What Is the Conceptual Framework of IoT?

What Is IoT

IoT (Internet of Things) has quickly established itself as one of the driving technologies of the modern world. It is an agent of transformation that has changed how the industries operate and communicate. It combines the physical and digital world and creates a networked environment where devices can share data.

It allows companies to track processes remotely, minimize operational costs, optimize process management and improve productivity and efficiency. But, have you considered how IoT technology operates? In this blog, let us discuss the conceptual framework of IoT. Understanding the conceptual framework is extremely important because it helps businesses recognize opportunities for future research, drive their innovation projects, build IoT servers, and solve complex problems.

Conceptual Framework of IoT

At its core, the IoT conceptual framework is nothing but a well-structured ecosystem that describes the interconnection between various technologies. It tells us how data moves from sensor collection to analysis stage and how the bridge between physical and digital world is formed. Let us see how the framework can be categorized into four layers-

Connectivity Layer:

This layer comprises all the physical devices included in the framework and the established interconnectivity between them. It also includes allocating low-range networking tools like actuators, RFID tags, sensors, etc. There is also resource management which verifies the availability of devices’ physical resources and networks present in the core architecture. Anyhow, these devices entail a limited number of resources and resource management makes sure that there is maximum utilization with minimum overhead. It also enables sharing and distribution of data among numerous networks. It can also share data over a network that is divided into numerous domains.

Also Read

What Is the Role of IoT in Healthcare?

IoT vs WoT | What is the Key Difference Between Both?

Light Sensors in IoT? | Types, Applications, and Benefits

Access Layer:

Context data reaches the internet through the IoT gateway as collected by short range devices in the form of raw information. Access layer basically includes network initiation, topology definition, and creation of domains, etc. This layer also comprises intra-inter domain communication, connection setup, scheduling, and packet transmissions between IoT gateway and flow sensors. There is feature management that has a feature filter that takes in only acceptable data and automatically removes redundant data. Modern sensors have a lot of features but only a few of them can generate context data. Feature filter helps in reducing transmission of irrelevant information and increases usefulness of data. Thus, it helps in minimizing energy and CPU consumption.

Abstraction Layer:

It is a critical layer in the conceptual framework of IoT. It masks the complexities of the process and provides a simplified interface for the interaction between different components. It is an important architectural concept that converts complex technological interaction into a more simplified version by hiding the details of the sub-systems. It enables IoT developers to ensure complex interactions without having to go through the intricacies of complex technological communication.

The core objectives of the abstraction layer is to minimize complexity, ensure faster integration, improve flexibility, and reduce direct dependencies on technologies. The key characteristics include management of device-level interactions, translation of protocol languages, providing support to diverse communication standards, and ensuring a uniform communication interface.

Service Layer:

This is also a vital layer responsible for storing and securing data. It also enables data accessibility effectively. Its notable characteristics include integrating information to improve service intelligence, supporting data transformation, providing service discovery, handling data processing, etc. Apart from that, it also facilitates communication between devices. The core components of the service layer includes resource allocation, data processing services, security management, communication protocols, and service discovery mechanisms. The service layer can be implemented using cloud-enabled service platforms, edge computing services, API management, middleware solutions, etc.

To understand the conceptual framework in more detail, it is necessary to understand the IoT hierarchy.

Conclusion

The application of IoT in diverse industries has established it as one of the driving forces of the modern world. The blog gives a brief introduction to the conceptual framework of IoT and discusses four layers it is categorized into. IoT is a prevalent technology in the modern industry and its usage is only going to exponentially improve in the future. For information about IoT, IoT-enabled services, their applications, IoT in CRM, explore our website!

Revolutionizing Business Processes with IoT | A Guide To Integration And Benefits

Smart Irrigation System using IoT : Modernizing Water Efficiency

IoT Data Visualization | Understand the Power of Connected IoT Devices

Access Control of IoT Devices: Ensuring Security & Efficiency

Internet of Things | IoT Design Methodology And Its Importance

What Are The Functional Blocks of IoT Devices & Their Functionalities?

Learn the Ideas Behind the Logical and Physical Designs of IoT