Dieter Uckelmann

Architecting the Internet of Things

Many of the initial developments towards the Internet of Things have focused on the combination of Auto-ID and networked infrastructures in business-to-business logistics and product lifecycle applications. However, the Internet of Things is more than a business tool for managing business processes more efficiently and more effectively it will also enable a more convenient way of life.Since the term Internet of Things first came to attention when the Auto-ID Center launched their initial vision for the EPC network for automatically identifying and tracing the flow of goods within supply-chains, increasing numbers of researchers and practitioners have further developed this vision. The authors in this book provide a research perspective on current and future developments in the Internet of Things. The different chapters cover a broad range of topics from system design aspects and core architectural approaches to end-user participation, business perspectives and applications.

An Architectural Approach Towards the Future Internet of Things

Many of the initial developments towards the Internet of Things have focused on the combination of Auto-ID and networked infrastructures in businessto- business logistics and product life cycle applications. However, a future Internet of Things can provide a broader vision and also enable everyone to access and contribute rich information about things and locations. The success of social networks to share experience and personalised insights shows also great potential for integration with business-centric applications. The integration and interoperability with mainstream business software platforms can be enhanced and extended by real-time analytics, business intelligence and agent-based autonomous services. Information sharing may be rewarded through incentives, thus transforming the Internet of Things from a cost-focused experiment to a revenue-generating infrastructure to enable trading of enriched information and accelerate business innovation. Mash-ups and end-user programming will enable people to contribute to the Internet of Things with data, presentation and functionality. Things-generated physical world content and events from Auto-ID, sensors, actuators or meshed networks will be aggregated and combined with information from virtual worlds, such as business databases and Web 2.0 applications, and processed based on new business intelligence concepts. Direct action on the physical world will be supported through machine-interfaces and introduction of agile strategies. This chapter aims to provide a concept for a future architecture of the Internet of Things, including a definition, a review of developments, a list of key requirements and a technical design for possible implementation of the future Internet of Things. As open issues, the evaluation of usability by stakeholders in user-centric as well as business-centric scenarios is discussed and the need for quantifying costs and benefits for businesses, consumers, society and the environment is emphasised. Finally, guidelines are derived, for use by researchers as well as practitioners.

Business Models for the Internet of Things

The emerging Internet of Things provides a networked infrastructure that enables incremental business transformation as well as radical business changes. So far, the full potential of possible business opportunities has not been leveraged. Within this chapter we propose the concept of business models and business model innovation as a means to align “technological development and economic value creation” (Chesbrough and Rosenbloom, 2002) in the Internet of Things. A central point of this paper is the value and revenue creation in the Internet of Things. We consider information to be the main source for value proposition. To investigate resulting impacts, we draw on the “laws of information” proposed by Moore and Walsh (2002) and deduct specifics for the Internet of Things. Building on this, we describe four exemplary business model scenarios. These are visualised using the business model framework by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2009). This framework, the fundamental rules of value creation through information in the Internet of Things and the provided examples may serve as a tool-set for practitioners to analyse and change their business models when implementing the Internet of Things.

Performance increase and benefit compensation in supply chains by partial information sharing and billing based on identification of returnable transport items

The hypothesis of performance‐increase and benefit compensation within supply chains by partial information sharing and billing based on radio frequency identification (RFID) is verified within this paper. The concept is evaluated in a pilot project within the beverage industry. In supply chains, partial information sharing can be achieved based on RFID tags. In the pilot study, the tags are used to identify returnable transport items (RTI), because identification at item level would be too costly. The proposed integration of a billing system shall enable a compensation of benefits throughout the supply chain. In a first step, the billing model of the RTI pool operator is based on the proposed infrastructure. This approach is generic enough, though, to be adapted to many other scenarios and industries. A detailed description of RTI is given within the first paragraph. In the second paragraph, the technical applicability of ultra‐high frequency (UHF) within the beverage supply chain is evaluated, and the m...

Autonomous Control and the Internet of Things: Increasing Robustness, Scalability and Agility in Logistic Networks

The Internet of Things and Autonomous Control are considered key concepts to enhance logistic processes in supply networks. Here the question that often comes up is about how both concepts relate to each other. The principal aim of this article is to evaluate, whether the Internet of Things and the paradigm of Autonomous Control in logistics can complement each other’s capabilities. There are numerous different architectural approaches towards an Internet of Things. In this article, the EPCglobal Network is chosen, as it provides a standardised and well accepted approach based on open interfaces. A state of the art analysis is performed, concerning the existing technologies and research on Autonomous Control and the EPCglobal Network. In an integrative approach both concepts are merged. In this context, the EPCglobal Network is used as an information broker for Autonomous Logistic Objects . One possible application of this integrative approach is described based on an intelligent truck to illustrate the potential of the extended EPCglobal framework through means of Autonomous Control.

Stepping from RFID to Autonomous Cooperating Logistic Processes

The structural und dynamic complexity in logistics and production has increased steadily during the last years. Main causes for higher structural complexity are the shift from supply chains to logistic networks and an increased number of product variants. Dynamic customer behavior intensifies this situation. Centralized systems and structures do not provide the necessary flexibility, adaptibility and scalability. A solution to this dilemma is the decentralized storage of necessary information on the logistic object itself as well as the capability of local decision-making. The emergence of these intelligent objects is the foundation for autonomous cooperating logistic processes. The main idea of this concept is to develop decentralized and heterarchical planning and control methods as opposed to existing centralized and hierarchical planning and control approaches.

Quantifying the Value of RFID and the EPCglobal Architecture Framework in Logistics

The EPCglobal Architecture Framework is currently the most accepted technical approach to the Internet of Things and provides a solid foundation for building Business-to-Business information networks based on unique identifications of things. Lately, the vision of the Internet of Things has been extended to a more holistic approach that integrates sensors as well as actuators and includes non-business stakeholders. A detailed look at the current state of the art in research concerning cost and benefit estimations is provided and the limits of Cost Benefit Sharing for RFID-based IT-infrastructures are explained. In this work a market driven evaluation based on sales potential of information is developed. Simple technical means for aggregation of micro values to a billable amount are discussed. The requirements for electronic billing infrastructure are defined and a matching e-billing solutions for an evaluation scenario is presented, providing a technical infrastructure to evaluate and bill product-related information in a future Internet of Things, based on an extended EPCglobal Architecture. Further opportunities and threats are discussed to provide an overview of its future potential. As a result it will contribute to the sustainable success of the Internet of Things itself.

Integrated billing mechanisms in the Internet of Things to support information sharing and enable new business opportunities

The Internet of Things (IOT) concept and enabling technologies such as RFID offer the prospect of linking the real world of physical objects with the virtual world of information technology to improve visibility and traceability information within supply chains and across the entire lifecycles of products, as well as enabling more intuitive interactions and greater automation possibilities. There is a huge potential for savings through process optimization and profit generation within the IOT, but the sharing of financial benefits across companies remains an unsolved issue. Existing approaches towards sharing of costs and benefits have failed to scale so far. The integration of payment solutions into the IOT architecture could solve this problem. We have reviewed different possible levels of integration. Multiple payment solutions have been researched. Finally we have developed a model that meets the requirements of the IOT in relation to openness and scalability. It supports both hardware-centric and software-centric approaches to integration of payment solutions with the IOT. Different requirements concerning payment solutions within the IOT have been defined and considered in the proposed model. Possible solution providers include telcos, e-payment service providers and new players such as banks and standardization bodies. The proposed model of integrating the Internet of Things with payment solutions will lower the barrier to invoicing for the more granular visibility information generated using the IOT. Thus, it has the potential to enable recovery of the necessary investments in IOT infrastructure and accelerate adoption of the IOT, especially for projects that are only viable when multiple benefits throughout the supply chain need to be accumulated in order to achieve a Return on Investment (ROI). In a long-term perspective, it may enable IT-departments to become profit centres instead of cost centres.

Using RFID in License Plates and Vignettes for Electronic Vehicle Identification

In Cooperation with the J.H. Tonnjes E.A.S.T. GmbH & Co. KG, the BIBA – Bremer Institut fur Produktion und Logistik GmbH conducted a project on electronic vehicle identification via RFID at the University of Bremen. The aim of this research was to find the optimal combination of transponder and reading device for a passive RFID system in UHF frequency band and to suggest improvements. Within the tests, RFID vignettes for windshields and RFID license plates of the Tonnjes Group were analysed and optimised. In a follow-up project the improvements were verified.

The Value of RF Based Information

Today we see a rapid shift of traditional supply chains towards internetdriven supply networks. Radio frequency (RF) based technologies such as RFID and RF based sensors will support this change by combining the physical and virtual world.While the cost for RF infrastructure faces a substantial decrease, the cost of providing and updating product and supply chain relevant data will increase as a consequence of the growing need for information. In many cases the positive contribution of RF based information to this dynamic change will be hindered because of doubtful return on investment (ROI) in internet-driven supply networks. Based on three scenarios, the paper will show a new concept of billable RF based information, which may be integrated into the concept of the “Internet-of-Things” as it is known today.