Designing and Testing IoT Systems

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

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.

Attempt all the following tasks set in the assignment. Marks are for producing a properly documented system that meets the requirements as specified below.

Task 1:

Figure 1 below shows an IoT system consisting of two Micro-controller unit (MCU) board, temperature sensor, led light and a resistor to control the “ON” & “OFF” of the LED depending on the reading of temperature sensor. The first Arduino (MCU) board will read the temperature from the temperature sensor (acting as Master) and send it to another Arduino board using I2C protocol (acting as slave).

Figure 1. An IoT system to control LED ON & OFF based on DHT reading.

You need to design an application so that the first MCU will read the temperature sensor and pass the reading onto another MCU. The second MCU needs to have LED attached.  The program in the second MCU should control the LED ON & OFF once the temperature reading goes over 40oC.

A)Complete the diagram of hardware components shown in figure 1 as part of your answers by showing all the wires connection and state the pin numbers to be used on both the MCU board.

B)Provide a code in C or Python language to be used in first MCU (Arduino-Master) to read the temperature and send the reading to another MCU. You also need to write the code for the second MCU to control the LED ON & OF once the temperature reading goes over 40oC.  Carry out testing of the developed program and provide your testing evidence.

C)Explain the four main differences between I2C and SPI communication.   

Task 2

An IoT system distance measuring application consists of a MCU board and an ultrasonic sensor to measure the distance of an obstacle as shown in Figure 2A & 2B.

Task 1: IoT System to Control LED Based on Temperature

Figure 2A. Components used to measure the distance of an obstacle.

Figure 2B. Sensor used to measure the distance of an obstacle.

You need to design the system by joining the wires in Figure 2A that will enable to measure the distance of the obstacle from the sensor.

A)Complete the diagram of hardware components shown in figure 2A by showing all the wire connections and state the pin numbers to be used on the MCU board.     

B)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. Also, carry out testing of the developed program and provide your testing evidence.

C)Explain the five layers of IoT.

Task 3:

The four widely accepted and emerging messaging protocols for IoT systems are: MQTT, CoAP, AMQP and HTTP, however the most widely used protocol is perhaps 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 it is designed for connections with remote locations in which a "small code footprint" is required, or a limited network bandwidth. An example is shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Basic working of MQTT

A)In relation to the messaging protocol MQTT for IoT, explain how MQTT works in relation to the figure 3 shown above. Also include a sample code for publish and subscribe code in any programming language to illustrate your explanation.

B)Provide a detailed comparison of MQTT with any other one transport protocols (HTTP, AMQP, CoAP, etc) and justify the reason why MQTT is best suited for IOT systems.

C)What are the 3 main challenges associated with the use of MQTT?

Task 4:

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.

A)Provide a detailed explanation of any 3 different wireless communication technologies used in IOT devices.

B)State the difference between synchronous and Asynchronous communication with examples.

C)Explain why serial communication is preferred over parallel communications in IoT.

Task 5: Referencing and Bibliography

You are required to follow the Harvard referencing system when citing others' work. Include an accompanying list of references as part of your report. Your final work should be well presented and organised.

Task 2: Distance Measuring Application with an Ultrasonic Sensor

Submit in due time in Turnitin on Moodle. Late submission, where the student submits work seven calendar days after the deadline up to 2pm, will be accepted and marked. The percentage mark for the component of assessment will be capped at 40%. 

You need to state the word count at the end of their assignment. 10% over the stated word count is permitted without penalty.

If students go beyond this, then there is a penalty of 5 marks for every additional 10% beyond the word count with a maximum of a 15-mark penalty reduction.

There is no specific penalty for submitting a piece which is below the word count, but please note that shorter submissions are likely to attract poorer grades, particularly where they lack the necessary depth of analysis.

Tables and figures (e.g. diagrams, graphs, photographs, etc) may be used as evidence to support academic argument. They are mostly used in report writing. However, it is important that tables and figures are used purposefully (i.e. with good reasons) and when appropriate. They should also be referenced correctly.

How do you calculate the word count?

The word count includes the Abstract or Executive Summary and all in-text citations. The word count does not include the Bibliography and Appendices.

Please note that Appendices should only include supplementary information, not information critical to your work.

Use of pictures/images:  

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." 

• Shutterography