IoT devices (internet of things devices)

IoT devices, or any of the many things in the internet of things, are nonstandard computing devices that connect wirelessly to a network and have the ability to transmit data.

IoT involves extending internet connectivity beyond standard devices, such as desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, to any range of traditionally dumb or non-internet-enabled physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded with technology, these devices can communicate and interact over the internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled.

IoT device examples and applications

Connected devices are part of a scenario in which every device talks to other related devices in an environment to automate home and industry tasks, and to communicate usable sensor data to users, businesses and other interested parties. IoT devices are meant to work in concert for people at home, in industry or in the enterprise. As such, the devices can be categorized into three main groups: consumer, enterprise and industrial.

Consumer connected devices include smart TVs, smart speakers, toys, wearables and smart appliances. Smart meters, commercial security systems and smart city technologies -- such as those used to monitor traffic and weather conditions -- are examples of industrial and enterprise IoT devices. Other technologies, including smart air conditioning, smart thermostats, smart lighting and smart security, span home, enterprise and industrial uses.

In a smart home, for example, a user arrives home and his car communicates with the garage to open the door. Once inside, the thermostat is already adjusted to his preferred temperature, and the lighting is set to a lower intensity and his chosen color for relaxation, as his pacemaker data indicates it has been a stressful day.

In the enterprise, smart sensors located in a conference room can help an employee locate and schedule an available room for a meeting, ensuring the proper room type, size and features are available. When meeting attendees enter the room, the temperature will adjust according to the occupancy, and the lights will dim as the appropriate PowerPoint loads on the screen and the speaker begins his presentation.

On a plant floor, an assembly line machine outfitted with sensors will provide sensor data to the plant operator, informing her of anomalies and predicting when parts will need to be replaced. Such information can prevent unexpected downtime, along with lost productivity and profits.

In the field, such notifications can alert users to what is wrong, as well as the parts needed to fix a problem, preventing the need to send a field service worker out to diagnose an issue, only to waste her time driving to a warehouse, finding the correct part and returning to the site.

IoT device management

A number of challenges can hinder the successful deployment of an IoT system and its connected devices, including security, interoperability, power/processing capabilities, scalability and availability. Many of these can be addressed with IoT device management either by adopting standard protocols or using services offered by a vendor.

Device management helps companies integrate, organize, monitor and remotely manage internet-enabled devices at scale, offering features critical to maintaining the health, connectivity and security of the IoT devices along their entire lifecycles.

Such features include:

•       Device registration
•       Device authentication/authorization 
•       Device configuration
•       Device provisioning
•       Device monitoring and diagnostics
•       Device troubleshooting

Available standardised device management protocols include the Open Mobile Alliance's Device Management (OMA DM) and Lightweight Machine-to-Machine (OMA LwM2M).

IoT device management services and software are also available from vendors including Amazon, Bosch Software Innovations GmbH, Microsoft, Software AG and Xively.

IoT device connectivity and networking

The networking, communication and connectivity protocols used with internet-enabled devices largely depend on the specific IoT application deployed. Just as there are many different IoT applications, there are many different connectivity and communications options.

Communications protocols include CoAP, DTLS and MQTT, among others. Wireless protocols include IPv6, LPWAN, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy, Z-Wave, RFID and NFC. Cellular, satellite, Wi-Fi and Ethernet can also be used.

Each option has its tradeoffs in terms of power consumption, range and bandwidth, all of which must be considered when choosing connected devices and protocols for a particular IoT application.

To share the sensor data they collect, IoT devices connect to an IoT gateway or another edge device where data can either be analyzed locally or sent to the cloud for analysis.

IoT device security

The interconnection of traditionally dumb devices raises a number of questions in relation to security and privacy. As if often the case, IoT technology has moved more quickly than the mechanisms available to safeguard the devices and their users.

Researchers have already demonstrated remote hacks on pacemakers and cars, and, in October 2016, a large distributed denial-of-service attack dubbed Mirai affected DNS servers on the east coast of the United States, disrupting services worldwide -- an issue traced back to hackers infiltrating networks through IoT devices, including wireless routers and connected cameras.

However, safeguarding IoT devices and the networks they connect to can be challenging due to the variety of devices and vendors, as well as the difficulty of adding security to resource-constrained devices. In the case of the Mirai botnet, the problem was traced back to the use of default passwords on the hacked devices. Strong passwords, authentication/authorization and identity management, network segmentation, encryption, and cryptography are all suggested IoT security measures.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secure-by-design/code-of-practice-for-consumer-iot-security

December 2018

TechTarget