Internet of Things building blocks

White Paper: The Building Blocks Needed To Make Internet of Things (IoT) Happen
Kaivan Karimi, Freescale Semiconductor Inc.
9/25/2013

Introduction
The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined in different ways, and it encompasses many aspects of life – from
connected homes and cities to connected cars and roads to devices that track an individual’s behavior
and use the data collected for “push” services. Some mention 1 trillion Internet-connected devices by
2025 and define mobile phones as the “eyes and ears” of the applications connecting all of those
connected “things”. Depending on the context, others give examples that are less phone-centric, speak of
a class of devices that do not exist today or point to Google’s augmented-reality smart glasses as an
indication of things to come.

Making Things Smart
An IoT-related web search will yield results that overuse the term smart. So, what does it really mean
when something is smart, and what makes an object smart? For example, how would a toaster oven that
hasn’t been considered smart become a “smart appliance”?

An old toaster that mechanically controlled the color of the toast now has a Microcontroller Unit (MCU) in
it, and the MCU controls the color of the toast. The toaster completes its task more consistently and
reliably, and because it is now a “smart” toaster, it has the ability to communicate electronically using its
touchpad or switches.
After a device becomes smart through the integration of embedded processing, the next logical step is
remote communication with the smart device to help make life easier.

Application Categories
While there are literally hundreds of applications being considered and identified by different industries,
they can be categorized in a simple, logical way.
1. Category One: Category one encompasses the idea of millions of heterogeneous “aware” and
interconnected devices with unique IDs interacting with other machines/objects, infrastructure,
and the physical environment. In this category, the IoT largely plays a remote track, command,
control and route (TCC&R) role. These applications extend the automation and machine-tomachine (M2M), machine-to-infrastructure (M2I) and machine-to-nature (M2N) communications
that can help simplify people’s lives.
2. Category Two: The second category is all about leveraging the data that gets collected by the
end nodes (smart devices with sensing and connectivity capability) and data mining for trends
and behaviors that can generate useful marketing information to create additional commerce. The
question is how far will this data mining go? Use cases could include a store tracking which aisles
you visited, where you spent the most time within those aisles and even what type of items you
lifted and browsed.
This paper is focused on category one – specifically, the technologies and devices required to enable the
IoT for TCC&R purposes.

Internet of Things Use Cases
Let’s take a look at the most common use cases for the Internet of Things.
1. Pervasive Remote Tracking/Monitoring and (if needed) Command, Control and Routing
(TCC&R): This refers to remote tracking/monitoring and, if needed, command, control and routing
functions for tasks and processes today usually done manually, or, if done remotely, that require
additional infrastructure. For example in the future, doors, windows, electrical outlets, appliances
and many other types of standalone equipment will become “smart” with a unique ID. Those
smart devices can then be connected via wired or wireless communication, allowing a user to
monitor his or her house remotely.
a. Asset Tracking: An extension of these kinds of services is asset tracking, which today is
done via barcode and a variety of manual steps, but in the future will leverage smart tags,
near-field communication (NFC) and RFID to globally track all kinds of objects,
interactively
2. Process Control and Optimization: This is when various classes of sensors (with or without
actuation capabilities) are used for monitoring and to provide data so a process can be controlled
remotely. This could be as simple as the use of cameras (the sensing nodes in this example) to
position boxes of various sizes on a conveyer belt so a label machine can properly apply labels to
them.
3. Resource Allocation and Optimization: The smart energy market provides an ideal example of
this use case. The term smart energy has been used in many ways, but it basically refers to
accessing information about energy consumption and reacting to the information to optimize the
allocation of resources (energy use).
4. Context-aware Automation and Decision Optimization: This category is the most fascinating,
as it refers to monitoring unknown factors (environmental, interaction between machines and
infrastructures, etc.) and having machines make decisions that are as “human-like” as possible only better!
For example, imagine a patient with an implantable sensing node that tracks biometrics and
sends a signal regarding an abnormal readout for an elderly patient. If the patient doesn’t respond
by taking a medication, the node could place an emergency call to a contact from a list, and if
there’s no answer, call a second contact, and finally, if no answer, contact a monitoring clinic or
quickly provide other emergency assistance.
Requirements common to all of the use cases above include:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Sensing and data collection capability (sensing nodes)
Layers of local embedded processing capability (local embedded processing nodes)
Wired and/or wireless communication capability (connectivity nodes)
Software to automate tasks and enable new classes of services
Remote network/cloud-based embedded processing capability (remote embedded processing
nodes)
6) Full security across the signal path
In the factory automation example (applying labels to boxes), a camera detects information using a
charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor (sensing node), the collected data is then communicated to an
embedded processor/controller (embedded processing node) using wired or wireless communication

technology (connectivity node), a decision is made by the remote server (remote embedded processing
node) and communicated (connectivity node), which causes a mechanical action to take place that
corrects the situation.

Building Blocks of the IoT
1. Sensing Nodes: The types of sensing nodes needed for the Internet of Things vary widely,
depending on the applications involved. Sensing nodes could include a camera system for image
monitoring; water or gas flow meters for smart energy; radar vision when active safety is needed;
RFID readers sensing the presence of an object or person; doors and locks with open/close
circuits that indicate a building intrusion; or a simple thermometer measuring temperature.
These nodes all will carry a unique ID and can be controlled separately via a remote command
and control topology.
2. Layers of Local Embedded Processing Nodes: Embedded processing is at the heart of the
IoT. Local processing capability is most often provided by MCUs, hybrid
microcontrollers/microprocessors (MCUs/MPUs) or integrated MCU devices, which can provide
the “real-time” embedded processing that is a key requirement of most IoT applications. Use
cases vary significantly, and fully addressing the real-time embedded processing function
requires a scalable strategy (using a scalable family of devices), as one size will not fit all.
There are a few requirements that make an MCU ideal for use in the Internet of Things.


Energy efficiency: First and foremost, the MCU needs to be energy-efficient. In many cases,
the sensing nodes are battery-operated satellite nodes, so a low-power spec is a basic
requirement.



Embedded architecture with a rich software ecosystem: The wide variety of potential IoT
applications can benefit from a software development environment that ties together the
applications, the command, control and routing processing and the security of the node and
system. A broad ecosystem with easily accessible support is key to enabling the
development of IoT applications.



Portfolio breadth that enables software scalability: The ability to reuse software and leverage
existing software investment is a key success factor for companies developing IoT
applications.



Portfolio breadth that cost-effectively enables different levels of performance and a robust mix
of I/O interfaces: The diversity of things to be controlled in the IoT, along with the different
use cases, the number of things in a micro-network, different levels of service required and
different interfaces in a heterogeneous environment will lead to the need for different tiers of
devices, with diverse I/Os required for the various applications. A “one size fits all” approach
will not be cost- or performance-optimized enough to satisfy the needs of this market.



Cost-effectiveness: Like all other systems, the overall cost is the sum of the parts of the
system plus the cost of the services required for the system. The total cost of ownership
must be affordable for the paradigm shift to take hold in everyday life, so product cost while
important is just one part of the system cost, but is a very relevant factor.



Quality and reliability: Unlike your mobile phone, laptop or other consumer electronic device
you may change every two years, product life cycles in the industrial and embedded market
may be up to 10-15 years. Hence, quality, reliability, and longevity requirements for these
markets are keys to the success of the IoT paradigm shift.



Security: For the local embedded processing node at the physical layer, there are a variety of
cryptographic engines and security accelerators to support data encryption (e.g. AES, etc.)
and authentication (e.g. SHA, etc.). Additional layers of security software, as well as best
practices related to boot-up routines, are among the variety of security approaches available.

3. Secure Wired and Wireless Communication Capability: The role of the communication node
is to transfer information gathered by the sensing nodes and processed by local embedded
processing nodes to the destinations identified by the local embedded processing nodes. Once
the data is remotely processed and new commands are generated, the communication node
brings back the new commands to the local embedded processing nodes to execute a task.
Use cases vary drastically, but what is common to these command and control communication
links is that they typically only need to carry few KBs of data for any given node, unless highbandwidth image processing or video data is involved.
The IoT will also add the concept of wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs), which are
networks that contain sensing, embedded processing and Internet Protocol (IP) and non-IP based
connectivity to nodes that can control their environment.
Based on typical product life cycles and the role of software, it would be safe to say that if a
technology takes hold in an IoT segment now, that technology (or an optimized-to-purpose
version of it) will be in place for at least the next five to eight years.
There are a lot of projections by analysts when major volumes for the IoT market will happen. The
communications technologies may be completely different from those being considered today, or
new revisions of existing standards may have emerged. Wi-Fi technologists already are working
on 802.11ah (Wi-Fi on ISM bands below 1 GHz) to tailor it for infrastructure-independent ad-hoc,
mesh networking and longer-range control of sensor networks. Alternatively, there could be
brand-new technologies better suited for certain aspects of IoT communication that displace the
existing standards for the IoT. Or, a disruptive wireless network technology like what weightless is
developing may take hold.
Requirements for communication functions are almost the same as for embedded processing
nodes:





Cost-effectiveness
Low power
Quality and reliability
Security

4. Software to Automate Tasks: Getting all segments of the IoT to communicate and work
together is key to the success of the technology rollout, and that means deploying a lot of
software (and middleware) that will enable various heterogeneous devices to talk with each other
and the infrastructure around them.
5. Remote Embedded Processing Nodes (access to cloud computing): Some companies
promote that all edge devices will be “dumb nodes,” with all processing and decision-making
done within “their cloud.” Alternatively, some believe only minimal access to the cloud for basic
Internet-related services will be required, with most of the “thinking” done locally. The architecture
chosen needs to allow for a number of different approaches, which will likely be necessary due to
the wide variety of use cases and configurations anticipated. That flexibility will be needed to
optimize system-level performance.
In non-IP edge device nodes there will be gateways to bridge the end node to the IP based
network. Gateways shall employ different levels of hierarchy, intelligence, and a lot of data center
functionalities from service provisioning perspective, to help bridge the connection. .
So, why does software get such a big headline? Software enables the various services the IoT
will provide. Services are the means by which the IoT will address certain needs. Those needs
could exist today, or they may be things we don’t yet realize we need, but someday we’ll wonder
why we never had them before. Hence a secure service delivery infrastructure is a must have to
make IoT happen.
6. Full Security from Edge to Enterprise: When we say security, we really mean security of
information – the information that gets passed around by various parts of the system and is
context and service dependent. For example, knowing the location of a person could be
considered a good thing if the person was lost. However, if that person felt his or her privacy was
being compromised, knowing the location information could be considered a bad thing.

Here’s what we mean by secure information:


Information needs to be available when needed: This is the most basic level of security. If the
information regarding an intruder in your house gets sent to the police station the next day,
that information loses its value. The assurance that the services and their underlying
infrastructure can process, store, and deliver the data when and where it’s needed is the first
aspect of a secure system. In certain cases, redundant infrastructure needs is required to
ensure this will happen.



Information needs to be confidential: The owner of the information decides which authorized
people; groups or organizations can access it. Safeguarding the information obtained by IoT
services is critical, or those services will lose the users’ trust. Mechanisms must be put in
place to ensure confidentiality of the information exchanged. This is a tough balancing act, as
there is a whole host of IoT-related services designed to leverage data mining and generate
push services. The “opt out” mechanism for such services would be subject to the
governance of the IoT.



The integrity of data needs to be assured: Assurance that the information is accurate,
authentic, timely, and complete is key. Unless the data can be trusted and relied upon, it
cannot be used for its intended purposes, and the entire service paradigm around that data
will break down.

The security of the system is as good as the last threat it was able to prevent, and, as soon as it
gets broken, one needs to implement new ways of making it secure again. If the recent hacking of
credit card and personal information from reputable outlets on the Internet is any indication of the
challenges facing IoT services, the Internet security infrastructure available today is inadequate to
manage IoT services.
During the summer of 2010, malware for the first time targeted electronic process control systems
instead of the traditional credit cards and personal information. The Stuxnet Trojan horse worm
that attacked Siemens process control systems at nuclear plants demonstrated incredible levels
of sophistication and showed the potential damage that could be done to undermine the security
of the IoT.
Device-level Security: There are different types (MCU, hybrid MCU/MPU, integrated MCUs,
etc.) and layers of embedded processing at various nodes of the IoT, and for any device to be
considered smart so it can be connected to the Internet, it must incorporate an embedded
processor. Embedded processors are going to be pervasive in the IoT, and they’d better be very
secure.
The intent of the IoT is to put smart devices on a sort of universal neural net, controlling them
remotely. Hence, each of these identifiable objects (billions of them) can introduce a threat to the
overall system. With such potential for disaster, are there best practices engineers can learn to
enhance the security of MCUs in an IoT system?
By now it should be clear that networks of the future will connect more objects, machines and
infrastructure to a global neural network of cloud-based services than they will connect people. A
tsunami of data and services will affect the way we live, well beyond the changes experienced
when the Internet first arrived and changed the way people network and communicate with each
other. At the heart of the IoT are layers of embedded processing, from the most remote satellite-

sensing node to the core of the network. IoT-based innovations will require a broad, rich
ecosystem of partner companies working together to bring IoT-based services to the market.

Arrow is an example of a company who has built an ecosystem of suppliers and services that can
provide full edge to enterprise solutions and services for companies seeking technology and
services to develop and deploy their IoT solutions.

When Does the IoT Become a Reality?
The pervasiveness of embedded processing is already happening everywhere around us. At home,
appliances as mundane as a basic toaster now come with an embedded MCU that not only sets the
darkness of the piece of toast to your preference, but also adds functional safety to the device.
Connecting those smart devices (nodes) to the web has also started happening and the pieces of the
technology puzzle are coming together to accommodate the Internet of Things. Just as the Internet
phenomenon happened not so long ago and caught like a wildfire, the Internet of Things will touch every
aspect of our lives. Are you ready for it?

Internet of Things building blocks

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Internet of Things building blocks

More from The Marketing Distillery

Recently uploaded

Internet of Things building blocks