Design and Evaluation of a Semantic Gateway Prototype for IoT Networks

Abstract

In Internet of Things (IoT) networks, an IoT gateway is a type of middleware used to solve issues related to device variability, such as the heterogeneity of communication protocols, as well as to respond to segmentation and modularization needs in such networks. This paper proposes a semantic gateway for IoT, a middleware capable to forward data streams to and from devices by means of different protocols such as MQTT, Socket and even non-IP device specific protocols. Also, the proposed middleware, which includes a REST/JSON programming interface for other middleware and for IoT applications, is considered to be semantic because it has the ability to receive data from sensors that communicate using different protocol suites, such as the TCP/IP stack and wireless sensor network protocols, and then performs data transformations, semantic intermediation and routing to the cloud. The proposed gateway is designed as a component to allow the application of fog computation principles in IoT networks. Based on tests performed with a developed prototype, this paper presents evaluation results regarding the functionality and the performance of the proposed gateway.