A Reference Architecture for Smart and Software-Defined Buildings

Abstract

The vision encompassing Smart and Softwaredefined Buildings (SSDB) is becoming more and more popular and its implementation is now more accessible due to the widespread adoption of the IoT infrastructure. Some of the most important applications sustaining this vision are energy management, environmental comfort, safety and surveillance. This paper surveys IoT and SSB technologies and their cooperation towards the realization of Smart Spaces. We propose a fourlayer reference architecture and we organize related concepts around it. This conceptual frame is useful to identify the current literature on the topic and to connect the dots into a coherent vision of the future of residential and commercial buildings.

Towards the Internet of Robotic Things: Analysis, Architecture, Components and Challenges

“…This idea is pictorially represented in Figure 1. In this context by Smart Space we mean applications like Smart Room, Smart Factory, Smart Building or Smart City [15]. The main function of these applications is the monitoring of states and processes in a defined controlling area.…”

“…It is known that network protocols for Smart Buildings are divided into smart device networks and traditional networks for high-speed data transfer [15]. Therefore it is logical to use the protocols already installed in the Smart Building infrastructure (such as wireless sensor networks (WSN) and machineto-machine communications (M2M)) for IoRT components and agents.…”

“…The mesh network is often a suitable choice of network topology for wireless communication of robots and devices inside Smart Space due to the indoor obstacles in the Smart Environment (walls, furniture, interior items, etc.). Double mesh with wired and wireless networks is appropriate for those Smart Buildings / Smart Factories where was already installed a wired automation system [15]. At present there are many wired and wireless communication networks and their protocols used to exchange data with devices, servers and clouds, components, sensors and robots, which are described in [16], [15] and can be also used in IoRT (they are shown schematically in Fig.…”

“…Integration of robotics into smart spaces can be utilized in various areas of our life: home automation, health, transportation, logistics. As a smart space concept, we can introduce Smart and Software Defined Buildings (SSDB) [15]. These are programmable buildings where sensing, based on hardware and software, is integrated to perform various functions such as presence monitoring, activity and identity recognition, and detection of users emotional state.…”

Size Matters: Microservices Research and Applications

“…As a result, smart buildings are an ideal application scenario for the Microservices paradigm. This domain has been investigated with an outlook on Internet-of-Things technologies (IoT) and smart cities [43]. In [54] and [31] it has been shown how rooms of a building can be equipped with devices and sensors in order to capture the fundamental parameters determining well-being and livability of humans, such as temperature, humidity, and illumination.…”