A resource oriented architecture for the Web of Things

TLDR

Large‑scale networks of smart things are being developed, and Web languages such as HTML, Python, JavaScript, and PHP enable building applications that use familiar Web mechanisms to interact with and share these devices. This work proposes to integrate smart things directly into the Web by describing a Web of Things architecture and best practices grounded in RESTful principles. The architecture is implemented through prototypes that connect environmental sensor nodes and an energy monitoring system to the Web, following RESTful design to achieve scalability and modularity. The approach makes smart things easier to build upon and enables lightweight ad‑hoc applications, or “physical mashups,” that leverage Web‑enabled devices.

Abstract

Many efforts are centered around creating large-scale networks of "smart things" found in the physical world (e.g., wireless sensor and actuator networks, embedded devices, tagged objects). Rather than exposing real-world data and functionality through proprietary and tightly-coupled systems, we propose to make them an integral part of the Web. As a result, smart things become easier to build upon. Popular Web languages (e.g., HTML, Python, JavaScript, PHP) can be used to easily build applications involving smart things and users can leverage well-known Web mechanisms (e.g., browsing, searching, bookmarking, caching, linking) to interact and share these devices. In this paper, we begin by describing the Web of Things architecture and best-practices based on the RESTful principles that have already contributed to the popular success, scalability, and modularity of the traditional Web. We then discuss several prototypes designed in accordance with these principles to connect environmental sensor nodes and an energy monitoring system to the World Wide Web. We finally show how Web-enabled smart things can be used in lightweight ad-hoc applications called "physical mashups".