Resource identifier interoperability among heterogeneous IoT platforms

Abstract

Many standards, projects, and platforms are being developed as the Internet of Things (IoT) is adopted in a wide range of fields. However, because each IoT platform is based on a different resource identifier (ID), it is difficult to identify each device and use the service among heterogeneous IoT platforms. To solve this problem, we propose an interoperability framework that includes an IoT resource name system (RNS) based on analysis of the resource IDs (i.e., device ID and resource request formats) of five selected IoT platforms: oneM2M, Oliot, Watson IoT, IoTivity, and FIWARE. The IoT RNS converts a specific resource path into a resource request format for each platform. The converted resource path is shared among IoT RNSs for each platform, and users can request services from other platforms using converted resource paths. We also present an example of interoperability scenario among heterogeneous IoT platforms using the proposed IoT RNS in a smart city. The scenario includes each stage, such as resource registration and deletion, sharing mapping tables, converting resource addresses, and service requests. Furthermore, to prove the aims of the proposed approach, we implemented the resource interoperability scenario between oneM2M and FIWARE. In the experiments, resources can interwork in the two platforms through resource path conversion. Based on the results, we performed a qualitative evaluation of the IoT RNS with the current studies. In conclusion, our proposal overcomes the issues of building an existing integrated platform or specific central ontology and duplicating resources inside the platform. In addition, we separate the functions of the root and local IoT RNSs to solve communication traffic and memory capability issues.