The IoTivity is an open source framework created to standardize inter-device connections for the
IoT. Any individual or company can contribute to the project, and this may influence OCF standards indirectly. However, being a member of the OCF can benefit from
patent cross-licensing protection.
The IoTivity architectural goal is to create a new standard by which billions of wired and wireless devices will connect to each other and to the Internet.
History
In October 2016 they announced
AllJoyn
AllJoyn is an open source software framework that allows devices to communicate with other devices around them. A simple example would be a motion sensor letting a light bulb know no one is in the room it is lighting, so it can shut itself off.
...
merger into Iotivity. The group hoped that devices running either AllJoyn or Iotivity would be interoperable and backward compatible.
On October 10, 2016, the AllSeen Alliance merged with the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) under the OCF name and bylaws.
OCF then sponsored both the IoTivity and AllJoyn open source projects.
The merged groups announced that they will collaborate on future OCF specifications, as well as the IoTivity and AllJoyn open source projects, and current devices running on either AllJoyn or IoTivity will be interoperable and backward-compatible. The expanded OCF board of directors included: Electrolux, Arçelik A.S., ARRIS International plc, CableLabs, Canon, Cisco, GE Digital, Haier, Intel, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Technicolor SA.
The release is 2.0 was announced in September, 2018. Previously, there was a 1.3.1 release for the IoTivity Framework. Within the merging process with
AllJoyn
AllJoyn is an open source software framework that allows devices to communicate with other devices around them. A simple example would be a motion sensor letting a light bulb know no one is in the room it is lighting, so it can shut itself off.
...
, the software license changed to
Apache 2.0 Licence which makes it easier to other open source projects to include IoTivity and AllJoyn in more projects.
The system uses the
Constrained Application Protocol
Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a specialized Internet application protocol for constrained devices, as defined iRFC 7252 It enables those constrained devices called "nodes" to communicate with the wider Internet using similar protocols ...
(CoAP) as its
application layer which can uses several underlying
physical layers as long as the
network layer
In the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking, the network layer is layer 3. The network layer is responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers.
Functions
The network layer provides the means of tran ...
is
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
...
.
[ ] Examples include:
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
,
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
,
Bluetooth low energy,
Thread, and
Z-Wave
Z-Wave is a wireless communications protocol used primarily for residential and commercial building automation. It is a mesh network using low-energy radio waves to communicate from device to device, allowing for wireless control of smart home de ...
.
Legacy protocols are also supported by a protocol plugin manager
including:
*
ANT+
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...
*
Zigbee
Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and o ...
*
Bluetooth low energy (GATT)
Features
*
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discover ...
- the ability for a given device to find other devices around it as well as offering its own services to them
*
Data Transmission
Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point o ...
- the ability to pass messages between devices in a standardised way
* Device management
* Data management
See also
*
Open Connectivity Foundation
The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is an industry organization to develop standards, promote a set of interoperability guidelines, and provide a certification program for devices involved in the Internet of things (IoT).
By 2016 it claimed t ...
: On February 19, 2016 the OIC changed its name to the Open Connectivity Foundation
*
Open Interconnect Consortium
*
Constrained Application Protocol
Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a specialized Internet application protocol for constrained devices, as defined iRFC 7252 It enables those constrained devices called "nodes" to communicate with the wider Internet using similar protocols ...
: The core protocol that IoTivity is built on
*
AllJoyn
AllJoyn is an open source software framework that allows devices to communicate with other devices around them. A simple example would be a motion sensor letting a light bulb know no one is in the room it is lighting, so it can shut itself off.
...
, a similar, collaborating open source project, also sponsored by
Open Interconnect Consortium
References
{{reflist
Internet of things
Linux Foundation projects