What is the Internet of Things (IoT) – platforms and protocols?

Elements of the IoT ecosystem

A typical IoT ecosystem consists of several key elements:

• Devices (Things/Devices): Physical objects equipped with sensors (that collect data about the environment, e.g. temperature, humidity, location, movement), actuators (that perform actions in the physical world, e.g. turning on a light, closing a valve) and communication modules.
• Connectivity (Connectivity): Mechanisms that enable devices to communicate with a network. These can include short-range technologies (Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave), cellular networks (LTE-M, NB-IoT, 5G), Wi-Fi, LoRaWAN, Sigfox or satellite communications.
• IoT Platforms (IoT Platforms): Middleware that acts as a central point for managing devices, collecting, storing and processing data from devices and making it available to applications. These platforms offer functions such as device management, data processing (including streaming), analytics, visualization and integration with other systems.
• Applications (Applications): End-user applications (web, mobile, analytics) that use data from IoT devices to deliver specific value to users or businesses (e.g., health monitoring, intelligent building management, logistics optimization).

IoT platforms

IoT platforms are a key enabler for building and managing IoT solutions. They provide off-the-shelf components and services, speeding up application development. There are many IoT platforms available on the market, offered by both large cloud providers and specialized companies:

• Cloud platforms: AWS IoT Core, Microsoft Azure IoT Hub, Google Cloud IoT Platform. They offer a broad ecosystem of cloud services integrated with IoT.
• Specialized platforms: Siemens MindSphere, Bosch IoT Suite, PTC ThingWorx (focused on industrial applications – IIoT), Particle, Hologram (focused on connectivity and device management).
• Open-source platforms: ThingsBoard, Kaa IoT Platform.

Communication protocols in IoT

Due to the nature of IoT devices (often with limited computing power, battery power and operating on low-bandwidth networks), special lightweight communication protocols optimized for these limitations are used:

• MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport): A lightweight publish/subscribe protocol, very popular in IoT, ideal for sending telemetry data from sensors.
• CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol): A protocol designed for very resource-constrained devices that runs on UDP, modeled after HTTP/REST.
• HTTP/HTTPS: A standard web protocol also used in IoT, especially for devices with larger resources or to communicate with platform APIs.
• AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol): A more advanced message queuing protocol that offers greater reliability and functionality than MQTT.
• DDS (Data Distribution Service): A data-oriented publish/subscribe communication standard often used in real-time and industrial systems.
• Data link and network layer protocols: Specific protocols related to connectivity technologies, e.g. LoRaWAN, Sigfox, NB-IoT.

IoT applications

The Internet of Things is used in countless fields, such as smart homes (smart home), smart cities (smart city), industry (Industrial IoT – IIoT, Industry 4.0), healthcare (patient monitoring), precision agriculture, logistics and transportation (vehicle and shipment tracking), energy (smart grid), retail (smart shelves, beacons) and many others.

Summary

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a revolutionary concept that connects the physical and digital worlds through a network of interconnected devices. The key elements of the IoT ecosystem are devices, connectivity, IoT platforms and applications. Using the right platforms and lightweight communication protocols, it is possible to build innovative solutions that bring value to almost every area of life and the economy.