Things-Net

Abstract

The Internet of things aims to create a continuity between real and digital worlds, by integrating physical objects into the digital universe. This will increase the number of connected machines and generate new applications. When combined according to an appropriate logic, IoT objects can produce value-added services that a single object cannot provide. In order to avoid costly errors, this execution logic has to be modeled and validated, using a formal model, before its effective deployment. To address the lack of special-purpose modeling languages for IoT applications, the authors propose the Things-Net model, designed specifically to meet the needs of IoT-based systems. It allows an easy modeling and verification of IoT time-dependent platforms, to ensure that the designed IoT solution fulfills the application's requirements. In order to illustrate the approach, authors apply the modeling and verification techniques to a prototype of an airport management system based on IoT.