Project Description:

A range of devices will be responsible for communicating data in the smart city IoT, such as smartphones, tablets and environmental sensors, and, more uniquely vehicles [1], trash bins [2], and lamp posts [3]. This data may be application-specific, transmitted for the purpose of supporting the running of the application. This data may also involve context metrics, uploaded to the cloud for more generic and non-application-specific purposes, such as tracking the location of specific types of devices or monitoring the volume of CO2 emissions in a region. A range of different application types, with subsequent specific Quality of Service requirements, therefore place a range of demands on network resource availability. 

This also places requirements on the ability of the communication protocol to support the unique objectives of applications operating in the Internet of Things. Achieving this communication in a manner which is generic enough to accommodate the broad range of devices in the smart city IoT together with the variety of applications also in operation here while accommodating the rate at which they are evolving, requires adaption of the communication techniques from devices. This may involve, for example, the inclusion of a new layer within the protocol stack of the device from which the communication is occurring to fulfil the objective of communicating device-specific information to the cloud. It may also include communicating with a range of reliability techniques, dependent on the priority of the data being communicated and the amount of contention across the network. Intelligent adaptation may involve adapting the overhead transmitted with the packet or the rate at which the communication takes place depending on the specific requirements of the application and the availability of network resources. Of specific interest in this project is the communication occurring from the device to the smart city infrastructure. 

The objective of this project is therefore to determine how to communicate effectively and efficiently from devices operating in the Internet of Things to the cloud repository, the specific operational mechanics of the protocol involved, and the fields which must be communicated to support operation of the protocol. The design of the protocol should also take into account other operational objectives, such as efficiency. 

The protocol may be developed specific to the requirements of a chosen application domain, such as within a smart vehicle or smart home. By way of contrast, the protocol may be developed to accommodate a wider range of domains in a more generic manner using a single, most likely real-time adaptable and reconfigurable, approach. 

The implementation should take place within an open source network simulator, such as NS-3 [4] or OMNeT++ [5]. A standalone module should be created within which the capability of the communication protocol proposed as part of this work is encapsulated. The proposed communication mechanism should be interoperable with other protocols operating across the range of layers of the protocol stack.
 
In the scenario used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in terms of fulfilling the application requirements, the specific application requirements which the protocol will be used to support should be supported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the protocol development. 

The work may also involve the development of an applications and/or devices module to support execution of the simulation in terms of providing a simulated infrastructure on which the transport protocol can run.
 
This project involves selecting suitable data structures using which the data may be retained efficiently on the IoT infrastructure. 

References:
[1] European Commission, "Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems and Services," Dec. 2013; Available at: https://eu-smartcities.eu/sites/all/files/Cooperative%20Intelligent%20Transport%20Systems%20and%20Services%20-%20Smart%20Cities%20Stakeholder%20Platform%20january.pdf.
[2] A. Morawski, "M2M: The Foundation of the Smart City," Dec. 2014; Available at: http://www.iotnewsnetwork.com/smart-city/m2m-the-foundation-of-the-smart-city/.
[3] E. Wardall, "From Humble Lamppost to Smart City," Jul. 2015; Available at: http://www.arkessa.com/de/blog/from-humble-lamppost-to-smart-city.
[4] NS-3 Homepage; Available at: https://www.nsnam.org/.
[5] OMNeT++ Homepage; Available at: https://omnetpp.org/.
[6] Call for Paper; Available at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ad-hoc-networks/call-for-papers/special-issue-on-smart-wireless-access-networks-and-systems/.
[7] Call for Paper; Available at: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/misy/si/724285/cfp/."