A Middleware Environment for Developing Internet of Things Applications

Abstract

With the rising popularity of IoT, several platforms have been proposed for supporting the development of IoT applications. KNoT and FIWARE are examples of open-source platforms with a complementary purpose. While KNoT is a gateway-based middleware to embed connectivity into devices and route messages between them and applications, FIWARE provides a rich ecosystem with standardized APIs for developing IoT applications. Aiming at combining the KNoT capability of integrating a plethora of devices with the high-level abstractions provided by the FIWARE platform, this paper presents the KNoT-FI environment. It integrates KNoT and FIWARE towards easing the development of IoT applications and seamlessly using capabilities of devices with or without native Internet connection through the FIWARE advanced interfaces. This paper also presents a validation of KNoT-FI in the development of a real-world application that automatically manages lighting, temperature, and ambient sound in smart buildings.