RapIoT Toolkit: Rapid Prototyping of Collaborative Internet of Things Applications

Abstract

The Internet of Things holds huge promise in enhancing collaboration in multiple application domains. Bringing internet connectivity to everyday objects and environments promotes ubiquitous access to information and integration with third-party systems. Further, connected "things" can be used as physical interfaces to enable users to cooperate, leveraging multiple devices via parallel and distributed actions. Yet creating prototypes of IoT systems is a complex task for developers non-expert in IoT, as it requires dealing with multi-layered hardware and software infrastructures. We introduce RapIoT, a software toolkit that facilitates the prototyping of IoT systems by providing an integrated set of technologies. Our solution abstracts low-level details and communication protocols, allowing developers non-expert in IoT to focus on application logic, facilitating rapid prototyping. RapIoT supports the development of collaborative applications by enabling the definition of high-level data type primitives and allowing interactions spread among multiple smart objects. RapIoT primitives act as a loosely coupled interface between generic IoT devices and applications, simplifying the development of systems that make use of an ecology of devices distributed to multiple users and environments. We illustrate the potential of our toolkit by presenting the development process of an IoT application ideated during a workshop with non-expert developers and addressing real-world

Internet of Tangible Things (IoTT): Challenges and Opportunities for Tangible Interaction with IoT

“…Results of the meta-analysis. Type T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 TangiSense (Traffic) [50] System, no user evaluation X X X Active Forms [52] Theoretical X X X X AwareKit [53] System, user evaluation X X X X X CapNFC [45] System, no user evaluation X X X X Cognitive Objects [54] Theoretical X X X X Smart-home environment [55] System, user evaluation X X X TANGerINE [56] System, no user evaluation X X X X Expressing Intent [57] System, no user evaluation X X X X X VoxBox [43] System, user evaluation X X X X Invisible connections [44] Theoretical, user interviews X X X X IoT Owl [58] System, no user evaluation X X X Iyagi [59] System, no user evaluation X X TangiSense (Kitchen) [60] System, user evaluation X X Projected interfaces [61] System, no user evaluation X X X X RapIoT [62] Toolkit X X T4Tags [63] Toolkit, end-user insights X X X X X Technology Individuation [42] Theoretical, analysis of user-evaluated systems X X X X X X X Tiles [64] Toolkit X X X X X Total: 18 papers 4 theoretical, 3 toolkits, 11 systems. 7 papers include user insights 13 10 1 12 11 11 7 4 From the table, it is possible to notice that the most cited property is T1, with 13 occurrences out of 18 articles, while T3, i.e., exploring persistency of tangible interfaces, is the less mentioned (in only one paper and marginally).…”

“…While Bellucci et al [63] present a toolkit for end-user programming of physical smart-tags (T4Tags) that can be attached to everyday objects; Mora et al present two toolkits (RapIoT [62] and Tiles [64]) for facilitating the implementation of physical IoT objects (as well as the supporting cloud and embedded software) based on customizable hardware.…”

“…Spatial interactions are supported also by all the reviewed toolkits [62][63][64]. Indeed, RapIoT [62] supports the interaction with several devices placed in the same environment and therefore users can collaborate with different devices towards a common goal.…”

“…Indeed, RapIoT [62] supports the interaction with several devices placed in the same environment and therefore users can collaborate with different devices towards a common goal. TILES [64], instead, allows using square modules as physical pixels that can be scattered in space or moved side by side.…”

“…The creators of RapIoT [62] argued that IoT enables seamless interconnection of people and everyday objects, bringing collaboration off the screen into our everyday routines and environments. As an example, their toolkit can also support visual warnings with green-red LEDs.…”