Towards a global IoT: Resource re-utilization in WSNs

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned as a paradigm shift, with a plethora of applications, on the premise of well-established enabling technologies; prominently Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and RFIDs. The former has evolved to improve energy efficiency and resilient operation, yet true scalability has only been recently probed and quite sparsely advanced. Moreover, the traditional approach, whereby most WSN platforms are tailored for a single-application, imposes significant rigidity in re-utilizing platforms for new applications, and limitations on re-using previously deployed ones. In remedy, we present a novel paradigm in WSNs to efficiently utilize network resources, and extend it to a platform for multiple applications to cross-utilize resources over multiple WSNs. We present the approach in three phases; the first calibers resources in the network and their usability. Then applications are represented as finite sets of functional requirements. Finally, we present an optimization approach to find an optimal mapping between applications and resources. This paradigm presents a leap in scalability, not only in a WSN but across multiple ones, dynamically accommodating varying resources being introduced and removed; in addition to utilizing transient resources in their vicinity. To this end, we present an architecture to efficiently adopt WSNs in IoT with changing demands and scale. Our approach is further explained and demonstrated via a detailed use case depicting the premise of IoT applications.