IoT Communications Layers and Design Approach

1. Critically appraise knowledge base relating to the use of Internet of Everything, including (passive and active) sensors, actuators, the physical communications layer, communications protocols, programming frameworks, and an understanding of energy and bandwidth constraints.
2. Evaluate design approaches used to design Internet of Everything applications.
3. Design and build a sensor network based on Internet of Everything technology.
4. Develop application software of moderate complexity for a well-used mobile platform.
5. Critically discuss current research issues and application areas of the Internet of Everything and mobile devices, including an understanding of the commercial context and privacy/security issues, and make well-informed speculations on the future of the area.

How will your work be assessed?

Your work will be assessed by a subject expert who will use the marking grid provided in this assessment brief.  When you access your marked coursework, it is important that you reflect on the feedback so that you can use it to improve future assignments.

How will feedback be provided?

Students will have access to formative feedback on each task set in workshops, thereby helping them to refine their approach to the summative tasks that have been set. However, please note that this feedback is limited to recommendations on improving your work. Lecturers will not confirm any grades or marks.  The feedback can be one-to-one or in-group sessions. 

Q1.1. The 5-layer-architecture defines the main idea of the Internet of Things which are perception, transport, processing, application, and business layers . Outline the function of these 5 layers and critically evaluate them.

Q1.2. Just as the Internet has changed the way we work and communicate, by connecting us through the World Wide Web (internet), The Internet of Things (IoT) also aims to take this connectivity to another level by connecting multiple devices at a time to the internet thereby facilitating man-to-machine and machine-to-machine interactions by making use of four main components.

Explain and analyse the roles and potential risks of the components in the working of an IOT system starting from connectivity, data processing and user-interface with examples as depicted. (10 Marks)

An IoT system distance measuring application consists of an MCU board, 3 LED and ultrasonic sensors to measure the distance of an obstacle as shown.

Components used to measure the distance of an obstacle.

You need to design the system by joining the wires in that will enable to measure the distance of the obstacle from the sensor.

1. Complete the diagram of hardware components shown in by showing all the wire connections and state the pin numbers to be used on the MCU board. (4 marks)
2. Provide a code in C language to be used in MCU (Arduino) for measuring the distance when an obstacle comes in line with the ultrasonic sensor. In addition, your program should turn the red LED on if the distance of the obstacle is less than 100cm, it should turn the blue LED on if the distance of the obstacle is more than 100cm but less than 250 cm and finally it should make the green LED on if the distance of the obstacle is more than 250cm. Finally, carry out testing of the developed program and provide your testing evidence. (10 marks)
3. Identify 3 disadvantages of using Ultrasonic sensors and briefly explain them.        

The four widely accepted and emerging messaging protocols for IoT systems are: MQTT, CoAP, AMQP and HTTP. However, the most widely used protocol is MQTT. MQTT is a publish-subscribe-based messaging protocol used on the Internet of Things. It works on top of the TCP/IP protocol and is used for connections with remote locations in which a "small code footprint" is required, or a limited network bandwidth. Basic working is shown.

A) In relation to the messaging protocol for IoT, briefly explain the following terms:

• Broker
• Client
• Topic
• Publish
• Subscribe
• QoS

B) Explain the working of MQTT with any relevant examples.(10 marks)

C) Explain the 2 most important challenges in using MQTT protocol for IOE communication. (4 marks)

D) Why is MQTT the preferred protocol in IoT? (4 Marks)

Wireless technology (like Bluetooth, BLE, LORA, Cellular, RFID, WiFi, Zigbee, etc) is the main communication channel for IoT devices. As a result, almost all data associated with IoT devices are communicated wirelessly over short or long distances.

1. Provide a detailed explanation of any 2 different wireless communication technologies used in IOT devices. (5x2=10 Marks)
2. Explain the working of I2C and SPI protocol along with some code examples. (10 marks)
3. State 2 advantages and 1 disadvantage of I2C and SPI protocol (5 Marks)

• For question 1a, you need to cover discussion on 5 Layers involved with Internet of Everything, including perception, transmission, middleware, application, and business layers.
• For question 1b, you need to explain and analyze the roles and potential risks of the components in the working of an IOT system starting from connectivity, data processing and user-interface with examples.
• For Question 2a and b, you have provided a complete circuit diagram. Provided a running program in C (Arduino) along with test snapshots.
• For question 2c, you have provided disadvantages of using Ultrasonic sensors in any project. 20+20

• Have covered the basic terms of MQTT and working of protocol-MQTT in IoE, with relevant programming codes?
• Have you also covered the challenges of using MQTT?
• Have you justified the reason on why MQTT is best suited for IOT/ IoE systems? 25

• Have you selected and compared any 2 different wireless communication technologies used in IOT devices?
• Have you covered the working of I2C and SPI protocol?
• Have you provided 2 advantages and 1 disadvantages of SPI and I2C protocol? 25
• Your report should be well laid out and formatted according to the given requirements. Your report should be free from grammatical and spelling errors. The Harvard system has been used to cite work where necessary and a list of references is also provided.

A digital version of all assignment submissions. These must be submitted via Turnitin on the module’s Moodle site. They must be submitted as a Word file and must not include scanned in text or text boxes. They must be submitted before 2pm on the given date. 

It is mandatory that you add the following statement to your assignment: ‘disclosure: diagrams, pictures or any other images used in this assignment are for educational purposes only’.

Although images, diagrams and photographs etc..can be used in assignments, they MUST be referenced. However, you can access the following websites (copyright-friendly):

• Pixabay

Free photos for commercial and private use - no attribution necessary. Some photos may come from other websites, such as Shutterstock, which may not fall under public domain - check each photo to ensure that it is public domain.

• Photos Public Domain

Search public domain clip art and photos by category. All photos on this site were taken by the author and released as public domain.

• Picdrome

The Picdrome gallery is divided by categories (e.g. Abstract, Food & Drink, Nature, Technology, etc.). You may also search for specific images, but the search will take you to a custom Google search of Picdrome, which makes viewing the photos a bit more difficult.

• Ars Publik

Browse images under categories such as medical, advertisements, people, sports, space, etc.

• Public Domain Images

Browse by category or search for images. Varied categories; the site also includes vintage photography and space images.

• Unsplash

"All photos published on Unsplash are licensed under Creative Commons Zero which means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the photos for free, including commercial purposes, without asking permission from or providing attribution to the photographer or Unsplash."

• During the delivery of the module, you will have several opportunities to get formative feedback on your assessment during tutorials.
• Although you will be guided throughout the module by your lecturer, you can get extra support for your assignment, just make an appointment with the ACE team for any language, research and study skills issues and/or talk, email the Computing ACE expert for any advice on how to approach your assignment. REMEMBER: they are not here to give you the answers!
• Students will have access to formative feedback on each task set in workshops, thereby helping them to refine their approach to the summative tasks that have been set.
• However, please note that this feedback is limited to recommendations on improving your work. Lecturers will not confirm any grades or marks.
• The feedback can be one-to-one or in-group sessions.

Between you handing in your work and then receiving your feedback and marks within 20 working days, there are a number of quality assurance processes that we go through to ensure that students receive marks which reflects their work. Please note that the summative feedback and the grades remain provisional until approval from the exam board.

• Step One – The module and marking team meet to agree standards, expectations and how feedback will be provided.
• Step Two – A subject expert will mark your work using the criteria provided in the assessment brief.
• Step Three – A moderation meeting takes place where all members of the teaching and marking team will review the marking of others to confirm whether they agree with the mark and feedback
• Step Four – Work at Levels 5 and 6 then goes to an external examiner who will review a sample of work to confirm that the marking between different staff is consistent and fair
• Step Five – Your mark and feedback is processed by the Office and made available to you.