The recent history has witnessed disruptive advances in disciplines related to information and communication technologies that have laid a rich technological ecosystem for the growth and maturity of latent paradigms in this domain. Among them, sensor networks have evolved from the originally conceived set-up where hundreds of nodes with sensing and actuating functionalities were deployed to capture information from their environment and act accordingly (coining the so-called wireless sensor network concept) to the provision of such functionalities embedded in quotidian objects that communicate and work together to collaboratively accomplish complex tasks based on the information they acquire by sensing the environment. This is nowadays a reality, embracing the original idea of an Internet of things (IoT) forged in the late twentieth century, yet featuring unprecedented scales, capabilities and applications ignited by new radio interfaces, communication protocols and intelligent data-based models. This chapter examines the latest findings reported in the literature around these topics, with a clear focus on IoT communications, protocols and platforms, towards ultimately identifying opportunities and trends that will be at the forefront of IoT-related research in the near future.

Chapter Contents:

• 1.1 Introduction
• 1.2 Communication and transport technologies
• 1.2.1 Short range
• 1.2.1.1 802.15.4
• 1.2.1.2 ZigBee
• 1.2.1.3 Bluetooth low energy
• 1.2.1.4 Z-Wave
• 1.2.2 Long range
• 1.2.2.1 Low-power wide area networks (LPWANs)
• 1.2.2.2 Cellular technologies
• 1.3 Data protocols
• 1.3.1 Hypertext transfer protocol
• 1.3.2 Constrained application protocol
• 1.3.3 Message queuing telemetry transport and MQTT-SN
• 1.3.4 Extensible messaging and presence protocol
• 1.4 IoT platforms
• 1.4.1 Technical aspects
• 1.4.1.1 Services offered
• 1.4.1.2 Supported data protocols
• 1.4.1.3 Security
• 1.4.1.4 Device management
• 1.4.1.5 Data storage
• 1.4.2 Commercial and business aspect
• 1.4.2.1 Size of the company
• 1.4.2.2 Data centre
• 1.4.2.3 IoT ecosystem
• 1.4.2.4 Pricing model
• 1.4.3 Commercial or open-source
• 1.4.3.1 Evaluation criteria
• 1.4.3.2 Open-source platforms
• 1.5 Future directions and challenges
• 1.5.1 Fog/Edge/Cloud Computing
• 1.5.2 Ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) and tactile Internet
• 1.5.3 Embeddable artificial intelligence
• 1.5.4 Secure communications
• 1.5.5 Enhanced energy efficiency and autonomy
• 1.5.6 (Big) Stream analytics
• 1.5.7 Conclusions
• References

Inspec keywords: protocols; wireless sensor networks; Internet of Things

Other keywords: recent history; rich technological ecosystem; IoT-related research; latent paradigms; original idea; wireless sensor network concept; late twentieth century; communication protocols; radio interfaces; quotidian objects; communication technologies; intelligent data-based models; actuating functionalities; outlook; sensor networks; disruptive advances

Subjects: Radio links and equipment; Computer communications; Wireless sensor networks; Information networks; Other topics in statistics; Protocols