Edge-to-cloud sensing and actuation semantics in the industrial Internet of Things

Abstract

There are billions of devices worldwide deployed, connected, and communicating to other systems. Sensors and actuators, which can be stationary or movable devices. These Edge devices are considered part of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which can be referred to as a tier of the Computing Continuum paradigm. There are two main concerns at stake in the success of this ecosystem. The interoperability between devices and systems is the first. Mainly, because most of them communicate uniquely and differently from each other, leading to heterogeneous data. The second issue is the lack of decision-making capacity to conduct actuations, such as communicating through different computing tiers based on latency constraints due to a certain measured factor. In this article, we propose an ontology to improve device interoperability in the IoT. In addition, we also explain how to ease data communication between Computing Continuum devices, providing tools to enhance data management and decision-making. A use case is also presented, using the automotive industry, where quickness in maneuver determination is key to avoid accidents. It is exemplified using two Raspberry Pi devices, connected using different networks and choosing the appropriate one depending on context-aware conditions.