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The Internet of Things

A Research Topic of the Distributed Systems Group

The Internet of Things represents a vision in which the Internet extends into the real world embracing everyday objects. Physical items are no longer disconnected from the virtual world, but can be controlled remotely and can act as physical access points to Internet services. The Internet of Things vision is grounded in the belief that the steady advances in microelectronics, communications and information technology we have witnessed in recent years will continue into the foreseeable future.

"Smart" objects play a key role in the Internet of Things vision, since embedded communication and information technology have the potential to revolutionize the utility of these objects. Using sensors, they are able to perceive their context, and via built-in networking capabilities they would be able to communicate with each other, access Internet services and interact with people.

One logical development of the Internet of Things is to leverage the World Wide Web and its many technologies as an infrastructure for smart objects. Our recently established "Web of Things" initiative uses simple embedded HTTP servers and Web 2.0 technology. In the Web of Things, smart objects and their services are typically addressed via URIs and controlled via a simple interface using a few well-defined HTTP methods such as GET and PUT. Low-end devices can also be connected through the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), a leight-weight protocol providing mechanisms similar to HTTP.

One of the enabling technologies for the Internet of Things is RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). It is primarily used to identify objects from a distance, but can also be used to determine the approximate location of objects provided the position of the reader is known. In our research group, we have launched Fosstrak, a leading open-source software suite for RFID deployments.

See also the following related items:

Participating Researchers

Matthias Kovatsch, Benedikt Ostermaier (until 2015), Christian Flörkemeier (until 2014), Christof Roduner (until 2014), Simon Mayer (until 2014)

Selected Publications

See the Publications of the Distributed Systems Group page for a full listing of our publications.

Related Student Projects

The following table lists corresponding student projects in our group. Note that some descriptions will be in German.

TypeTitleStudentSupervisorSemester
L Reliable Low-Power Environmental Monitoring Infrastructure Thomas FrickLeyna SadamoriHS 17
B A Scalable and Reliable Infrastructure for Environmental Monitoring Adrian SeiterleLeyna SadamoriHS 17
M Privacy-Preserving Search for Encrypted Images on the Cloud: Metadata and Classification Alexander ViandHossein ShafaghFS 17
L Proximity-based Authentication via Ambient RF Noise Jakob HasseHossein ShafaghHS 16
M The Web of Things for Automation Controllers Ganesh RamanathanMatthias KovatschFS 16
M Secure Analysis of Encrypted IoT Data Pascal FischliHossein ShafaghFS 16
L Developing IoT Applications on top of Encrypted Data Lukas Burkhalter,
Alexander Viand
Hossein ShafaghHS 15
M Proximity-based Authentication for the Internet of Things Dominic PlanggerHossein Shafagh,
Anwar Hithnawi
FS 15
M A Public-key Cryptography Framework for the Internet of Things Andreas DroescherHossein ShafaghFS 15
L IPv6 over Bluetooth Low Energy Ganesh Ramanathan,
(Arthur Habicht [B])
Matthias KovatschFS 15
L Scalability Evaluation of IoT Cloud Services Marcin Dziezyc,
(Matthias Kovatsch)
Matthias KovatschFS 15
B Encrypted Data Processing for the Internet of Things: User’s Perspective Lukas BurkhalterHossein ShafaghFS 15
B/L Visualizing Web Interactions Yassin HassanSimon MayerFS 14
M Semantics for Smart Things: Machine Interaction within Smart Environments Nadine InhelderSimon MayerHS 13
B Trip Optimization Recommendations for Drivers Adrian WickiSimon MayerHS 13
B Context-aware real-time Interaction with Cars Simon JutzSimon Mayer,
Leyna Sadamori
HS 13
B Context-aware real-time Interaction with Cars Thomas MeierLeyna Sadamori,
Simon Mayer
HS 13
B Device Recognition for WoT Interaction Sezer GülerSimon MayerHS 13
M Scalability for IoT Cloud Services Martin LanterMatthias KovatschFS 13
B Enriching IoT Cloud Platforms with CoAP Adrian KündigMatthias KovatschFS 13
B A Magic Lens for Visualizing Device Interactions Markus SchalchSimon Mayer,
Gábor Sörös,
Marian George
FS 13
B Open Metering for Commercial Buildings Andreas BrauchliChristian Beckel,
Wilhelm Kleiminger
FS 13
M Ubiquitous Context-aware Device Control Gianin BaslerSimon MayerHS 12
B Smart Device Association from Shared Audio Context Michael OchSimon MayerHS 12
M A Smart City Infrastructure Francesco CorazzaMatthias KovatschFS 12
M Securing the Constrained Application Protocol Stefan JuckerMatthias KovatschFS 12
L Uncovering Device Whispers Bram Scheidegger,
Claude Barthels
Simon Mayer,
Christian Beckel,
Gábor Sörös
FS 12
B Creating Briefings from Heterogeneous Sources (II) Marco PolteraSimon MayerFS 12
B Extending the eMeter Framework with CoAP Stefan WilliMatthias KovatschFS 12
B Application Kernels for Smart Home Environments Gianluca VinzensMatthias KovatschFS 12
B Creating Briefings from Heterogeneous Sources (I) Raffael BuffSimon MayerFS 12
B The Networked Alarm Clock David IttenMatthias KovatschHS 11
M A Computational Marketplace for the Web of Things David KaramSimon MayerFS 11
L Californium: A CoAP Framework in Java Dominique Im Obersteg,
Daniel Pauli
Matthias KovatschFS 11
B Upgrading AutoWoT Claude BarthelsSimon MayerFS 11
B Adaptive User Interfaces for Smart Things Andreas TschofenSimon MayerFS 11
ETH ZurichDistributed Systems Group
Last updated January 1 1970 01:00:00 AM MET ko