https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/mobile-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • Roundups
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
    • Strategic Partners
    • Latest videos
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Submissions
  • Events
    • Back
    • Embedded IoT World (Part of DesignCon) 2022
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • Roundups
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
    • Strategic Partners
    • Latest videos
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Submissions
  • Events
    • Back
    • Embedded IoT World (Part of DesignCon) 2022
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Embedded Computing


Getty Images

Image shows Smart city and IoT (Internet of Things) concept. ICT (Information Communication Technology).

IoT Standards in 2019: Semantics, Security and Social Issues

Experts share their thoughts on the state of IoT standards in 2019.
  • Written by Valerie Silverthorne
  • 14th February 2019

The sprawling IoT market has had more than 10 years to establish standards and best practices to move it forward.

But that doesn’t mean the job is done. We asked seven experts to weigh in on the state of IoT standards in 2019 and their answers reflected both the growing maturity of the market and the continuing struggles.

There’s no question that IoT adoption is growing. Today more than 25 percent of companies are involved with the Internet of Things, according to the 2018 survey from the IoT World Today Implementation Practices Survey And nearly 30 percent of those happiest with their IoT projects said they have 100 or more IoT initiatives underway. IoT’s popularity is well matched with the wide array of standards that exist today – Postscapes identifies nearly 90 different IoT standards across eight categories that have been developed by more than 26 organizations and alliances.

It’s a complicated landscape, in part, because “you don’t know which standards you need until you know what you need,” said Industrial Internet Consortium’s Executive Director Richard Soley. “And most of the standards are developed in a vacuum.” The standards also have to cover a large number of technologies, said ARM’s Vice President for Developers Zach Shelby. “IoT is not mobile,” Shelby said. “There is not a single adjustable set of devices with a small number of operating systems and app ecosystems. We don’t have that and we never will have that because there are so many different markets with heterogeneous applications that need different types of devices and different types of connectivity. It takes an ecosystem to solve that problem.”

Start With the Basics

Luckily, the IoT ecosystem has been working for years on standards. “There are plenty of existing standards, a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms,” said Paul Bevan, research director: IT infrastructure with Bloor Research, in an email. “(The existing standards) cover the four component parts of an IoT implementation … the devices that collect data and respond to commands, the hubs that concentrate and co-ordinate local groups of devices, gateways that act as the interface to the internet and the centralized data systems. All these are covered by well-defined standards.”

But for Bevan, Shelby and other experts, the time has come to look both more broadly — at the development of sweeping reference architectures — and in a more detailed way. Bevan pointed to the IIC Reference Architecture — one developed with feedback from 26 test beds around the globe — as a commendable cross-industry standards-driven project.

Meanwhile, IEEE is working on a specific standard aimed at vertical IoT implementations. Given IoT’s scope, standards organizations have to start broadly and then drill down, explained Sri Chandrasekaran, director of standards and technology with IEEE. “Typically, once we develop an architecture for the top level, we do a deep dive into the verticals to demystify specific activities in industries like transportation, health care and retail,” Chandrasekaran said. The fundamental protocols have long been established, he said, so the time is right to expand them. In fact, IEEE’s P2413, which is currently undergoing a vote, is a standard for an IoT architectural framework that will spell out the relationships among implementations in vertical markets and expand on the existing reference architecture.

The Devil’s in the Details

More specific standards sound like a great idea, but IIC’s Soley is quick to point out the difficulties. “We’ve solved the easiest problem so far — how to get the data from here to there,” he said. “It’s much harder to solve the problem of what do those bits mean. Capturing semantics is a lot harder than moving things from here to there.” Soley sees 2019 as the year when the hard work is  begin when it comes to semantic standards, though he said the issue has been talked about for a while. Germany’s Industrie 4.0 organization is working on this problem, he said, as is the National Institute of Standards in the U.S. “But what’s really going to matter here is what manufacturers are actually going to use,” he said. “It’s always true for standards – we call it a standard but it’s only really a standard if it’s what people use.”

And what people use really is the point, Shelby stressed. “Extensions to standards are needed, but there is too much focus on standards and on protocols,” he said. “Everyone wants to create their own standards and lots of people are working on it, but it’s a little distracting when new things pop up.” Too much focus on a particular protocol takes away from the bigger picture. “Specific protocols or specific device management matters less than what we can provide at scale and make sure it works well and that the security is perfect. That matters more than protocol A or B.” 

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
Tags: Embedded Computing Other Content Features

Related


  • Case Study: Developing a Custom Remote Sensing Solution for Nuclear Power Plants
    Nuclear power plants present many unique challenges for networked monitoring of equipment, as well as enormous potential advantages in terms of safety and cost savings. Benchmark joined with industry software leader KnowledgeRelay to create a custom Multi-Sensing Monitoring Unit (MSMU) for Idaho National Laboratory. The resulting MSMU uses sensors and advanced machine learning to monitor […]
  • Image shows a big data and artificial intelligence concept.
    AI Data Processing at the Edge Reduces Costs, Data Latency
    As the number of edge devices increases exponentially, sending high volumes of data to the cloud could swiftly overwhelm budgets and broadband capabilities. Deep learning, a subset of machine learning, reduces cost and connectivity burdens.
  • Argent Case Study
    For more than 40 years, Argent has specialized in the fabrication and distribution of unique adhesive and die-cut solutions. See why Argent relies on the Plex Manufacturing Platform to remain competitive and support their open book management. At a Glance: • Argent’s legacy ERP system was cumbersome, costly, and disruptive to the business just to […]
  • IoT World Today Commits to Greater Diversity in 2020
    IoT World Today Stands with Black Lives Matter and will commit to several diversity-oriented initiatives in 2020.

One comment

  1. Avatar Ting Liu 20th February 2019 @ 10:48 pm
    Reply

    Security is always a major concern with simple sensors used. Therefore, smart edge server and gateway with encryption capability and programmability are keys to assist. A highly integrated smart edge server with full connectivity, even having people-people communication capacity, could be in part of the solution of the current IoT world.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • A Look at Michelin’s Product-as-a-Service Strategy
  • Event Broker PaaS Model Compelling for IoT Environments
  • Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020
  • Will IoT-as-a-Service Models Gain Critical Mass in 2020?

Roundups

View all

IoT Product Roundup: PTC, Nokia, Arm and More

19th May 2022

IoT Deals, Partnerships Roundup: Intel, Nauto, Helium and more

14th May 2022

IoT Product Roundup: Amazon, Synaptics, Urban Control and More

27th April 2022

White Papers

View all

The Role of Manufacturing Technology in Continuous Improvement Ebook

6th April 2022

IIoT Platform Trends for Manufacturing in 2022

6th April 2022

Latest Videos

View all
Dylan Kennedy of EMQ

Embedded IoT World 2022: Dylan Kennedy of EMQ

Dylan Kennedy, EMQ’s VP of global operations, sat down with Chuck Martin at Embedded IoT World 2022.

Embedded IoT World 2022: Omdia’s Sang Oh Talks Vehicle Chip Shortage

Omdia’s automotive semiconductor analyst sits down with Chuck Martin at this year’s event

E-books

View all

How Remote Access Helps Enterprises Improve IT Service and Employee Satisfaction

12th January 2022

An Integrated Approach to IoT Security

6th November 2020

Webinars

View all

Rethinking the Database in the IoT Era

18th May 2022

Jumpstarting Industrial IoT solutions with an edge data management platform

12th May 2022

AI led Digital Transformation of Manufacturing: Time is NOW

9th December 2021

Special Reports

View all

Omdia’s Smart Home Market Dynamics Report

7th January 2022

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

IoT Security Best Practices for Industry and Enterprise

20th October 2020

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Swiss-startup Airyacht is developing an eponymously named vehicle that it says will take the luxury-yacht experienc… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

@Tesla’s #Autopilot being investigated once again following fatal crash in Newport Beach, California. iotworldtoday.com/2022/05/23/tes…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

A new Kansas law will enable #driverless deliveries from @Walmart and its partner @Gatik_AI. #AVs… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Access a world of opportunity in 2022 with @IoTWorldToday ➡️ Now is time to unlock ROI, by accessing a global com… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

3D Home Printer to Build 72 Residences for National Homebuilder dlvr.it/SQhWSF https://t.co/XJOs70DqzH

19th May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Microsoft Ramping up Cybersecurity Service Offerings dlvr.it/SQhPR0 https://t.co/nYzaDRnyVY

19th May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

IoT Product Roundup: PTC, Nokia, Arm and More dlvr.it/SQhNNF https://t.co/ZApdw3RHdu

19th May 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Britain’s postal service has plans to run a fleet of autonomous #drones to make rural postal deliveries easier.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

19th May 2022

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X