Low-overhead Hardware Supervision for Securing an IoT Bluetooth-enabled Device: Monitoring Radio Frequency and Supply Voltage

Over the past decade, the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices increased tremendously. In particular, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) expanded dramatically. Resource restrictions on IoT devices and the insufficiency of software security solutions raise the need for smart Hardware-Assisted Security (HAS) solutions. These solutions target one or more of the three C’s of IoT devices: Communication, Control, and Computation. Communication is an essential technology in the development of IoT. Bluetooth is a widely-used wireless communication protocol in small portable devices due to its low energy consumption and high transfer rates. In this work, we propose a supervisory framework to monitor and verify the operation of a Bluetooth system-on-chip (SoC) in real-time. To verify the operation of the Bluetooth SoC, we classify its transmission state in real-time to ensure a secure connection. Our overall classification accuracy is measured as 98.7%. We study both power supply current (IVDD) and RF domains to maximize the classification performance and minimize the overhead of our proposed supervisory system.

Role of Wireless Aided Technologies in the Solid Waste Management: A Comprehensive Review

Currently, a smart city is an emerging field in urban cities to improve the quality of life through information and communication technology (ICT). In general, the traditional solid waste management (SWM) approach taken by municipal authorities for waste collection in urban areas must be enhanced to achieve the green and smart city goals. This article is primarily focused on the progress of ICT technologies in solid waste management. With that aim, a thorough analysis is carried out in the article, and from the analysis, we have identified distinct ICT technologies that have been implemented in SWM. The function, application, and limitations of each technology are presented in the article. From the review, it is concluded that the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) plays a significant role in minimizing the negative impact of waste on the environment. It is also identified that selection of the appropriate wireless communication protocol is critical during the implementation of IoT-based system because the sensor node at the bins is battery-powered. In addition, it is analysed that blockchain technology plays an essential role in realizing the waste–money model, as this model includes transactions between users and recyclers. Finally, in this article, we propose that the waste-to-money model, local network and gateway architecture, vision node, and customized prototype improve solid waste management system in terms of communication, energy consumption, and real-time monitoring.

AI-empowered IoT Security for Smart Cities

Smart cities fully utilize the new generation of Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the process of urban informatization to optimize the urban management and service. However, in the IoT system, while information exchange and communication, wireless sensor network devices may not be able to resist all forms of attacks, which may lead to security issues such as user data disclosure. Aiming at the information security risks in smart city, the typical technologies in IoT is analyzed from the perspective of IoT perception layer and provides corresponding security solutions for the existing security threats. Regarding the communication security, the emerging wireless technology, long range (LoRa), is discussed, and the performance of wireless communication protocol is analyzed through simulation experiments, to verify that the IoT technology based on LoRa communication technology can improve the security of the system in the construction of smart city. The results show that REBEB, a new backoff algorithm, is similar to the binary exponential backoff algorithm in terms of throughput performance. REBEB focuses more on fairness, which is up to 0.985, and to a certain extent, its security is significantly improved. The fairness of REBEB algorithm is more than 0.4 in different nodes and competing windows, and the fairness of the system is better when the number of nodes is small. To sum up, the IoT system based on LoRa communication can effectively improve the security performance of the system in the construction of smart city and avoid the security threats in the IoT signal transmission.

Flexible Piezoelectric Thin Films for Podiatric Sensors with Wireless Communication

For reasons of availability and cost, patients are sent home increasingly early, with limited follow-up due to the complexity and size of medical devices. In this context, researchers from IETR and MIPS laboratories are working on a device which should monitor the progress of a patient, in order to detect early the aggravation of a disease such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or diabetes with walking disorders. The device is based on flexible piezoelectric thin films (3 µm thick) that can be used as podiatric sensors and have been developed by the IETR laboratory. The originality of this work lies both in the approach to the design of the gait-monitoring device—because it was carried out directly in consultation with a doctor from the University Hospital of Nantes and a podiatrist—and in the portability of the device, which should eventually allow the follow-up of a patient at home. For this study, the flexible piezoelectric sensors have been elaborated using a Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) process and a commercial aluminum (Al) foil as substrate. In order to increase the flexibility of sensors and to aid its insertion in a shoe, piezoelectric films have been encapsulated by lamination into polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 150 μm). In this paper, the elaboration and characterization of flexible piezoelectric sensors, analog-to-digital converter and wireless communication protocol used for data transmission are presented.

Bluetooth Low Energy Interference Awareness Scheme and Improved Channel Selection Algorithm for Connection Robustness

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a popular wireless communication protocol heavily used in Internet of Things applications. Nowadays, robustness is considered a key requirement in wireless communication. However, radio interference from various sources may affect the performance of BLE devices, leading to channel congestion. Therefore, there is a broadly recognized need of methodologies capable of sensing and avoiding interference. In this paper, two improvements at the data link layer for interference detection and channel selection are proposed to enhance the BLE connection robustness. This paper also presents a wide range of experimental evaluations aiming at validating the improvements and providing insights on both these improvements. Particularly, the communication performance of the BLE link layer is assessed in terms of channel usage distribution, supervision timeout ratio (STR) and packet loss rate (PLR) under different interference environments. Results from these experiments (reliability over 97% and 99% under two different harsh environments) highlight the effects of both improvements on the BLE robustness. Meanwhile, the authority of scheduling the whole mechanism is given to the link layer and even the higher application layer. This paper provides a set of solutions for BLE confronting interference in link layer.

Developing a Smart Device for Measuring and Monitoring Ammonia Concentration

This paper presents an approach for design and realization of a smart device for measuring and monitoring ammonia concentration. The developed system included two parts: hardware and software, in which the hardware of the system has been developed based on the ATMEGA328P microcontroller in order to collect data from the ammonia sensor MQ135. Meanwhile, the software is developed for signal processing and warning according to different thresholds. Collected data by the system is then transmitted to a computer via the wireless communication protocol. In addition, an interface is also designed on computers to collect and monitor data from sensors. The developed system allows to measure ammonia concentration up to 300ppm and has been tested not only at the laboratory but also at NPK factory of Lamthao Fertilizers and Chemicals Joint Stock Company. Experimental results show the desired performances of the developed system.

treNch: Ultra-Low Power Wireless Communication Protocol for IoT and Energy Harvesting

Although the number of Internet of Things devices increases every year, efforts to decrease hardware energy demands and to improve efficiencies of the energy-harvesting stages have reached an ultra-low power level. However, no current standard of wireless communication protocol (WCP) can fully address those scenarios. Our focus in this paper is to introduce treNch, a novel WCP implementing the cross-layer principle to use the power input for adapting its operation in a dynamic manner that goes from pure best-effort to nearly real time. Together with the energy-management algorithm, it operates with asynchronous transmissions, synchronous and optional receptions, short frame sizes and a light architecture that gives control to the nodes. These features make treNch an optimal option for wireless sensor networks with ultra-low power demands and severe energy fluctuations. We demonstrate through a comparison with different modes of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) a decrease of the power consumption in 1 to 2 orders of magnitude for different scenarios at equal quality of service. Moreover, we propose some security optimizations, such as shorter over-the-air counters, to reduce the packet overhead without decreasing the security level. Finally, we discuss other features aside of the energy needs, such as latency, reliability or topology, brought again against BLE.

Development of Bluetooth, Xbee, and Wi-Fi-Based Wireless Control Systems for Controlling Electric-Powered Robotic Vehicle Wheelchair Prototype

In this study, multiple control systems were developed using commonly used wireless communication protocols like Bluetooth, Xbee, and Wi-Fi. Mechanical switch based control systems were initially designed using Xbee and Bluetooth protocols. Further, Android application based control systems were developed using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi protocols. A robotic vehicle was used as an electric-powered wheelchair prototype. Ultrasonic sensors and infrared sensors were integrated with the robotic vehicle for obstacle and pothole detection, respectively. The control systems were tested in an L-shaped corridor for identifying the suitable wireless communication protocol to efficiently guide the robotic vehicle through a scheduled navigational pathway. Both Xbee and Wi-Fi technology based control systems were able to guide the robotic vehicle through the corridor. But the implementation of Xbee communication protocol is economic. However, for shorter distances, Bluetooth technology may be used for cost-effective implementation.

Internet of Things–based smart home system using a virtualized cloud server and mobile phone app

This article proposes an Internet of Things–based smart home system composed of a virtualized cloud server and a mobile phone app. The smart Internet of Things–based system includes a sensing network, which is developed with the ZigBee wireless communication protocol, a message queuing telemetry transport, a virtualized cloud server and a mobile phone app. A Raspberry Pi development board is used to receive packet information from the terminal sensors using ZigBee wireless communication. Then, the message queuing telemetry transport broker not only completes transmission of the message but also publishes it to the virtualized cloud server. The transmission can then be viewed through the website using a mobile phone. The designed app combines the application of the virtualized cloud server, client sensors and the database. Verification experiments revealed the measured average response time and throughput of approximately 4.0 s and 6069 requests per second, respectively, for the virtualized web server and approximately 0.144 s and 8866 packets per second, respectively, for the message queuing telemetry transport broker. The designed functions of the mobile phone app are a global positioning system home monitoring, family memo, medical care and near-field communication key. Both interlinkage and handler methods are proposed to facilitate a powerful function without delay in displaying information. The proposed system integrates with software and hardware to complete the data analysis and information management quickly and correctly. It can cater to user needs with superior ease and convenience.