Unify to bridge gaps: Bringing XMPP into the Internet of Things

Abstract

The Internet of Things vision states that sensors and actuators shall be integrated into the global Internet to facilitate an interaction with and integration of the physical environment. The development of enabling technologies like uIPv6 and 6LoWPAN provide the basic requirements for this interconnection. However, a seamless Internet-connection and interconnection between sensors and actuators can still only be provided with the help of protocols that use gateways, intermediate proxies, and protocol translators. We propose a solution to unify the world of sensors and actuators with the Internet through the use of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) while omitting application protocol gateways and protocol translators at the same time. This article describes our ideas to boost the Internet of Things vision by using XMPP. We present our current work in progress and an outlook into our future working directions in this field.