A new white paper by
an international team surveys the role of wireless sensor networks in the
evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT). The report catalogs current needs
for underlying standards and infrastructure that must be met before wireless
devices can become, as some envision, nearly as plentiful as dust.
Published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Internet of
Things: Wireless Sensor Networks* was prepared by a team led by Shu Yinbiao, of
the State Grid Corporation of China, and Kang Lee, an engineer at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Wireless sensor networks have been called a digital skin. They are
self-organizing networks of distributed devices - or nodes - that work
cooperatively to gather and transmit information from the surrounding
environment, be it a factory, electric grid, field-monitoring site, intelligent
transportation system, or virtually any other setting. In addition to sensing
the environment, these networks also may handle some control functions, such as
adjusting building thermostats, redirecting traffic flows in a city, or
optimizing manufacturing processes in a factory.
The IoT is a broader technological concept that embodies wireless sensor
networks. As envisioned, the IoT would embed miniature computers in all manner
of objects, from the most sophisticated, such as aircraft, to the mundane, such
as clothing and appliances. Each object would be uniquely identifiable and
linked through an Internet-like structure.
Cisco Systems estimates that the numbers of devices connected to the Internet
will double to 50 billion by 2020.
The new IEC white paper discusses evolution of wireless sensor networks within
the wider context of the IoT, describes the characteristics of wireless sensor
networks and current applications and trends, and surveys future applications
and the obstacles that stand in the way. It also assesses needs for standards
to achieve interoperability among wireless sensor networks from different
vendors and across varied applications.
Given the growing number of uses of wireless sensor networks, it's not
surprising that many different standards organizations address various aspects
of the technology, often in isolation. The white paper calls on standards
organizations to improve communication and coordination, make unified plans,
optimize resource allocation, and reduce duplicative efforts.
It also recommends increasing research devoted to improving network performance
and quality of service, developing a systems architecture and integration
technologies to accommodate diverse networks, developing a common model for
ensuring security, and improving access technologies to conserve wireless
spectrum and to support larger networks.
"We hope this paper will be a useful resource for a large and diverse community
of stakeholders," says Lee. "It provides a much-needed, high-level perspective
on the technology's vast potential and on the standards-related tasks that must
be accomplished so that we can realize it."
Source:
http://www.nist.gov/el/isd/iec-white-paper.cfm
