Latif Ladid

Internet of Things in the 5G Era: Enablers, Architecture, and Business Models

The IoT paradigm holds the promise to revolutionize the way we live and work by means of a wealth of new services, based on seamless interactions between a large amount of heterogeneous devices. After decades of conceptual inception of the IoT, in recent years a large variety of communication technologies has gradually emerged, reflecting a large diversity of application domains and of communication requirements. Such heterogeneity and fragmentation of the connectivity landscape is currently hampering the full realization of the IoT vision, by posing several complex integration challenges. In this context, the advent of 5G cellular systems, with the availability of a connectivity technology, which is at once truly ubiquitous, reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient, is considered as a potentially key driver for the yet-to emerge global IoT. In the present paper, we analyze in detail the potential of 5G technologies for the IoT, by considering both the technological and standardization aspects. We review the present-day IoT connectivity landscape, as well as the main 5G enablers for the IoT. Last but not least, we illustrate the massive business shifts that a tight link between IoT and 5G may cause in the operator and vendors ecosystem.

Toward a Lightweight Authentication and Authorization Framework for Smart Objects

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents the current technology revolution that is intended to transform the current environment into a more pervasive and ubiquitous world. In this emerging ecosystem, the application of standard security technologies has to cope with the inherent nature of constrained physical devices, which are seamlessly integrated into the Internet infrastructure. This work proposes a set of lightweight authentication and authorization mechanisms in order to support smart objects during their life cycle. Furthermore, such mechanisms are framed within a proposed security framework, which is compliant with the Architectural Reference Model, recently presented by the EU FP7 IoT-A project. The resulting architecture is intended to provide a holistic security approach to be leveraged in the design of novel and lightweight security protocols for IoT constrained environments.

IoT6 – Moving to an IPv6-Based Future IoT

IoT6 is a research project on the future Internet of Things. It aims at exploiting the potential of IPv6 and related standards to overcome current shortcomings and fragmentation of the Internet of Things. The main challenges and objectives of IoT6 are to research, design and develop a highly scalable IPv6-based Service-Oriented Architecture to achieve interoperability, mobility, cloud computing integration and intelligence distribution among heterogeneous smart things components, applications and services. The present article starts by a short introduction on IPv6 capabilities for the Internet of Things and information on the current deployment of IPv6 in the world. It continues with a presentation of the IoT6 architecture model and its concept of service discovery. Finally, it illustrates the potential of such IPv6-based architecture by presenting the integration of building automation components using legacy protocols.

Challenges of the Internet of Things: IPv6 and Network Management

Nowadays, many researchers are interested in the concept of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is evolving our knowledge and conception of the world. IoT aims to offer a common communication paradigm for all objects via the Internet and its protocols. For that reasons, it is being applied in all areas of life, such as environmental monitoring, healthcare, military, cities management, and industry. One of the major challenges of the IoT is to integrate IPv6, and its related protocols, into the constrained capabilities offered by Wireless Sensor Networks, building automation, and home appliances. One of the design considerations, for the success of the IoT, is to integrate what exists from IPv6, before creating novel protocols, in order to promote and ensure the interoperability, homogeneity, openness, security, flexibility, and heritage of all existing hardware, tools, and applications of IPv6. This work presents how to integrate the management protocols in IPv6 into the emerging IoT networks based on protocols such as 6LoWPAN. An overview of the different management protocols for IPv6 is presented. Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and the considerations for IoT management from works such as Lightweight Network Management Protocol (LNMP), and the Constrained networks and devices Management (COMAN) Group from the IETF are discussed. COMAN is presenting solutions such as simplified MIB, new SNMP consideration, and CoAP-based management.

IPv6-Based Test Beds Integration Across Europe and China

The present article exposes a new approach in multiple test beds integration by using the IPv6 properties. It demonstrates the potential of such approach combined with 6LoWPAN and RESTful protocols, such as CoAP. It presents the results of an initial pilot between Mandat International (MI) and Beijing University of Post and Telecommunication (BUPT). Both partners have interconnected their respective test beds, respectively located in Geneva and Beijing. The article presents applied the conceptual model and its implementation. The article provides an overview of IPv6 impact and relevance for the Internet of Things, as well as future envisaged developments.

Developing Innovative Live Video-to-Video Communications for Smarter European Cities

The LiveCity Project effort intends to create a city-based “Living Lab” and associated ecosystem to pilot live interactive high-definition video-to-video (v2v) on ultrafast wireless and wireline Internet infrastructure for the support of appropriate public service use cases among a number of city user communities initially in four major European cities (Dublin, Athens, Luxembourg (city) and Valladolid). The essential aim is to empower the citizens of a city to interact with each other in a more productive, efficient and socially useful way by using v2v over the Internet, as the latter can be considered to improve city administration, reduce fuel costs and carbon footprint, enhance education, improve city experiences for tourists/cultural consumers and save patients’ lives. LiveCity underpins technology which has the ability to massively scale while it integrates the necessary ingredients in an efficient low-cost manner and provides a proper testing ground for a mass market deployment to the cities in Europe.

Evaluation and recommendations on IPv6 for the Internet of Things

This article presents some key achievements and recommendations from the IoT6 European research project on IPv6 exploitation for the Internet of Things (IoT). It highlights the potential of IPv6 to support the integration of a global IoT deployment including legacy systems by overcoming horizontal fragmentation as well as more direct vertical integration between communicating devices and the cloud.

Guest Editorial Emerging Technologies

In this special issue, we cover some recent results in the following four emerging areas: 5G cellular systems, big data systems, bio/nano/molecular networks, and smart grids. In the past several years, there are various technologies emerging, which are either directly or indirectly related to communication. Some of them are over the evolution of traditional communication systems, while others are over new systems such as smart grids, molecular networks, and big data systems.

The Impact of IPv6 on Video-to-Video and Mobile Video Communications

New technologies, viewing paradigms and content distribution approaches are about to take the TV/video services industry by storm. Five emerging trends are observable, among which is the worldwide deployment of IP Version 6 (IPv6), that are all related to the next-generation delivery of entertainment-quality video and can be capitalized upon by progressive service providers, telcos, cable operators, and ISPs. This work aims at exploring the IPv6-based evolving trends and offering practical suggestions of how it could support effective growth of video-to-video and mobile video communications. It also addresses an overview of IPv6; the rapid expansion of video-based solutions in the ICT market sector; IPv6 advantages for enhanced video communications as well as QoS issues from the use of IPv6 and IPv6 multicast approaches.

Towards a Global IPv6 Addressing Model for the Internet of Things

This article presents a proposed reference model of IPv6 addressing plan for the Internet of Things. It starts by analyzing the IPv6 addressing structure and analyses the potential for a universal subnet addressing plan model. It continues by exploring the potential of addressing plan for the Interface ID (Host ID). It takes advantage of the work performed by the author in Mandat International and as Coordinator of the IoT6 European research project on IPv6 exploitation for the Internet of Things.