Download A Survey on Semantic Software Platforms for Sensor Networks

A Survey on Semantic Software Platforms for Sensor Networks' Interoperability
V. Kramar*
* Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Pehr Brahe Software Laboratory, Raahe, Finland
[email protected]
Abstract
A large number, variety, heterogeneity of sensor
networks and their application areas are amazing at
these
days.
Along
with
complication
of
internetworking schemas interoperability issues are
growing continuously. Processing data at higher
levels of intelligence using metadata may increase
interoperability significantly. In this paper a survey
on platforms and frameworks that propose a way to
form information or even knowledge out of sensor
data by annotating it with semantic metadata is
presented. An overview of relevant standards,
specifications and community efforts is given along
with a vision of Internet of Things, Semantic Sensor
Web and Semantic Reality. Benefits of the use of
semantic technologies, particularly, Semantic Web,
in sensor network applications are discussed. The
paper concludes with statement of current situation
and future forecast.
Keywords: semantic, sensor, web, network, platform,
framework, interoperability
Introduction
In multi-networks environment, data exchange is not
always seamless due to heterogeneity of networks,
especially with increasing a number of those. A
seamless data exchange is possible when it is not
performed at a level of data (by data formats that are
often different or not compliant) but at level of
information (by a meaning of data). Semantic
technologies allow meaningful data processing through
metadata layer. In this paper a survey on platforms and
frameworks that use semantic technologies to process
and exchange data of sensor networks are presented and
discussed.
Towards to integrating the physical world into selforganizing information space via sensor Web
Sensor networks are tools allowing human to cense
our physical world. The Internet of Things deals with
identified objects of the virtual world that reflect entities
of the real world. To make this possible, the real world
object can be defined as resource and annotated with
data obtained from sensor networks. Semantic Web
technologies, e.g. Resource Description Framework
(RDF) are intended for that. In its turn, sensor data can
also be defined and annotated. Such web is known as
Semantic Sensor Web. Semantic Reality is a vision of
information space that comprises the virtual and the real
world and requires understanding of both for that
purpose.
An effort of Semantic Web Activity of the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC), different academic institutions and
industry players in standardization, developing
practices, ontologies and taxonomies made it finally
possible to have real implementations of projects like
NEMBES-FM, S-SOS, AAI, DOG, etc.
Results and Discussion
It is proved by practical experiments with software
platforms and frameworks that semantic technologies
bring sensor networks' interoperability to a higher level.
Following the Semantic Web specifications allow
developing applications with different level of
abstraction and
practically any complicated
interoperability schemas or even non-yet-existing
schemas and a fuure of Web.
A drowback of such platforms and frameworks is a
big effort required at the beginning of development
process. This drowback can be partially reduced by
growing number of open implementations and
ontologies available. Another drowback is a low yet
community acceptance of those technologies or their
use in such an emerging way.
Conclusions
Currently we are at the beginning of an expansion
into the Semantic Reality. Main technoloical enables
exist, netwiork infrastructures are developed enough.
Some standardisation is missing though. But even more
than that a large community acceprtance is missing in
both, industry and academia. Most of the moderrn
platforms serving the sensor networks do not use
semantic technologies. Thus a power of semantics is
either unknown or underestimated.
Time will come though that a power of semantic
technologies will be realized at its full potential and
their benefits will become to be so clear that a wave of
acceptance will be observed.