The Web of Things - Challenges and Enabling Technologies

Abstract

Advances in ubiquitous computing and embedded systems are closing the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. With the Internet becoming the platform of choice for communication, ubiquitous computing faces new opportunities and challenges. Today, things like refrigerators and bathroom scales are becoming Internet enabled and the trend is increasing with Internet penetration predicted to cover a wide range of physical appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an active research area, focusing on connecting real-world things over TCP/IP. This trend has recently triggered the research community to ponder the use of the Web (HTTP) as an application platform for integrating things on the Internet. The Web is now evolving from an information portal to an application platform for connecting people and things together. Harnessing physical things into the virtual world using Web standards also enriches the arena of conventional Web services to unleash data and function of physical things to be participants on the information highway. In this chapter, we introduce the Web of Things (WoT) as an application platform for the world of heterogeneous things around us. We reveal the state of the art in research and discuss the models and technologies driving the WoT to support future ambient environments where people and things interact seamlessly.

Building sustainable parking lots with the Web of Things

“…We define Ambient Spaces (AS) to be the virtual representations of one or more Web-enabled things that is within such specific spatial contexts, and has information or operations to be represented on the Web [9]. The use of AS has made it possible to represent a large number of physical things and thereby enabling real-world things and people to seamlessly communicate [10,11]. Novel applications are envisioned in these spaces within the scope of WoT extending accessibility to everyone and for everything from a Web browser.…”

SDIF: Social device interaction framework for encounter and play in smart home service

“…Atzori et al [9] suggested a new concept called the Social Internet of Things, in which social networks of things are composed within the Internet of Things. In addition, other studies have attempted to connect devices together in terms of their social relations [10]- [17].…”

“…Díaz-Sánchez et al [8] developed a social enabler and watchdog through which a home gateway conducts requests to social networks on behalf of the home devices, thereby connecting the home devices to a social network service. Similar to a human on-line social network service connecting users together through the Internet and Web technologies, devices can be easily connected based on their social relation with other devices [9]- [17]. Atzori et al [9] suggested a new concept called the Social Internet of Things, in which social networks of things are composed within the Internet of Things.…”

Securing the Web of Things with Role-Based Access Control

“…they are participating members of the Web), they are grouped/clustered into an Ambient Spaces (AS) [10,9]. An AS is the virtual representation of a cluster of things i.e.…”

“…In our architecture, we use a customized version of the well-known ISO reference monitor standard [9].…”