Daniele Alessandrelli

T-Res: Enabling Reconfigurable In-network Processing in IoT-based WSNs

Internet of Things (IoT) standards are a key technology for enabling multi-purpose Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Indeed, by providing a common interface for interacting with sensor nodes, they help decouple the sensing infrastructure from the applications running on top of it. To this end, much work has been done to define the semantics for controlling sensors and actuators. On the contrary, a solution for manipulating the in-network processing performed by an IoT-based WSN is still undefined. As a result, IoT applications usually run “out-of-the-network”, e.g., in high-end application servers or in the Cloud. This paper addresses such a limitation by proposing TRes, a new programming abstraction for IoT-based WSNs. The proposed solution allows using IoT protocols for changing the data-processing performed by sensor nodes and the interaction among them, thus enabling “in-network” applications. To prove the feasibility of T-Res, a real implementation based on Contiki OS is presented and evaluated. Evaluation results show that the use of T-Res, compared with the traditional “out-of-network” approach, lowers the risk of network congestion, reduces the power consumption, and can improve application response time.

PyoT, a macroprogramming framework for the Internet of Things

The extensive diffusion of new generation wireless sensor networks requires the adoption of flexible mechanisms capable of abstracting the functionality of the nodes, facilitating their integration in larger computing infrastructures. This paper presents PyoT, a framework designed to simplify the development of complex applications for the Internet of Things, coordinating the activities of group of nodes. Adopting the macroprogramming paradigm, PyoT lets programmers focus on the application goal, hiding low-level communication details. The framework is capable of efficiently distributing the processing effort inside the network, providing support for “in-network” processing applications. The proposed system is evaluated both in an emulated scenario and on a real testbed.

Architecture, Functional Requirements, and Early Implementation of an Instrumentation Grid for the IoT

This paper presents an innovative architecture for the instrumentation layer of a pervasive large-scale information system. State of the art examples already include an instrumentation layer in a grid infrastructure; nontheless these systems were not designed for large-scale ad-hoc networks, rapidly deployed, continuously upgraded, and dynamically reconfigured when the system is on-line. The main contribution is that of designing an instrumentation layer coherent with existing infrastructures capable of being federated with others, and already providing robust virtualization services in what concerns user authentication and access, distributed storage, and computing power. The large-scale instrumentation layer is inspired by the Internet of Things, and will consist of a large number of autonomous nodes organized in Wireless Sensor Networks and accessing the Internet following the 6LoWPAN specifications. An early implementation of this architecture is proven to respond to use cases centered on data- and event-driven services; it also permits a large degree of flexibility and adaptiveness in end nodes applications.

Demonstration abstract: PyoT, a macroprogramming framework for the IoT

PyoT is a web-based framework designed to simplify the development of complex applications for the IoT. Adopting the macroprogramming paradigm, it lets the programmers focus on the global applications goal, hiding low-level communication details. Developers can easily define, test, and share applications using IPython Notebooks or through a rich Web interface. The framework is capable of efficiently distributing the processing effort inside the network. This demonstration shows some of the features of PyoT, such as programming groups of nodes as a whole, creating in-network tasks, monitoring sensors, and visualizing network information. PyoT is available for download and testing on real WSN deployments or in emulated environments.

MIRTES: MIddleware for real-time transactions in embedded systems

In this paper we present MIRTES, a project for a data, event, and code-centric middleware with realtime characteristics targeted to wireless sensor networks. The MIRTES architecture and implementation focusing on data-centric services is here proposed together with its experimental validation. At the state of the art for data-centric middleware, packages succeed in providing a database like abstraction of the network supporting SQL-like queries spawned at Service Access Points hosted in high-end devices like PCs. Anyhow none of these packages tackles with the timeliness issue, being developed on top of non real-time technologies for operating systems and network protocols.