a simple layout often used in
smaller networks.
 Star Topology: Star Topology have a central node, called the master node, which
connects directly to multiple other nodes. Data flows from the master node to the
connected nodes. This topology is efficient for centralized control.
 Tree Topology: Tree Topology arrange nodes in a hierarchical structure resembling a
tree. Data is transmitted from one node to another along the branches of the tree
structure. It's useful for expanding coverage in hierarchical deployments.
 Mesh Topology: Mesh Topology feature nodes interconnected with one another,
forming a mesh-like structure. Data can travel through multiple paths from one node to
another until it reaches its destination. This topology offers robust coverage and
redundancy.
Each topology has its advantages and is chosen based on factors such as coverage area,
scalability, and reliability requirements for the specific WSN application.

Components of a Sensor Node:

In any wireless sensor network, sensor node consists of four basic components, a
sensing unit, a processing unit, a transceiver unit, and a power unit. They may also have
additional application dependent components such as a location finding system, power

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 generator and mobilize
Node Behaviour in WSNs:

▪ Normal nodes work perfectly in ideal environmental conditions.

▪ Failed nodes are simply those that are unable to perform an operation; this could be
because of power failure and environmental events.
▪ Badly failed nodes exhibit features of failed nodes but they can also send false routing
messages which are a threat to the integrity of the network.
▪ Selfish nodes are typified by their unwillingness to cooperate, as the protocol requires
whenever there is a personal cost involved. Packet dropping is the main attack by selfish
nodes.
▪ Malicious nodes aim to deliberately disrupt the correct operation of the routing protocol,
denying network service if possible.

Dynamic Misbehavior (Dumb behavior):

• Detection of such temporary misbehavior in order to preserve normal functioning of the
network – coinage and discovery of dumb behavior.
• In the presence of adverse environmental conditions (high temperature, rainfall, and
fog) the communication range shrinks.
• A sensor node can sense its surroundings but is unable to transmit the sensed data
• With the resumption of favorable environmental conditions, dumb nodes work
normally.
• Dumb behavior is temporal in nature (as it is dependent on the effects of
environmental conditions).

Challenges in WSN:

Energy: Power consumption can be allocated to three functional domains: sensing,

communication, and data processing, each of which requires optimization. The sensor
node lifetime typically exhibits a strong dependency on battery life. The constraint most
often associated with sensor network design is that sensor nodes operate with limited
energy budgets.
Limited bandwidth: Bandwidth limitation directly affects message exchanges among
sensors, and synchronization is impossible without message exchanges. Sensor networks
often operate in a bandwidth and performance constrained multi-hop wireless
communications medium. These wireless communications links operate in the radio,
infrared, or optical range.
Node Costs: A sensor network consists of a large set of sensor nodes. It follows that the
cost of an individual node is critical to the overall financial metric of the sensor network.
Clearly, the cost of each sensor node has to be kept low for the global metrics to be
acceptable.

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 Deployment Node: A proper node deployment scheme can reduce the complexity of
problems. Deploying and managing a high number of nodes in a relatively bounded
environment requires special techniques. Hundreds to thousands of sensors may be
deployed in a sensor region.
Security: One of the challenges in WSNs is to provide high security requirements with
constrained resources. Many wireless sensor networks collect sensitive information. The
remote and unattended operation of sensor nodes increases their exposure to malicious
intrusions and attacks. The security requirements in WSNs are comprised of node
authentication and data confidentiality. To identify both trustworthy and unreliable nodes
from a security stand points, the deployment sensors must pass a node authentication
The following are some of the most significant limitations of the smart objects in WSNs:

Limited processing power

Limited memory
Lossy communication
Limited transmission speeds
Limited power
These limitations greatly influence how WSNs are designed, deployed, and utilized.
The fact that individual sensor nodes are typically so limited is a reason that they are often
deployed in very large numbers. As the cost of sensor nodes continues to decline, the ability to
deploy highly redundant sensors becomes increasingly feasible. Because many sensors are very
inexpensive and correspondingly inaccurate, the ability to deploy smart objects redundantly
allows for increased accuracy.
Such large numbers of sensors permit the introduction of hierarchies of smart objects.
Such a hierarchy provides, among other organizational advantages, the ability to aggregate
similar sensor readings from sensor nodes that are in close proximity to each other. Figure below
shows an example of such a data aggregation function in a WSN where temperature readings
from a logical grouping of temperature sensors are aggregated as an average temperature
reading.

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 Figure Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks

These data aggregation techniques are helpful in reducing the amount of overall
traffic (and energy) in WSNs with very large numbers of deployed smart objects. This data
aggregation at the network edges is where fog and mist computing, While there are certain
instances in which sensors continuously stream their measurement data, this is typically not
the case. Wirelessly connected smart objects generally have one of the following two
communication patterns:

Event-driven: Transmission of sensory information is triggered only when a smart object

detects a particular event or predetermined threshold.
Periodic: Transmission of sensory information occurs only at periodic intervals.

The decision of which of these communication schemes is used depends greatly on

the specific application. For example, in some medical use cases, sensors periodically send
postoperative vitals, such as temperature or blood pressure readings. In other medical use
cases, the same blood pressure or temperature readings are triggered to be sent only when
certain critically low or high readings are measured.

Applications of WSNs:
1. Mines
• Fire Monitoring and Alarm System for Underground Coal Mines Bord‐and‐Pillar Panel
Using Wireless Sensor Networks. ▪ WSN‐based simulation model for building a fire
monitoring and alarm (FMA) system for Bord & Pillar coal mine.
▪ The fire monitoring system has been designed specifically for Bord & Pillar based mines.
▪ It is not only capable of providing real‐time monitoring and alarm in case of a fire, but also
capable of providing the exact fire location and spreading direction by continuously
gathering, analyzing, and storing real time information.

2. Healthcare
• Wireless Body Area Networks ▪ Wireless body area networks (WBANs) have recently
gained popularity due to their ability in providing innovative, cost‐effective, and user‐friendly
solution for continuous monitoring of vital physiological parameters of patients.
▪ Monitoring chronic and serious diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
▪ Could be deployed in elderly persons for monitoring their daily activities.

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3.Internet of Things (IOT)
4. Surveillance and Monitoring for security, threat detection
5. Environmental temperature, humidity, and air pressure
6. Noise Level of the surrounding
7. Landslide Detection

Communication Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks:

WSNs are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, with more sophisticated
interactions. This heterogeneity is shown in a variety of ways. WSNs are also evolving from
single-purpose networks to more flexible multipurpose networks that can use specific sensor
types for multiple different applications at any given time. Imagine a WSN that has multiple
types of sensors, and one of those types is a temperature sensor that can be flexibly used
concurrently for environmental applications, weather applications, and smart farming
applications.
Coordinated communication with sophisticated interactions by constrained devices
within such a heterogeneous environment is quite a challenge. The protocols governing the
communication for WSNs must deal with the inherent defining characteristics of WSNs and
the constrained devices within them. Any communication protocol must be able to scale to a
large number of nodes. Likewise, when selecting a communication protocol, care must be
taken to account the requirements of the specific application and consider any trade-offs the
communication protocol offers between power consumption, maximum transmission speed,
range, tolerance for packet loss, topology optimization, security, and so on. The fact that
WSNs are often deployed outdoors in harsh and unpredictable environments adds yet another
variable to consider because obviously not all communication protocols are designed to be
equally rugged.
Wireless sensor networks interact with their environment. Sensors often produce large
amounts of sensing and measurement data that needs to be processed. This data can be
processed locally by the nodes of a WSN or across zero or more hierarchical levels in IoT
networks. Communication protocols need to facilitate routing and message handling for this
data flow between sensor nodes as well as from sensor nodes to optional gateways, edge
compute, or centralized cloud compute. IoT communication protocols for WSNs thus straddle
the entire protocol stack. Ultimately, they are used to provide a platform for a variety of IoT
smart services.

Connecting Smart Objects

IoT devices and sensors must be connected to the network for their data to be
utilized. In addition to the wide range of sensors, actuators, and smart objects that make up
IoT, there are also a number of different protocols used to connect them. Here the
characteristics and communications criteria that are important for the technologies that smart
objects employ for their connectivity, along with a deeper dive into some of the major
technologies being deployed today.
Communications Criteria
In the world of connecting “things,” a large number of wired and wireless access
technologies are available or under development. Before reviewing some of these access
technologies, it is important to talk about the criteria to use in evaluating them for various use
cases and system solutions. Wireless communication is prevalent in the world of smart object
connectivity, mainly because it eases deployment and allows smart objects to be mobile,

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changing location without losing connectivity. The following sections take this into account
as they discuss various criteria. In addition, wired connectivity considerations are mentioned
when applicable.
1.) Range
How far does the signal need to be propagated? That is, what will be the area of coverage for
a selected wireless technology? Should indoor versus outdoor deployments be differentiated?
Very often, these are the questions asked when discussing wired and wireless access
technologies. The simplest approach to answering these types of questions is to categorize
these technologies as shown in Figure 4-1, breaking them down into the following ranges:

 Short range: The classical wired example is a serial cable. Wireless short-range
technologies are often considered as an alternative to a serial cable, supporting tens of
meters of maximum distance between two devices. Examples of short-range wireless
technologies are IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.7 Visible Light
Communications (VLC). These short- range communication methods are found in only a
minority of IoT installations. In some cases, they are not mature enough for production
deployment.
 Medium range: This range is the main category of IoT access technologies. In the
range oftens to hundreds of meters, many specifications and implementations are
available. The maximum distance is generally less than 1 mile between two devices,
although RF technologies do not have real maximum distances defined, as long as the
radio signal is transmitted and received in the scope of the applicable specification.
Examples of medium- range wireless technologies include IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, IEEE
802.15.4, and 802.15.4g WPAN. Wired technologies such as IEEE 802.3 Ethernet and
IEEE 1901.2 Narrowband Power Line Communications (PLC) may also be classified as
medium range, depending on their physical media characteristics
 Long range: Distances greater than 1 mile between two devices require long-range
technologies. Wireless examples are cellular (2G, 3G, 4G) and some applications of out do or
IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi and Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) technologies. LPWA
communications have the ability to communicate over a large area without consuming much
power. These technologies are therefore ideal for battery-powered IoT sensors. Found mainly
in industrial networks, IEEE 802.3 over optical fiber and IEEE 1901 Broadband Power Line
Communications are classified as long range but are not really considered IoT access
technologies.
2.) Frequency Bands
Radio spectrum is regulated by countries and/or organizations, such as the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). These groups define the regulations and transmission requirements for various

27
frequency bands. For example, portions of the spectrum are allocated to types of
telecommunications such as radio, television, military, and so on.
Focusing on IoT access technologies, the frequency bands leveraged by wireless
communications are split between licensed and unlicensed bands. Licensed spectrum is
generally applicable to IoT long- range access technologies and allocated to communications
infrastructures deployed by services providers, public services (for example, first responders,
military), broadcasters, and utilities.
An important consideration for IoT access infrastructures that wish to utilize licensed
spectrum is that users must subscribe to services when connecting their IoT devices. This
adds more complexity to a deployment involving large numbers of sensors and other IoT
devices, but in exchange for the subscription fee, the network operator can guarantee the
exclusivity of the frequency usage over the target area and can therefore sell a better
guarantee of service.
The ITU has also defined unlicensed spectrum for the industrial, scientific, and
medical (ISM) portions of the radio bands. These frequencies are used in many
communications technologies for short-range devices (SRDs). Unlicensed means that no
guarantees or protections are offered in the ISM bands for device communications. For IoT
access, these are the most well-known ISM bands:
 2.4 GHz band as used by IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
 IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth
 IEEE 802.15.4 WPAN

An unlicensed band, such as those in the ISM range of frequencies, is not unregulated.
National and regional regulations exist for each of the allocated frequency bands (much as
with the licensed bands). These regulations mandate device compliance on parameters such
as transmit power, duty cycle and dwell time, channel bandwidth, and channel hopping.
Unlicensed spectrum is usually simpler to deploy than licensed because it does not
require a service provider. However, it can suffer from more interference because other
devices may be competing for the same frequency in a specific area. This becomes a key
element in decisions for IoT deployments. Should an IoT infrastructure utilize unlicensed
spectrum available for private networks or licensed frequencies that are dependent on a
service provider? Various LPWA technologies are taking on a greater importance when it
comes to answering this question. In addition to meeting low power requirements, LPWA
communications are able to cover long distances that in the past required the licensed bands
offered by service providers for cellular devices.
3.) Power Consumption
While the definition of IoT device is very broad, there is a clear delineation between
powered nodes and battery-powered nodes. A powered node has a direct connection to a
power source, and communications are usually not limited by power consumption criteria.
However, ease of deployment of powered nodes is limited by the availability of a power
source, which makes mobility more complex.
Battery-powered nodes bring much more flexibility to IoT devices. These nodes are
often classified by the required lifetimes of their batteries. Does a node need 10 to 15 years of
battery life, such as on water or gas meters? Or is a 5- to 7-year battery life sufficient for
devices such as smart parking sensors? Their batteries can be changed or the devices replaced
when a street gets resurfaced. For devices under regular maintenance, a battery life of 2 to 3
years is an option.
IoT wireless access technologies must address the needs of low power consumption

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and connectivity for battery-powered nodes. This has led to the evolution of a new wireless
environment known as Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA). Obviously, it is possible to run just
about any wireless technology on batteries. However, in reality, no operational deployment
will be acceptable if hundreds of batteries must be changed every month.
Wired IoT access technologies consisting of powered nodes are not exempt from
power optimization. In the case of deployment of smart meters over PLC, the radio interface
on meters can’t consume 5 to 10 watts of power, or this will add up to a 20-million-meter
deployment consuming 100 to 200 megawatts of energy for communications.
4.) Topology
Among the access technologies available for connecting IoT devices, three main
topology schemes are dominant: star, mesh, and peer-to-peer. For long-range and short-range
technologies, a star topology is prevalent, as seen with cellular, LPWA, and Bluetooth
networks. Star topologies utilize a single central base station or controller to allow
communications with endpoints.
For medium-range technologies, a star, peer-to-peer, or mesh topology is common, as
shown in Figure. Peer-to-peer topologies allow any device to communicate with any other
device as long as they are in range of each other. Obviously, peer-to-peer topologies rely on
multiple full-function devices. Peer-to-peer topologies enable more complex formations, such
as a mesh networking topology.
A mesh topology helps cope with low transmit power, searching to reach a greater
overall distance, and coverage by having intermediate nodes relaying traffic for other nodes.
Mesh topology requires the implementation of a Layer 2 forwarding protocol known as
mesh-under or a Layer 3 forwarding protocol referred to as mesh-over on each intermediate
node. An intermediate node or full-function device (FFD) is simply a node that interconnects
other nodes. A node that doesn’t interconnect or relay the traffic of other nodes is known as a
leaf node, or reduced-function device (RFD).

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