From Autonomous to Cooperative Distributed Monitoring and Control: Towards the Internet of Smart Things

ERCIM Workshop on eMobility

Tampere, 30 May 2008
Dr. Jorge Pereira European Commission - DG INFSO
Embedded and Control Systems

The opinions herein are those of the author, and in no way commit the European Commission

The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things, ITU Report, November 2005 Machine-to-machine communications and person-tocomputer communications will be extended to things, from everyday household objects to sensors monitoring the movement of the Golden Gate Bridge or detecting earth tremors. Everything from tyres to toothbrushes will fall within communications range, heralding the dawn of a new era. technologies that will drive the future Internet of Things, including radio-frequency identification (RFID), sensor technologies, smart things and nanotechnology and miniaturization
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In the context of ubiquitous computing next-generation networks

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The Internet of Things

The vast majority of the one billion of Internet connections worldwide are devices used directly by humans, such as computers and mobile handsets. But we are entering a new age in which the number of "things" connected to the internet will be much larger than the number of "people". The term "Internet of Things" describes the vision of pervasive and "hidden" computing in which IP-connected devices will be embedded in the environment all around us. The key technological drivers behind the Internet of Things are likely to be radio-frequency identification (RFID), sensors, nanotechnology and intelligent systems. The Internet of Things requires us to view cyberspace in a different way. It is always-connected, responsive, adaptive and, above all, omnipresent in all aspects of our lives. The technology is here, but there is a challenge to build new business models and applications that will exploit the new capabilities.

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Trends 1
Embedded Intelligence: PERVASIVE

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Washing Machine Control

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Automotive
Engine controllers and antilock brake controllers for automobiles

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Avionics
E.g., inertial guidance systems, flight control hardware/software and other integrated systems in aircraft and missiles

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Artificial Limbs
Artificial arms with semi-functional hands, some even fitted with working opposable thumbs plus 2 fingers, and legs with shock absorbing feet capable of allowing a trained patient to even run, have become available
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Cochlear Implant
Improvement of the ability to interact socially

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Embedded Shoes
Adidas produced microprocessor-equipped running shoes, that can adapt to a runner's size, speed and fatigue level. At MIT, researchers developed shoes that do everything from providing gait therapy to generating power for wearable electronics. Adding embedded intelligence to a running shoe solves a longstanding problem: ever since running gained widespread popularity during the 1970s, shoe manufacturers have been searching for a way to create an adaptable shoe that could provide the appropriate level of cushioning, whether the wearer weighed 50 or 100kg. The embedded microprocessor calculates the pressure between the runner's foot and the ground five million times per second and continuously changes the cushioning to match an adjustable comfort level. The computer controls a motor that lengthens and shortens a cable attached to a plastic cushioning element.
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Trends 2
Connectivity: IMPROVING
increasingly wireless growing slower in some places with quite distinct grades of service
broadband varies tremendously available wireless technologies

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Internet Growth
Nothing as grown as fast Starting to slow down

still a lot to do!

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Trends 3
From Person-to-Person to Person-to-Machine to Machine-to-Machine
A whole different meaning for handshake!

to Things?
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Networking Everyone and Everything

People & Avatars

Places & Points of Interest

Addressable everything
JP

Appliances & Sensors/Actuators

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Networking Everyone, Everything and Anything

People & Avatars

Places & Points of Interest

Addressable anything
JP

Appliances & Sensors/Actuators & Things

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Factors of 10: the long-term

1B 1010 Cooperating Smart Things 10B 1011 Networked Smart Things 100B 1T 1012 Smart Things 10T 1013 Things 100T 1014 Products
The number of communicating data devices will grow from 2.4 billion [in 2004] to 23 billion in 2008 and one trillion by 2012 Krishna Nathan, IBM Research, 2004

versus
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109 personal computers 1010 mobile phones

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Only Tagging?
The tag or transponder, which contains an electronic circuit (transponder) is attached to the object that requires a unique identification code. When the tag comes near the reader, the radio frequency (RF) field generated by the reader will power up the tag and cause it to continuously transmit its data by 'pulsing' the radio frequency. The data is then captured by the reader and processed in the back-end by applications like the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Supply Chain Management systems.
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Challenges 1: What for?

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Challenges 2: Scalability

SCALABILITY
Current deployments number in the hundred(s) we are aiming at hundred(s) of thousands!

is not trivial!
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Challenges 3: Cooperation
From autonomous (independently operating) to cooperating smart (Monitoring and Control) systems Making the most of Heterogeneity and diversity in order to improve whatever optimisation is at stake

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Challenges 4: Connectivity
What Connectivity? Their level of connectivity will vary tremendously, the same with their requirements Most of the traffic will be peer-to-peer and remain rather local

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Trends 4
Embedded Intelligence: PERVASIVE + NETWORKED!!!

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Nike iPod Sports Kit

The wireless kit lets Nike's new Air Zoom Moire shoes send fitness data to the iPod Nano - via a sensor tuck inside the running shoe and a small receiver that attaches to the Nano. As you run, the sensor records your distance, time, pace and calories burned in real time and displays data on the Nano. At the push of a button, audio feedback is delivered through Nano's earbuds.
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Cooperative Vehicles

Engine Navigation System Steering Angle ESC Radar Brake Brake pedal Yaw Speed

Display Navigation System

GPS Engine

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Conclusion 1
Embedded systems are becoming ever more pervasive, permeating all things and everything:
from (home) appliances to all sorts of electronic equipment/consumer electronics (videos, cameras, HiFi) to vehicles (cars, trains, ships, airplanes) to industrial, scientific and medical equipment (motor drivers, monitors)

Miniaturisation (micro-systems, micro and nanoelectronics) and development tools (middleware) and system management tools makes them cheaper, easier to integrate, and even more pervasive, infiltrating ever more segments of the economy.
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Conclusion 2
As all this smart things become even smarter, they incorporate enhanced sensing/monitoring and actuation capabilities and are getting increasingly networked. At that stage, the next step can be taken, that of moving from autonomous (non-networked, thus individual) to cooperative (networked, local to global) optimisation/operation/control, and also from homogeneous to heterogeneous sensing/monitoring and control. As systems and processes become ever more complex and of increasing scale, this networked heterogeneity (and the ensuing data fusion, modelling, inference and decision making) is the only means to address the control problems that arise across the economy/society.
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Conclusion 3
In the end, we are talking of smart, networked (mostly wireless) heterogeneous sensors/actuators embedded in everything, for a purpose: optimising the performance of equipment and/or processes by enhancing control The tremendous potential of the ensuing Internet of Smart Things is that one can go beyond the blind individual, ad hoc optimisation of device performance/elemental processes, to a rather more all encompassing end-to-end optimisation of the overarching processes/organisations via cooperation
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Monitoring and Control of Large-Scale, Networked Smart Systems

WP 07-08 Networked Embedded and Control Systems WP 09-10 Engineering of LargeScale Monitoring and Control Systems

Wireless Sensor Networks and Cooperating Objects Control of Large-Scale Distributed Systems

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