Internet of Things: A Comparative Study

Bahaa Eldin El-Shweky1, Karim El-Kholy1, Mahmoud Abdelghany1, Mahmoud Salah1, Mohamed Wael1, Omar Alsherbini1,
Yehea Ismail1, Khaled Salah2, Mohamed AbdelSalam2
1
Zewail City of Science and Technology, Egypt. 2Mentor, a Siemens Business, Egypt.
{s-bahaael-din.el-shweky, s-karim.el-kholy, s-mahmoud.abdelghany, s-mahmoud.salah,s-mohamed.nady,s-
omar.alsherbini, yismail}@zewailcity.edu.eg
{khaled_mohamed,Mohamed_AbdelSalam}@mentor.com

Abstract—Internet of Things (IoT) is the field that con-

nects things together and to the Internet, letting them ex-
change data, communicate with each other and interact Smart homes Automotive
with the human. Recently, it has been widely used to go be-
yond the machine to machine (M2M) communication and
covers variety of protocols and applications that facilitates
people's way of living. However, many challenges still hin-
der its advances, especially security and power issues. In Internet
Traffic man- Security
this paper, a comparative study for IoT architectures, plat- agement of
forms and applications is presented with a case study to il- Things
lustrate the main IoT concepts and levels of abstraction.
Then, a Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats
(SWOT) analysis is presented to assess the present and the
future of IoT. Microchips Others

Keywords—IoT, Protocol, Communication, Application,

Hardware, Smart; Architecture, SWOT, Platform Fig. 1. IoT connects machines together from various fields.
I. INTRODUCTION for IoT to spread in everyday lives. Therefore, lots of research
Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most promising re- is being conducted to overcome these challenges and solve IoT
search topics in engineering and business. IoT is believed to problems, and there are opportunities for much more research
revolutionize the way people live in the near future by connect- in the future. However, up till now, very little research work is
ing normal objects with each other distantly and establishing done to compare the IoT different platforms in terms of their
communication channels between them. As a result, not only performance in the different IoT system levels. Therefore, in
that much information would be acquired about many objects this study, the main focus was given to the comparison between
and processes that were not to be acquired before with the same the different IoT platforms to recommend optimal solutions for
ease, but also carefully designed systems would deal with these the different IoT applications.
objects and the information acquired from them automatically. The paper is organized as follows: Section II discusses the
This results in unprecedented automation that would make in- architecture of IoT and the different abstraction layers that con-
dustries’ performance better and everyday lives much easier. In stitute it. Then, section III presents a case study which illus-
addition, many applications would be possible that were not ap- trates how IoT abstraction layers function and interact with each
plicable before, such as smart homes, smart cities and implant- other. After that, section IV discusses IoT software and hard-
able devices in human body. According to Cisco’s Internet of ware platforms giving examples for each platform, followed by
Things Group (IOTG), the number of connected devices is ex- section V which presents a comparative study to select the best
pected to reach 50 billion by 2020 [1]. hardware and communication protocol for each discussed IoT
IoT is the evolution of machine to machine (M2M) commu- application. Finally, section VI presents a Strengths – Weak-
nication. M2M is the technology that allows physical objects or nesses – Opportunities – Threats (SWOT) analysis that evalu-
machines to connect to the Internet. This helps the machines ates the IoT current and future business and research feasibility.
communicate and share information without any human inter- II. IOT ARCHITECTURE
ference. Without M2M technology, the Internet of things will
never become a reality; as it is impossible to create a common IoT platforms have many levels of abstraction. It starts from
network of communication between all physical entities. M2M the application layer, which is the main layer for the users,
has joined in many fields to facilitate the human life, as shown where they can control devices and receive data on their smart
in Fig. 1. devices, then the communication layer, where data are trans-
In spite of the many benefits and facilities IoT offers, there ferred between the various sensors, actuator and their local gate-
are still a lot of challenges that need optimal solutions in order ways as well as between global gateways using different proto-
cols, and finally the physical layer, which has sensors, actuators

978-1-5386-4649-6/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE 622

and controllers and their interaction with the gateway. Figure 2 are some main examples for IoT applications with a brief cus-
describes IoT architecture. tomization discussion about each:
There are two architecture perspectives: thing centric archi-
tecture and Internet centric architecture. In thing centric archi- 1) Smart homes: they are homes whose gadgets and devices
tecture, the user is in the center where all devices are contacting, are manipulated using a single application platform, such as a
and the data are saved locally on the user's device [2]. On the mobile phone application. Yet, most IoT smart home systems
other hand, in Internet centric architecture, devices are con- are more concerned with economic feasibility and friendly user
nected to the cloud where all the data are stored and managed. interfaces rather than high performance [5].
The user accesses the data on the cloud from a web application 2) Automotive: the new trend in automotive industry is di-
that is connected to the Internet. The general trend is to use the rected towards self-driving auto-adjusting machines that can be
Internet centric architecture, yet it might not be the best archi- controlled remotely. For example, BMW’s vision is to fabricate
tecture; as in some cases human actions must be taken. The fol- a motor cycle with a self-balancing system that uses signals to
lowing subsections details the levels of abstraction of IoT. adjust the motor cycle position. IoT of automotive devices re-
quires fast responsivity, high level of security, durability and
A. IoT Application Layer
reliability [6].
Internet of things’ application layer holds the responsibility 3) Traffic management: as the number of vehicles is dra-
for providing services and defines the set of messages’ proto- matically increasing every day, the road congestion increases in
cols that are passing at this level. There must be some data pro- all world cities. A new traffic management smart automated
cessing environment for analyzing the data fetched from the de- system is required to not only solve this issue, but also help save
vices (sensors, controllers…. etc.) and making this data usable lives in addition to reducing road crimes. IoT in traffic manage-
[3]. Thus, this usability can be through direct applications with ment senses the level of crowdedness, suspicious movements
easy graphical user interface (GUI) for individual users, like
and emergency cases. It then controls traffic signals and gives
mobile applications for simple IoT applications, or for massive
the most suitable commands, thus it requires high level of secu-
projects that host global users, clouds can be used to analyze,
rity and reliability [7].
sort out and store the data, and websites can be used as an inter-
face [4]. 4) Security: tracking and regulating stockings in businesses
The application layer is also concerned with providing a is commonly used through normal means of big cameras and
virtual service layer that is responsible for data transport, under human supervision. It will be very helpful if a smart small
security, and service discovery and device management on a system that uses IoT concepts is utilized in security applica-
high level of abstraction, independent of communication tions. This will increase the performance, reduce many efforts
technologies in the lower layers. This ensures the right and economically make it more feasible. IoT in security domain
connectivity between devices and various IoT applications to requires fast response, highly secured communication, eco-
realize horizontally – on the same level – integrated IoT for nomic feasibility and reliability [8].
specific applications. This virtual service layer provides 5) Microchips: the applications of microchips are very
information collected from objects and the performance of the broad; as they are being used in lots of fields like biological
actuators. For instance, while data from a temperature sensor needs, energy harvesting tools for providing self-maintaining
for home automation are provided, it should also describe if it applications, and standard day to day items. IoT requirements
is the indoor temperature of a room, or a fridge… etc. [3]. IoT in this domain differ according to the application needs, but one
potential allows it to customize any kind of applications. Here thing is common, which is the small size of the whole system
[6].

Fig. 2. IoT Architecture.

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IoT application layer is a very wide topic that gets shaped in standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3 [15]. Physically, it uses co-
many forms at many different scales. Some companies manu- axial cables, twisted pairs or optical fibers, with networking
facture tools to help people develop their applications [9], e.g. speeds ranging from 10 Mbits/s up to 100 Gbits/s, and the speed
some tools to develop mobile application in a simple way [10, is expected to rise even up to 400 Gbits/s by 2018 [16]. Ethernet
11] and connectivity tools to connect between IoT devices and is usually used in local area network (LAN), in addition to met-
gateways (like programmable cellular connectivity ships to IoT ropolitan area network (MAN) and wide area network (WAN)
projects) [12]. The importance of such products is unleashing [17]. In OSI model, Ethernet is included in the data link layer.
the potential to unify the communication technologies and pro- Due to its support for high speed communications, Ethernet
tocols for wider IoT range of applications, giving the possibility is ideal for applications with huge amounts of data and those
to form huge webs of devices connected to and controlling each requiring high speed. In addition, it is convenient for high band-
other, which is one of the biggest challenges facing IoT. width applications. Furthermore, Ethernet cables are ideal to
transport data to very far destinations. However, Ethernet also
B. IoT Communication Layer suffers from disadvantages relative to other communication
The communication layer is considered as the backbone of protocols. For instance, Ethernet is a wired protocol, which
the IoT systems. It is the main channel between the application makes it inconvenient for wireless applications. Being a wired
layer and different operating activities in the IoT system. The protocol not only requires direct physical connection between
whole physical system is loaded with amounts of data and in- nodes, but also it makes the connection vulnerable to physical
formation that need to be shared with other nodes. Therefore, it damage.
is needed to set up a suitable connection network among these 2) Bluetooth (Short): Bluetooth is a wireless communication
nodes through a communication protocol [13]. The communi- protocol widely used nowadays to connect devices together. It
cation could be wire-connected or wireless based on the proto- was first introduced in 1989 by Nick Rydbeck and Johan
col defined by the designer. According to the distance, commu- Ullman [18]. It uses electromagnetic (EM) waves with frequen-
nication protocols are divided into three main categories: cies ranging mainly between 2.4 GHz and 2.485 GHz [19]. It is
1) Short distance communication: In local areas, numerous based on a master-slave configuration in which communication
data protocols are capable of managing the data flow between is established between a master and up to seven slaves maxi-
local nodes, such as Wi-Fi, which is a wireless networking tech- mum [20]. The latest version is Bluetooth 5, which supports
nology that makes use of radio frequencies to send and receive higher Bluetooth speed connections (2 Mbits/s) and further
data, and RFID, which is commonly used in business applica- range (more than 300 m). Bluetooth 5 also contains features that
tions to monitor supply chains especially in manufacturing and support IoT, such as coded communication and forwarded error
retail industries. correction [21, 22].
2) Medium distance communication: Connecting multiple There are many advantages for Bluetooth that makes it suit-
gateways requires communication protocols for medium dis- able for IoT use. First of all, it is a wireless protocol, and thus it
tance [14]. Ethernet is a good example because it manages con- supports wireless applications such as wearable devices. Sec-
nections between the connected gateways through installed ondly, Bluetooth is a low power protocol, which is also ideal
wired systems. for IoT. On the other hand, Bluetooth limits the number of slave
3) Long distance communication: The existence of active devices connected to a master device (7 devices maximum). In
support of satellite networks offers huge communication addition, power transmission limits the maximum distance at
ranges. Also, suppling the mobile phones with Fifth Generation which a connection could be established, which creates a
(5G) communication protocol enhances the communication tradeoff between power consumption and furthest distance for
communication.
speed over a very long distance. Since billion of devices around
the world communicate together, IoT can easily spread all over 3) Wi-Fi (Short): Wi-Fi is an easy and inexpensive commu-
the world. nication protocol that connects electronic devices to the Internet
Building a good IoT system requires the following: using a wireless router [23]. This router receives the signal and
x Connect a very large number of local gateways in a het- sends the information to the Internet using Ethernet. It is used
erogeneous environment through multi-modal technolo- mainly as a replacement for the high-speed cables in local areas.
gies and different lightweight protocols such as 5G. In addition, Wi-Fi is the highly adopted communication proto-
x Use low power systems as much as possible. col got IoT. The latest version of Wi-Fi nowadays is 802.11ac,
x Rapidly manage the traffic flow of data and enable real- which has super high speeds ranging from 433 Mbps up to gi-
time decision actions. gabytes per second, and offering wide ranges of bandwidth (80
x Maintain a secure connection for information. MHz and 160 MHz) [24]. The range of Wi-Fi reaches 100 me-
x Have unlimited addressing capability. ters [25].
Some of the main communication protocols are discussed be- 4) ZigBee (Short): ZigBee is a communication technology
low. for data transfer in wireless networks. It offers low power con-
1) Ethernet (Medium): Ethernet is a wired communication nection. In addition, it is designed for multi-channel control sys-
protocol widely used for computer networking. It was first in- tems, alarm systems and lighting control. Furthermore, ZigBee
troduced to the market in 1980, and its use got internationally is more economical than Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; as it consumes
less power. Moreover, it ensures that networks remain operable

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in conditions of constantly changing qualities between commu- controller sends its signals to the actuators to turn off unneces-
nication nodes. On the other hand, ZigBee has a low bit transfer sary working devices such as the lights, the air conditioner…
rate that only reaches hundreds of kilobits per second; the max- etc. In this section, sensors, actuators and controllers are dis-
imum bit rate transfer for ZigBee is 250 Kbit/s [22, 26]. cussed in detail.
ZigBee is commonly used for applications that require low 1) Sensors: A sensor is a tiny device that measures a specific
data transfer rate and low power consumption. Unfortunately, physical quantity. All IoT systems depend on the existence of
ZigBee is not widely known like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; as it is one or more sensors. They are very essential in all aspects of
often embedded inside systems; and it is not visible. life; as they are considered a feedback to the control that gives
5) Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) (Short): Ra- its signal to the actuator to reach a desired goal. There are dif-
dio frequency identification sensors play an important role in ferent types of sensors, including phone-based, medical, envi-
transmitting and receiving data. A RFID tag carries data and ronmental, and chemical sensors. They all have light weights
sends them in radio waves to a RFID reader that reads them. It and single functions, in addition to being inexpensive and min-
does not require close communication between the tag and the iaturized devices, but constrained to the battery capacity and the
reader; instead it can identify itself from a distance without any ease of deployment.
human factor. There are two common RFID configurations: There are different types of smart phone sensors like accel-
near and far. The former configuration uses a RFID reader that erometers that sense the motion of a mobile phone, gyroscopes
has a coil through which alternating current passes and hence that detect the orientation of the mobile phone, GPS (Global
generates magnetic field. The tag must have a smaller coil that Positioning System) sensors that detect the position of the mo-
generates potential due to the changes in the magnetic field. It bile, light sensors, proximity sensors, magnetometers, cameras
is then coupled with a capacitor to power up a tag chip. Mean- and microphones. Accelerometers could be mechanical, using
while, the latter configuration has a reader and a tag with dipole springs, cantilever beams and seismic masses, capacitive, using
antenna in which EM waves propagate [13]. capacitive plates that change the capacity with their movement,
or piezoelectric, which generate electrical signals when
6) Fifth Generation (5G) (Long): 5G is the most recent data
squeezed.
protocol used in smart phones and expected to be more than a
On the other side, medical sensors are very important for
new generation. It is expected to introduce a new era of connec- healthcare applications. They can monitor very critical param-
tivity; as it will offer speeds of more than 100 megabits per sec- eters that ease the patient’s diagnosis and provide quick feed-
ond, one more data bandwidth and less delay due to built-in back to the doctor without the urge to go to the hospital. These
computing intelligence that handles data very efficiently [27]. parameters contain heart rate, body temperature and blood glu-
So, it will connect billions of devices in the fastest, most reliable cose levels. Recently, there has been a new promising IoT de-
and most efficient ways. As a result, 5G is expected to take IoT vice, called monitoring patch, that is put under the skin to mon-
to a new revolutionary level and extend its use more and more itor a certain health parameter periodically [13].
[28]. Neural sensors are becoming commonly used in our lives.
7) Satellites Networks: Satellites have a great role behind They make it easy to infer the brain state and train it for better
the growth of IoT. They enable the development of consumer- focus or, in other words, neurofeedback. This technology is
centric services that gives good experience to the user. They called EEG (Electroencephalography). The communication of
supply IoT with huge advantages that cannot be offered by Wi- neurons electronically creates electric field. This electric field
Fi deployments, Bluetooth or terrestrial GSM (Global System is measured in terms of frequency and characterized into alpha,
for Mobile Communications) networks like Coverage. Satellite beta, gamma and delta waves [13].
networks serve to cover a huge range, therefore IoT is expected Due to the very rapid changes in the environment, environ-
to encompass billions of devices around the world even in re- mental sensors are used to measure temperature, humidity,
mote locations. As a result; using active support of satellite net- pressure and air and water pollution. Chemical sensors, on the
works, such as the L-band services provided by Thuraya, will other hand, detect both chemical and biochemical substances.
ensure the ultimate success of IoT expansion [29]. New technologies like e-nose and e-tongue have been widely
used to measure the amount of some chemicals that indicate the
quality odor and taste, respectively [13].
C. IoT Physical Layer 2) Actuators: An actuator is a device that converts an elec-
The physical layer is the most detailed level of abstraction trical signal into a mechanical signal or any other useful form
in IoT. It mainly consists of sensors that acquire information for of energy. Some examples include speakers, heaters, cooling
the system and actuators that do actions in response to instruc- elements and displays. They can be electrical, hydraulic or
tions from the system. To imagine how they both, actuators and pneumatic actuators depending on their theory of operation. For
sensors, act together in a system, a smart house is considered example, hydraulic actuators use fluid mechanics to facilitate
for example. The actuators here are used to lock and unlock motion, whereas pneumatic actuators make use of the com-
doors, switch on/off the lights and alert users of any warnings pressed air to generate pressure difference [13].
or control the temperature of a room or the whole house. The 3) Controllers: The controller is the device that receives the
sensors are used to send feedback to the controller of each small sensors’ signals, processes them and makes computations on
system of those systems mentioned above. For example, they them, and then sends instruction signals to the actuators. Usu-
send feedback about the condition of the rooms and whether ally in control systems, these instruction signals are based on
there are any people in the rooms or not, and accordingly, the

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the difference between the sensors’ readings and the desired 3) Nonrecurring Engineering (NRE) costs: it is the cost of
values of the physical quantities, and thus these instruction sig- the development process for the IoT platform, either software
nals are sent to the actuators in order to set the system back to or hardware. This does not only imply sustainability in reliable
the desired physical quantities’ values [13]. systems, but also the ability to develop the platform in less time
as much as possible.
III. IOT: A CASE STUDY
Based on the previous factors, the designer is capable of
To understand how all IoT layers work together, a smart choosing the perfect platform out of the following:
traffic system is considered as a case study for IoT, where a
1) Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC): ASIC is
camera can monitor the road and records data for congestion,
a well-established process designed, as the name suggests, for
accidents, and weather conditions. The camera communicates
a specific application. The fabricated ASIC chips give very op-
the status to a gateway that combines it with other cameras’ data
to create an intelligent citywide traffic system. This intelligent timal performance with the lowest number of transistors, and
traffic system is connected to other citywide transportation sys- most importantly, the least power consumption. In addition, the
tems that get data from their own intelligent devices, creating a technology is very cheap when mass produced. However, ASIC
large intelligent system of systems. By analyzing the end to end is not usually used, because it consumes time and resources to
data across this network, it can be figured out how the instruc- develop. In brief, it has large time-to-market, which makes the
tions should be. For example, if the city’s intelligent traffic sys- industry seek other faster generic solutions.
tem detects great congestion due to an accident, that insight can 2) Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA): FPGAs pro-
be sent to the citywide transportation system which, in turn, an- vide a more generic solution that is required in industry. They
alyzes the accidents’ impact on other city systems. Recognizing have less time-to-market and NRE costs to develop their prod-
the impact of the accident near to an airport and city schools, it ucts. However, they consume much more power than ASIC
could notify these systems so that they can adjust flights’ and chips, which is one of the most challenging issues in IoT. In
schools’ schedules. Besides, the traffic digital system can send addition, they are very expensive, so they are used in applica-
instructions to guide drivers around the accident. The physical tions with minimum number of units needed [31, 32].
layer (the camera) interacts with the local system in a network One of the most impressive solutions is to merge the features
or a gateway (the camera system) and communicates on the In- of ASIC and FPGA together. The merging makes use of the ad-
ternet with other systems (the transportation system), then the vantages of both ASIC and FPGA. One of the important fea-
data get analyzed on the cloud data center to send the best in- tures is that it consumes lower power than FPGAs in addition
structions to the users in their cars, schools and air planes [30]. to lowering the time-to-market [32].
3) Microprocessors: Microprocessors are used as a platform
IV. IOT HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PLATFORMS
for building IoT devices. Some chips have the microprocessor
Owing to build a complete IoT system, a designer should together with other blocks such as RAMs and different other
choose the perfect hardware and software platform that is suit- modules. In this technique, the whole system is built on the chip
able to his specifications. There are important parameters that with all its peripherals. The system acts as a gateway for the
monitor our choice for the optimal platform for any IoT system. local devices to the Internet. This requires that the chip must
When dealing with massive data-flows, the hardware platform support several protocols to facilitate the communication be-
is mainly concerned with two computational tasks, either deci- tween local devices and sensors with the microcontroller (Blue-
sion making control or data processing. A robust operating sys- tooth, ZigBee) as well as sending and receiving data from the
tem is also needed in order to drive the hardware platform and cloud (Wi-Fi, Ethernet). There are several systems used com-
help develop the desired applications with excellent perfor- mercially for this purpose. Arduino family (Uno, Yun) are
mance. The next part is concerned with the important properties based on ATmega32U4 processor with its peripherals to do the
of the hardware platform. Another part highlights the key pa- complete functions. Other chips are used such as Raspberry Pi,
rameters to choose the right operating system. The last part pre- which uses Broadcom BCM283 (5~7) SoC. These platforms are
sents data centers that are to be used when dealing with large generic and can be used for several applications. As a result,
data. hardware overheads are installed. This increases the power con-
sumption for the system. Therefore, more optimization is re-
A. Hardware Platform quired to save the battery for the longest time.
The factors that define the hardware platform for IoT appli-
cations are [31]: B. Software Platforms
1) Reduction of employed transistors: this will reflect on the In order for the hardware to perform well, operating systems
die size, packaging and unit cost. The progress made on transis- should be installed. Operating systems organize the usage of
tor area decreases the cost, but leakage power dominates on the hardware. For IoT applications, low power and small hardware
overall chip. overhead operating systems should be used.
The software platform is necessary to recognize the received
2) Time-to-market: it is the main factor that guides the de-
data, identify the needed manipulation for the desired action by
sign to the proper platform. The market requires a generic solu-
the user and transmit efficiently the new data to the right node.
tion to apply its demands, therefore time is a very critical factor
There are multiple of business operating systems such as
to choose what type of platform is needed, which might be in IBM Watson platform as well as open source platforms such as
most cases an expensive one. Linux, RIOT ...etc. Choosing the right operating system is a

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 smartness of IoT systems, which is in high need for develop-
ment. [33].
3) Developer friendly: IoT evolves rapidly, which requires
an easy platform to apply new solutions and add smart features
to the desired applications. In order to have low time-to-market,
it is required to decide what operating systems are sufficient for
developing the desired IoT system. Working on a developer
friendly platform is highly required for companies in order not
to be delayed for the market, which has its drawbacks.
4) Memory: The operating system shall have low size in or-
der to fit in the internal memories of microcontrollers. On the
other hand, extra memory is needed to fulfill the size of the op-
erating system [33].
Fig. 3 Market share for different operating systems [33]. 5) Security: Security is a very important factor that should
be considered in all the layers of IoT. In order to achieve a good
crucial move in order to build the optimal IoT system for the level of security, the operating system should support encryp-
desired application. In this section, the key parameters to tion engines, secure boot functions and usage of wireless au-
choose the suitable operating system (OS) are investigated as thentication protocols.
follows. 6) Accommodation for low power: Despite the fact that the
1) IoT heterogeneous hardware support: A lot of IoT sys- hardware platform takes power issues into account, operating
tems usually work on different types of hardware from 16-bit systems that allow power management capabilities gain much
microcontrollers to FPGAs based on the implemented hard- focus from IoT designers. Power management feature helps in-
ware. Therefore, the operating system shall be compatible with crease the battery life, especially for end-nodes. For example,
the implanted hardware platform in order to achieve excellent the software can operate only with the required area of the hard-
performance [34]. ware for simple functions as long as there is no necessity to per-
2) Real-time operating systems: One of the most important form repeated calculations, which is the case in most times. Fo-
factors that guide most of IoT designs is that whether the oper- cusing on such a thing increases the reliability of IoT products.
ating system supports predictability or not. Predictability allows 7) Support required for communication and network: IoT
the system to be in an alert position based on earlier received requires different types of protocols in small, medium and large
data. This helps the software take actions rapidly, especially in signals. The software has to strongly support such integration
situations like fires and accidents on the road. In turn, this is a to perform operations on IoT systems.
great evidence on how predictability reflects the degree of The graph in Figure 3 gives the percentage of usage of op-
erating systems by developers. However, the usage of different
IoT software tools is not good for IoT systems because it makes
communication more complex. This implies the importance of
having a generic solution and common ground for IoT operating
TABLE I systems.
COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT OPEN SOURCE OPERATING
SYSTEMS [33].
One of the operating systems that are designed especially for
IoT is RIOT. The smart operating system tries to save the most
possible power and area for the smart device. RIOT is an open
source operating system which requires small RAM and ROM
to boot [34]. The architecture of RIOT is microkernel based,
where the user application can address different layers in the
operating system. One of the important advantages of RIOT-
OS is that it supports C/C++ programming languages, allowing
wide range of programmers to make the best use of the OS to
serve the desired application with low power as long as it can
handle heterogeneous hardware projects. RIOT-OS facilitates
the communication with the sensors and actuators; as it supports
different communication protocols. Furthermore, RIOT sup-
ports multi-threading, increasing parallelism. Many IoT appli-
cations require real-time operations; that is why RIOT-OS en-
forces regular kernel periods to divide the tasks and work on all
of them in real time. This guarantees a promising future for
RIOT-OS in the IoT industry, especially that it requires small
amount of memory and power. In addition, its programmability
allows it to serve a wide range of applications. On the other
hand, it might not be easy to port RIOT to developer boards and
different microprocessors.

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 The most used operating system nowadays in IoT platforms A software defined data center (SDDC) is a data storage fa-
is Linux. Linux is an open source operating system that allows cility in which infrastructure elements of the data center are vir-
developers to modify it to give the best response. It supports tualized and delivered as a service. Virtualization is the main
C/C++ programming languages as well as multi thread technol- algorithm of the SDDC. There are three types of virtualization:
ogy. It is now the most established and used software platform network virtualization, storage virtualization and server virtual-
in IoT designs. However, it requires relatively large memory ization. Network virtualization connects network resources by
(RAM and ROM) to operate. The hardware overhead in splitting the bandwidth into several independent channels that
memory as well as the more required power to operate are not can be assigned to a particular server or device in the same time.
ideal for real-time processing and thus hinder Linux implemen- Storage virtualization turns physical storage from multiple net-
tation in various IoT devices. Table I [33] gives a comparison work storage devices into a single storage device managed by a
between different open source software tools used in IoT sys- central console. Server virtualization is about providing server
tems. RIOT-OS shows great excellence for IoT platforms. The resources that contain the identity of individual physical serv-
comparison includes the different architectures and schedulers ers, processors and operating systems, from server users. The
as well as the memory sizes and the supported programming new approach is to spare users from managing complicated
languages. server-resource details [37].
Some other business software tools are used for IoT projects
such as IBM Watson and Amazon Web Services (AWS). IBM
Watson is one of the leading software tools for IoT devices. It V. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EACH IOT APPLICATION
was released in 2014 and modified after that to include aug- In this section, the previously mentioned five main IoT ap-
mented reality, cognitive capabilities and more capabilities to plication examples are being investigated, and the best tools
spread the operating system to many devices and developers. from each IoT layer fitting each domain are recommended.
However, developers found several difficulties to develop the
operating system to do the required functions [35]. AWS is one 1) Smart homes: physically, we recommend using either
of the best performing operating systems in IoT fields; as it has ASIC chips for mass production or Arduino microprocessors
its own cloud service as well as a user-friendly interface. for relatively low production and easy programmable installa-
tion; since both are technically and economically feasible in
C. Data Centers these applications. As for the communication layer, Wi-Fi
The main value of IoT lies in the data analysis and pro- seems to be the best solution, mainly because Wi-Fi is already
cessing. The larger the data, the larger the computers storing available in most homes, which makes it an available resource
these data must be. In early 1990s, direct server storage quickly as a communication protocol and easy to be used by residents.
became unmanageable; as storage demand increased, and there In addition, its wireless nature, maximum high speed, simplic-
was no way to pull capacity across multiple servers. ity and low cost make it ideal to be used in smart homes.
Hence, data centers emerged when UNIX servers replaced 2) Automotive: for a reliable optimally-performing hard-
mainframes for running most business applications in their ware, ASIC chips represent the best option. The level of relia-
high-end server environments. A data center is a technical fa- bility depends on the quality of the fabrication process and the
cility that houses an organization’s IT operations and equip- used materials. Besides, the level of security can be customized
ment. The efficiency, optimization, reliability and security are through the used algorithm. On the communication level, Blue-
the most critical factors in any data center, because it has the tooth is best recommended for automotive IoT due to its high
network of all systems and data. Data centers may vary accord- speed and low power.
ing to their primary function. They have technical spaces and
3) Traffic management: due to the difference in functional-
subsystems such as physical security systems, network and IT
ity between the devices required in this domain, ASIC is not a
systems, power resources, environmental control and perfor-
good option and will be very costly. The flexibility and pro-
mance and operational management [36].
grammability of FPGAs are very desired in this domain. FPGAs
give a more economical solution, while a high level of security
TABLE II and reliability can be acquired through the used software. On
IOT LAYERS’ ELEMENTS RECOMMENDATION FOR EACH DO- the communication level, satellite networks give the best per-
MAIN SUMMARY
formance due to their long range which covers cities and their
direct connectivity to the internet and other communication pro-
Hardware Layer Rec- Communication Layer tocols for determining location such as GPS.
IoT Domains
ommendations Recommendations 4) Security: for mass production and optimal performance,
ASIC is a good option. However, since the field of security is
Smart homes ASIC, Arduino Wi-Fi
dynamic and new algorithms are developed every day, pro-
Automotive ASIC Bluetooth grammability in the used controllers is essential. Thus, micro-
Traffic management FPGAs, Arduino Satellite Networks processors, such as Arduino, are the best option in this domain.
For the communication level, high speed and secure communi-
Security Arduino Wi-Fi cation protocols are required, thus Wi-Fi is best recommended.
Microchips ASIC Bluetooth, ZigBee
5) Microchips: considering the scale of the devices in this
domain and where they are to be used, such as inside the human

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bodies in the biological application, then the only option for benefit from new research works regarding batteries and invest-
controllers in such serious applications is ASIC, which gives ments on them; as many applications nowadays need to be pow-
the most possible optimization of size and performance. Blue- ered without a battery. Finally, the new trend to manufacture
tooth and ZigBee are the most efficient communication proto- self-maintained devices and energy harvesters directs more in-
col in such applications, due to their low power, reliability and vestments to the IoT technology.
easy connectivity to smart devices such as smart phones and D. IoT Threats
laptops. As almost each device around is to be transformed into a
Table II summarizes the best options for IoT domains in the smart device, the number of devices accessing the Internet will
hardware and communication layers. increase enormously. This will cause addressing problems and
VI. SWOT ANALYSIS large data traffic; as all the devices will be connected to the In-
ternet simultaneously, sending important information to the
Along with the many benefits and potentials of IoT, there cloud. Security might be a great threat; because hackers may be
are still many challenges and difficulties facing its development able to reach this information. Encryption and security must
and market. Therefore, a SWOT analysis is presented in this have great concerns especially for governmental information.
section. Power may be one of the major threats for IoT; as devices must
be reliable for a long period of time. Using current batteries with
A. IoT Strengths high power consumption makes the device fail after short time,
IoT has been invoking all fields. It facilitates the automa- decreasing its lifetime in many applications. In addition, IoT
tion of various processes that make life easier and faster. The devices may not be suitable to work under extreme conditions,
market is now open and ready for smart IoT devices that are which are needed for many applications. Furthermore, dealing
being introduced to the customers. Production cost also plays a with smart devices might be too complex for a lot of people who
role in spreading the technology. The cheap fabrication cost are to find great difficulty in using this new technology. As a
creates a great edge for the product to be available in many mar- result, future business will be hindered until customers have
kets. These devices can be used anywhere and anytime; as all enough awareness about these products. Table III summarizes
the data are sent and stored via the Internet. The automation al- the SWOT analysis points.
lowed us to do impossible tasks in dangerous or remote places
where humans cannot reach. The communication between the VII. CONCLUSIONS
machines decreases human interference, preventing many er- IoT has lots of potentials and opportunities in the near future.
rors. However, real-time monitoring enables supervising the Many devices all around the world are expected to very soon
process with a detailed log of the taken actions, which helps join the huge network of things and devices. Huge markets are
improving the designs and the architectures of IoT devices. expected to be open for sensors, actuators, hardware controllers,
communication protocols and software applications. In addi-
B. IoT Weaknesses tion, life quality of people is expected to rise, and work and in-
IoT weaknesses are mostly generated from the large scale dustries are expected to have much higher performance, helped
the web of the things covers. For such complicated systems, with the automation and the large amount of information IoT
having a clear methodology to get identifiers for everything presents. In this study, a comparative study was carried out to
globally is difficult [38]. IoT communication protocols are not highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the different IoT plat-
well secured mainly for the sake of size reduction and low forms and recommend optimal solutions for different IoT appli-
power consumption. Due to the difference in cations.
communication protocols, compatibility between many of them Although IoT has many benefits and potentials, lots of diffi-
is difficult, and this issue may cause failure in IoT systems if culties still hinder its advances and challenge its market such as
not treated smartly. The huge amount of exchanged data be- power and security issues and public awareness. Thus, it is a
tween objects requires data collection and storage, which is dif- very hot area of research. Nevertheless, many expectations are
ficult considering the number of objects in the web and how in favor of IoT. So, IoT is expected to give much more prosper-
data are to be optimally organized. Small failures in the system ity in the very near future.
are difficult to be traced and debugged, and they can be very
threatening to the systems. The large amount of communication
traffic inside the system increases the noise significance, and a
careful investigation in these issues is needed for sufficient im-
munity from the noise.

C. IoT Opportunities
There are lots of factors that facilitate the IoT technology
improvement. First of all, IoT is a huge field that attracts mas-
sive investments; because it is involved in everyday activities.
Secondly, like any new field, it attracts the researchers; as it
opens new fields for more applications. In addition, IoT could

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 TABLE III
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR IOT.

Strengths Weaknesses

x Automation that makes life much easier. x A clear methodology for getting unique identifiers for objects at a
x Very big market: it communicates with big industries. global scale is difficult.
x Inexpensive: usage of cheap sensors. x Difficulties with security issues in IoT communication protocols.
x A hot area of research: a lot of problems is not solved yet. x Less compatibility; as there are different protocols and a need for
some standard communication.
x All data are reserved on the cloud.
x Data collection issues; as there will be a higher need for data storage
x Easy usage for customers.
to keep up with the increasing amount of data.
x Complete hard tasks in deep and remote areas.
x Difficulties to debug small failures within the system could cause
x Rapid and smart monitoring. huge consequences.
x Rapid data sharing. x Difficulties to achieve immunity to noise and filter data.
x Rapid decision making.
x Documentation of real analysis over large time zones.
x Higher efficiency at less time.
x Decreases human interference.

Opportunities Threats

x Tendency to invest massively in the field. x Addressing to numerous nodes.

x Opportunities for new applications. x Low public awareness might hinder near future IoT business.
x Opportunities for new researchers. x Hacking on IoT communication protocols.
x Tendency to harvest energy from the surroundings. x Not being accepted by the society.
x IoT could benefit from new research regarding batteries and invest x Not to meet user expectations.
on it. x National security concerns.
x Get involved of everyday activities. x Tendencies to use nowadays regular batteries and the need to re-
x Health care application improvements. charge or replace old batteries, which are the weak point to miniatur-
x Smart Infrastructure improvement. ize devices.
x Tendency to construct longer lifetime devices. x Questions regarding working well under irregular conditions such as:
extreme high temperature.
x IoT could be miniaturized and integrated as wearable devices.
x High updating costs.
x Being eco-friendlier technology.
x IoT could replace numerous human jobs, causing deployment.
x Many applications nowadays need to be powered with no battery.
x People would not be able to keep up rapidly with IoT changes.

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