A semantics-based approach to multi-source heterogeneous information fusion in the internet of things

Abstract

Multi-source heterogeneous information fusion in the Internet of Things (IoT) is a type of information processing that attempts to provide a comprehensive, timely and accurate perception and feedback relative to physical things. Traditional multi-sensor data fusion can deal with the same type of data effectively. However, as new characteristics emerge in the IoT, interoperable service-oriented technologies are required to share real-world data among heterogeneous devices to integrate and fuse the multi-source heterogeneous IoT data. To address these issues, an architecture that can provide guidance for the development of IoT information fusion is required. We compare features of IoT data and information with an existing wireless sensor network and the Internet, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first comparison of this kind. Then, we design a framework for multi-source heterogeneous information fusion in the IoT and use an experimental simulation platform to build an environmental monitoring system to assess the framework.