04/10/2023 Dominique Guinard, MIT 1

Using Web Blueprints to SimplifyIoT / RFID Applications

Development and Deployment

Dominique GuinardChristian FloerkemeierMIT LMP / Auto-ID Labs

04/10/2023 Dominique Guinard, MIT 2

Motivation

• RFID, EPC Network-based applications have a lot of potential:– Combined with other IoT devices (sensors, mobile

phones, etc.)– Combined with service on the Web (visualization, storage,

etc.)– SMEs (Small and medium enterprises) yet to convince!

• Yet, lack of adoption of EPC Network software standards:– Complex (install, maintenance, integration) software stack

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Thinking Web of Things

• Adopting Web blue-prints can foster RFID / EPC apps:– Ease of integration with

existing Web of Things devices (mobile, sensors, machines, etc.)

– Ease of integration with existing services and scripting languages

– Leveraging virtual (cloud) infrastructures

Web

??

??

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Project Goals

1. Reduce the deployment complexity of standard RFID/IoT software stacks.

2. Allow easier (cheaper), more lightweight (mobile/WSNs) RFID application development.

3. Enable RFID mashability:– Composition of RFID/WSNs/appliances and

existing services on the Web– Allow anyone to implement simple use-cases

…. By applying Web and Web of Things blueprints!

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1) Reducing Deployment Complexity

• Goal:– Reduce installation &

maintenance time and costs:• Software• Harware

• Remedy:– Virtualization– Cloud Computing

[www.flickr.com/photos/sunep]

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A Typical Fosstrak Deployment…1

2 3

45

6

8 79

10

11) Java App Contrainer(e.g., Tomcat) 12) Java Enterprise SDK ~12 software components for

a typical RFID deployment!!

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Remedy 1 & 2: Virtualization and Cloud in a Nutshell

Virtualization (Private Cloud)• Package applications in a

Virtual Machine• Run the Virtual Machine on

any computer• Vendors:

– VMWare, Virtual Box, Parallels, etc.

Cloud Computing (Public Cloud)

• Utility Computing– Run virtual machines on

distant hardware.– Add more machines, load-

balance, scale within a few clicks.

• Vendors:– Amazon WS (EC2), VmWare,

Rackspace, GoGrid, etc.

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Remedy 1: Virtualization

• Test / dev for the EPC Network locally in 5 minutes

• Virtualized development environment:– Eclipse, LLRP Commander,

Readers simulators, WSN simulators, toolkits, etc.

– All Fosstrak components

• Based on VMWare:– Private Cloud

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Remedy 2: Cloud Computing

• Run your EPC Network server in 5 minutes!

• Cloud appliance:– Full EPC Network server– Admin Web interface– Fully configured Tomcat

Instance

• Based on Amazon EC2:– Public Cloud– Utility Computing

Demo!

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2) Ease Application Development

• Goal:– Offer lighter APIs– Allow integration with

IoT devices (sensors, mobile phones)

– Allow Web 2.0 integration

• Remedy:– RESTful APIs– Real-time Web

[www.flickr.com/photos/jgarber/]

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Remedy 3: REST in a Nutshell

REST architecture:1. Identify resources and

links:– A resource: something,

that can and that’s worth, getting a URI and links

2. Design respresentations3. Use the uniform

interface

REPRESENTATION

HTTP

URI

Links

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EPC Network Application Interface

Integration Interface

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REST vs WS-* for App Integration?

Based on the programming experience of 40 neutral developers.

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EPCIS Webadapter

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EPCIS Webadapter

• Open-sourced as part of Fosstrak

• One-click install on top of Fosstrak EPCIS

• Cross-browser Web interface

• Mobile User Interface• webofthings.com/rfid

http://.../location/migros:basel/reader/warehouse:incoming/time/2009-12-21T13:22:04.000Z/event/EPC

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So What?

• Easier to build mobile apps

• Easier to build Web apps (mashup dashboard)

• Shortcomings:– How about real-time?– Beyond EPCIS?– « Reader » push?

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Remedy 4: Real-Time Web in a Nutshell

Current Web Real-Time Web

[Generated with websequencediagrams.com]

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HTML 5 Websockets

• Full-duplex in the browser

• Part of the soon standard HTML 5 spec.

• Subscription through Javascript

• Increasing number of browsers support

[Generated with websequencediagrams.com]

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Capture Webadapter

• Modular Capture-App– Listening for ALE events– Multiplexer:

• 1 event -> n Connectors

– Control through RESTful API.

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tPusher

• Web Push Service• Supports several

transports:– Websockets– Long-polling / Comet– Streaming

• Client (mobile/Web) application in 10 lines!

• Based on Atmosphere/Jersey and its JQuery Plugin

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Sample App: Mobile Reader Monitor

• Use-case:– Scan QR code– Monitor an RFID reader

(via LLRP/ALE) live from any mobile browser

• Technology:– Fosstrak EPC Cloud– tPusher / capture

Webadapter– ~20 lines of Javascript

compatible with most mobile browsers

Demo!

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3) Enable RFID Mashability

• Goal:– Encapsulate simple RFID

use-case into components (e.g., EAS)

– Allow re-mixing them with exiting Web services or Web of Things devices

• Remedy:– RFID Mashup editor and

engine

[www.flickr.com/photos/sunep]

[www.flickr.com/photos/dantheurer]

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Remedy 5: Web of Things Mashups in a Nutshell

• Composition of services on the Web:– Mashup Editor– Mashup Engine

REST

REST API

REST

API

REST

[http://www.clickscript.ch][http://www.webothings.com/energievisible]

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Remedy 5: Mashup Editor for RFID

• Modularize simple components of typical RFID applications

• Offer a Mashup Framework + Engine:– Users can build their own

use cases

• Protoype based on:– Browser-based (Javascript)– Clickscript.ch added:

• Web push support• Serveral RFID/WoT modules

IPReader Name

EPC

IP

Business step

EPCEvents(json)

True/False

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Clickscript-based RFID Mashup Editor

Demo!

[Clickscript.ch]

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Sample App: Mobile EAS• Mashup:

– Get EPCs from readers– Where products (EPC) already

sold?– If not take a picture with

Webcam– Push (websocket) picture to all

clients on …/thefts

• Mobile:– Subscribe to /thefts– Display snapshot and product

info– Implemented with the Sencha

Touch Javascript Library.

Demo!

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Alltogether: Fosstrak EPC Cloud

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Future Work

• Qualitative/quantiative evaluation of the EPC Cloud project:– Latency? Quality of Service?– Real-world deployment/experience?

• EPC Cloud as SAAS (Software as a Service) plateform :– Several SME’s on one (scalable) instance of the EPC Cloud

• RFID use-cases as mashup modules:– Study most important RFID uses-cases– Extract (mashup) modules– Provide a scalable execution environment (engine)

• Open-sourcing the EPC Cloud?

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Thanks for your attention…

• Special thanks to:– Lukas Naef (Clickscript)– Mathias Mueller

(Webadapter)

• Contact:– www.guinard.org

• More on:– www.webofthings.com/rfid