IoT edge system enabling resource sharing between IoT edges having hierarchical structure

Abstract

An IoT edge system according to an aspect of the present invention is a system enabling resource sharing between IoT edges having a hierarchical structure, and comprises: a plurality of IoT devices, each of which registers a list of providable services in an IoT edge device in the same network, and receives and processes a service execution request from the IoT edge device; and a plurality of IoT edge devices, each including middleware which registers and manages services provided by an IoT device in the same network, configures whether to open the registered services, and determines whether to provide a service according to an access right in response to a service request from another IoT edge device. At this time, the plurality of IoT edge devices form a tree-shaped hierarchical structure. An IoT edge device having an upper layer transfers a list of opened services to an IoT edge device of the upper layer, and the IoT edge device of the upper layer has an access right to the services opened by the IoT edge device of the lower layer.

Description

An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

[0001] The present invention relates to a service-based IoT platform, and more particularly, to a technology for sharing resources between IoT edges having a hierarchical structure.

[0002] The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, and hundreds of IoT platforms are being developed to keep pace with this growth. An IoT platform is a software framework that enables management and connection of various smart devices and applications via the Internet, acting as a bridge between the layers of an IoT system, from the device layer to the application layer.

[0003] IoT platforms can be broadly categorized into cloud-based and edge-based types based on the location of the middleware. Cloud-based platforms deploy PaaS (Platform as a Service) middleware in the cloud and connect IoT devices via an internet network. Cloud-based platforms are more widely used due to their ease of implementation, low cost, and scalability. Edge-based platforms, on the other hand, offer several advantages over cloud-based platforms by providing cloud computing capabilities to edge devices. Edge-based IoT platforms eliminate the need to transmit data to the cloud, resulting in lower latency and improved responsiveness, along with additional security benefits. Furthermore, edge-based IoT platforms can continue operating even in poor network conditions.

[0004] Edge-based IoT platforms are emerging to address scalability challenges by providing mesh networks for edge-to-edge interconnection. However, as the number of edges increases, these mesh-based interconnections face rapidly increasing management complexity. Consequently, mesh-based interconnections have limitations in their applicability to small-scale IoT systems, such as smart homes.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an IoT edge system that is easily expandable by connecting edge-based IoT platforms in a tree-shaped hierarchical structure.

[0006] In addition, another purpose of the present invention is to provide an IoT edge system in which upper-layer middleware in a hierarchical structure creates and shares a new upper-layer service by utilizing a service disclosed by a lower-layer middleware.

[0007] An IoT edge system according to one aspect of the present invention is a system capable of sharing resources between IoT edges having a hierarchical structure, and includes a plurality of IoT devices and a plurality of IoT edge devices.

[0008] IoT devices register a list of available services with IoT edge devices within the same network, and receive and process service execution requests from IoT edge devices.

[0009] IoT edge devices include middleware that registers and manages services provided by IoT devices within the same network, sets whether to make registered services public, and determines whether to provide services based on access rights when other IoT edge devices request services.

[0010] Multiple IoT edge devices form a tree-like hierarchical structure. A higher-level IoT edge device passes a list of publicly available services to a higher-level IoT edge device, which then has access to the services disclosed by the lower-level IoT edge devices.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, an upper-layer IoT edge device creates a super service by combining a service registered in the IoT edge device with a service disclosed by a lower-layer IoT edge device, or by combining services disclosed by a lower-layer IoT edge device.

[0012] At this time, the IoT edge device that created the super service can set the super service to be public and transmit the created super service to IoT edge devices in its lower layer.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, an IoT edge device that creates a super service creates a virtual IoT device to execute the super service, registers the virtual IoT device in its middleware, and executes the super service through the virtual IoT device when a super service request is received to process the service.

[0014] An IoT edge device that processes a super service upon request stops executing the super service if the execution of one service that constitutes the super service fails and notifies the IoT edge device that requested the super service of the failure in processing the super service.

[0015] Additionally, an IoT edge device that processes a super service upon request may request execution of a service that constitutes the super service to another IoT edge device that provides the same service if the execution of the service that constitutes the super service fails and the same service is provided by another IoT edge device.

[0016] According to one aspect of the present invention, when services constituting a super service are provided equally by a plurality of IoT edge devices, an IoT edge device that processes the super service upon request can request service processing so that the services constituting the super service are distributed and executed by the plurality of IoT edge devices.

[0017] According to one aspect of the present invention, an IoT edge device dynamically manages the execution status of a service it provides, and reports the execution status in response to a service execution status report request received from an upper layer IoT edge device.

[0018] An upper-layer IoT edge device that requests execution of a service disclosed by a lower-layer IoT edge device can check the availability of the service on the lower-layer IoT edge device before requesting execution of the service.

[0019] An IoT edge device running a super service can initiate execution of the super service after checking the availability of all services that constitute the super service.

[0020] The IoT edge system of the present invention can facilitate expansion by connecting edge-based IoT platforms in a tree-shaped hierarchical structure.

[0021] Additionally, the IoT edge system of the present invention can create and share a new upper-level service by utilizing the service disclosed by the lower-level middleware in the hierarchical structure.

[0022] Figure 1 conceptually illustrates an IoT edge system of the present invention having a hierarchical structure between IoT edges.

[0023] Figure 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a super service that utilizes resource sharing between IoT edges.

[0024] Figure 3 is a diagram conceptually explaining the execution process of a super service that utilizes resource sharing between IoT edges.

[0025] The aforementioned and additional aspects are concretized through embodiments described with reference to the attached drawings. It is understood that various combinations of components of each embodiment are possible within the embodiment, unless otherwise stated or inconsistent with each other. Each block of the block diagram may in some cases represent a physical component, but in other cases may be a logical representation of a portion of the function of a single physical component or a function spanning multiple physical components. Sometimes, the entity of a block or a portion thereof may be a set of program instructions. These blocks may be implemented in whole or in part by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0026]

[0027] Figure 1 conceptually illustrates an IoT edge system of the present invention having a hierarchical structure between IoT edges. The IoT edge system (10) according to one aspect of the present invention is a system capable of resource sharing between IoT edges having a hierarchical structure, and includes a plurality of IoT devices (120) and a plurality of IoT edge devices (110).

[0028] The IoT edge system (10) of the present invention is an edge-based platform.

[0029] An IoT device (120) is a hardware device, such as a sensor, home appliance, or other machine, that is controlled or exchanges data over a network. The IoT device (120) of the present invention organizes a list of available services into a service list and registers it with an IoT edge device (110) within the same network.

[0030] The IoT device (120) receives a service execution request from the IoT edge device (110) and processes it, i.e., executes the corresponding service.

[0031] The IoT edge system (10) of the present invention facilitates system scalability issues by introducing a hierarchical structure of IoT edge devices (110). As shown in the example illustrated in Fig. 1, IoT edge devices (110_1X, 110_2X, 110_3X, 110_4) form a tree-shaped hierarchical structure.

[0032] The IoT edge device (110) may be a hub device with computing capabilities. The IoT edge device (110) includes middleware, which is hierarchically structured. The hierarchical structure of the IoT edge device (110) is formed by hierarchically connecting the middleware. The middleware relays all communications between IoT devices (120) that are geographically close and use the same network, thereby implementing smart offices, smart homes, etc.

[0033] The middleware discovers IoT devices (120) within the same network and registers and manages services provided by the discovered IoT devices (120).

[0034] The IoT edge device (110) abstracts the functions provided by the IoT device (120) into a service and provides it. At this time, the service can be abstracted in the form of an application program written and implemented in a scripting language or programming language. Users and the like can request the corresponding service using the identifier of the IoT device and the service identifier (e.g., service name). The IoT edge device (110) executes the service and issues control commands related to the service execution to the IoT device (120) to control it.

[0035] At this time, the middleware manages by mapping IoT devices (120) and the services provided by each IoT device (120). For example, the middleware can manage by mapping a device identifier (e.g., device ID) and a service identifier (e.g., service name).

[0036] Middleware can create a new service, a composite service, by combining services registered to it.

[0037] Additionally, the middleware sets whether registered services are made public. The IoT edge device (110) provides a user interface for setting whether services are made public, allowing users or administrators to set service disclosure through this interface. There are no restrictions on how the user interface provided by the IoT edge device (110) can be implemented.

[0038] The present invention provides that services disclosed by lower-layer middleware can be executed by upper-layer middleware located along the path from that layer to the top layer. Upper-layer middleware can only execute services disclosed by lower-layer middleware, and is blocked from accessing the data necessary for executing those services.

[0039] The middleware determines whether its upper layer exists, and if so, it transmits the list of services set to public to the middleware of the upper layer. In other words, the IoT edge device (110) having the upper layer transmits the list of public services to the IoT edge device (110) of the upper layer. The upper layer middleware, which has received the list of public services from the lower layer middleware, can register and manage the services received from the lower layer separately from the services registered to itself.

[0040] Additionally, when another IoT edge device requests a service, the middleware determines whether the IoT edge device (120) requesting the service has access rights, i.e., determines whether to provide the service based on the access rights. In this case, the upper-layer IoT edge device (120) on the path from the lower layer to the upper-layer has access rights to the service disclosed by the lower-layer IoT edge device (120).

[0041] The example of Fig. 1 is an example of a hierarchical structure in which IoT edge devices are divided into four tiers, where the first tier is an office-level tier, the second tier is a floor-level tier, the third tier is a building-level tier, and the fourth tier is a campus-level tier with multiple buildings. The service disclosed by IoT edge device #1-1 (110_11) is accessible to its upper tiers, IoT edge device #2-1 (110_21), IoT edge device #3-1 (110_31), and IoT edge device #4 (120_4), but IoT edge device #1-L (110_1L), IoT edge device #2-M (110_2M), and IoT edge device #3-N (110_3N) do not have access.

[0042] Figure 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a super service utilizing resource sharing between IoT edges. According to one aspect of the present invention, an upper-layer IoT edge device (110) creates a super service by combining services registered with the IoT edge device (110) and services disclosed by lower-layer IoT edge devices (110), or by combining services disclosed by lower-layer IoT edge devices (110).

[0043] In other words, a super service is a new composite service created by registering and using an IoT device (120) that is publicly disclosed to an IoT edge device (110) in a lower layer as a shared resource. A super service is a type of application written in a scripting language or programming language. A super service can be created in middleware in a layer other than the lowest layer, and can be created and used when a service of a lower layer, i.e. a resource of a lower layer, is needed in a higher layer.

[0044] At this time, the IoT edge device (110) that created the super service can set the super service to be public. In other words, the middleware that created the super service can publicize the created super service. The IoT edge device (110) that has publicized the super service can transmit the created super service to IoT edge devices (110) in its lower layer. This is performed through communication between middlewares and can be processed by transmitting the service name of the super service.

[0045] Referring to Fig. 2, an example of configuring a super service is described. Among the IoT edge devices forming the hierarchical structure of Fig. 2, the IoT edge device #1-1 (110_11) of the lower layer registers and manages IoT device #1 (120_1) providing services A and B and IoT device #2 (120_2) providing services C, D, and E. IoT edge device #1-1 (110_11) publicly sets service A of IoT device #1 (120_1) and services C and D of IoT device #2 (120_2). The publicly set services A, C, and D transmit the publicly set service list to the IoT edge device #2-1 (110_21) and IoT edge device #3 (110_3) of the upper layer. IoT edge device #2-1 (110_21) registers and manages IoT device #3 (120_3) providing services F and G and publicly sets service F. In Fig. 2, the top-tier IoT edge device #3 (110_3) registers and manages IoT device #4 (120_4) providing service H, creates a super service SS including service H, service G, service A, and service D, and publishes it. The published super service SS is delivered to all IoT edge devices (110_11, 110_12, 110_21, 110_22) in the lower layer of IoT edge device #3 (110_3).

[0046] Figure 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the execution process of a super service utilizing resource sharing between IoT edges. According to one aspect of the present invention, an IoT edge device (110) that creates a super service creates a virtual IoT device (130) to execute the super service, registers it with its middleware, and upon receiving a super service request, executes the super service through the virtual IoT device (130) to process the service.

[0047] Since the present invention abstracts and utilizes the functions of IoT devices by mapping them to services, a super service also requires an IoT device to be mapped. The present invention virtually creates an IoT device to be mapped to a super service and registers it with middleware, just like a typical IoT device.

[0048] The virtual IoT device (130) may be an application program that executes a super service. For example, if the super service is implemented in a script language, it may be a program that controls execution according to the syntax of the script language.

[0049] When the middleware requests execution of a super service, a virtual IoT device (130) executes the mapped super service. For each service that constitutes the super service, the virtual IoT device (130) requests execution of the service to the IoT edge device where each service is registered through the middleware of the IoT edge device that registered the virtual IoT device (130) and receives the result.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 3, an example of executing a super service will be described. The IoT edge device #3 (110_3) of FIG. 3 creates a virtual IoT device (130) to execute the super service SS, and the virtual IoT device (130) executes the super service SS. As described above, the super service SS may be an application program. The virtual IoT device (130) requests each service that constitutes the super service SS to execute the super service. At this time, the execution request for the super service may be made by the IoT edge device #3 (110_3), but another IoT edge device in a lower layer may request execution. The virtual IoT device (130) requests execution of service H among the services that constitute the super service SS to the IoT edge device #3, and requests execution of service G to the IoT edge device #2-1 (110_21) through the middleware of the IoT edge device #3 (110_3).

[0051] Individual services included in the Super Service may be services for IoT devices connected to IoT edge devices in other locations. These IoT devices may be dynamically removed or may become unavailable for service provision due to malfunctions, etc. Therefore, when executing the Super Service, the services included in the Super Service may fail.

[0052] A super service can be executed when an IoT edge device that created the super service requests the super service or when a lower-layer IoT edge device requests the published super service.

[0053] An IoT edge device that processes a super service upon request can stop executing the super service if the execution of one of the services that constitutes the super service fails and notify the IoT edge device that requested the super service of the super service processing failure. For example, if the IoT edge device that created the super service makes a request, the virtual IoT device notifies the middleware of the super service processing failure, and if the request is made by an IoT edge device in a lower layer, the virtual IoT device notifies the middleware of the super service processing failure, and the middleware can forward the processing failure to the middleware of the IoT edge device in the lower layer. At this time, the super service processing failure notification can include the identifier of the service that failed to execute (e.g., service name) and the identifier information of the IoT device mapped to the corresponding service.

[0054] In an IoT edge system with a hierarchical structure, multiple identical IoT devices can be registered and used on different IoT edge devices or on the same IoT edge device.

[0055] An IoT edge device processing a super service upon request can request execution of the failed service from another IoT edge device if the service comprising the super service fails and the same service is provided by another IoT edge device. This means that if multiple IoT devices providing a specific service exist in the IoT edge system, even if the service fails, the super service can be requested to be executed from another IoT edge device providing the same service without interrupting execution.

[0056] At this time, the service must also be exposed to other IoT edge devices, and the IoT edge device that created the super service must be a higher-level device and have access rights. In other words, IoT edge devices that provide the same service are lower-level devices of the upper-level IoT edge device that created the super service, and each lower-level IoT edge device must expose the service so that the service can be delivered to the upper-level IoT edge device that created the super service.

[0057] A virtual IoT device executing a super service does not stop the super service even if the execution of a specific service fails. Instead, it checks whether there is another IoT edge device that provides the same service mapped by the middleware, and if there is, it requests the same service to the IoT edge device. According to an aspect of the invention, when the middleware of the IoT edge device that created the super service recognizes that one service constituting the super service has failed (e.g., receives a failure notification from the middleware of the IoT edge device), it does not transmit the result to the virtual IoT device, but instead checks whether there is another IoT edge device that provides the same service mapped by the middleware, and if there is, it requests the same service to the IoT edge device.

[0058] If all other IoT edge devices providing the same service also fail to execute the service, the execution of the super service is stopped and a failure in super service processing is notified as described above.

[0059] As described above, multiple identical IoT devices can be registered and used on different IoT edge devices or the same IoT edge device, and the present invention can process this in a distributed manner.

[0060] According to one aspect of the present invention, when a lower layer service constituting a super service is provided equally by a plurality of IoT edge devices, an IoT edge device that processes the super service upon request can request service processing so that the service constituting the super service is distributed and executed by a plurality of IoT edge devices.

[0061] The middleware of the IoT edge device that created the super service receives a request for a specific service that constitutes the super service from a virtual IoT device that executes the super service, and if there are multiple IoT edge devices that provide the same specific service, the service can be distributed to multiple IoT edge devices and requested for processing.

[0062] At this time, the virtual IoT device executing the super service can request the same service from another IoT edge device that provides the same service mapped by the middleware without stopping the super service even if the execution of a specific service for which it has requested distributed processing fails.

[0063] According to one aspect of the present invention, an IoT edge device (110) dynamically manages the execution status of the services it provides. The middleware of the IoT edge device (110) can monitor the status of a registered IoT device (120) and the execution status of the services provided by the IoT device (120) and dynamically manage the status thereof.

[0064] The middleware of the IoT edge device (110) manages the status so that the IoT device (120) can be dynamically added or removed. When the IoT device (120) is removed, the middleware can also remove the service provided by the IoT device (120).

[0065] The middleware can create and manage a service status table that manages the status of services provided by IoT devices (120) registered to the IoT edge device (110). The middleware can manage the service status as running or waiting to be executed. However, this is not limited to this, and other statuses may be added as needed.

[0066] When the middleware receives a request to execute a service registered to it, it checks the execution status of the service in the service status table. If it is awaiting execution, it transmits the service execution request to the mapped IoT device (120) and changes the execution status of the service in the service status table to running. Thereafter, when the middleware receives a notification of completion of execution from the IoT device (120) executing the service, it changes the execution status of the service in the service status table to awaiting execution.

[0067] The middleware of the IoT edge device (110) of the upper layer can send a service execution status report request to determine the execution status of the service provided by the IoT edge device (110) of the lower layer.

[0068] When the middleware of the IoT edge device (110) receives a request for reporting the execution status of a service from an upper-layer IoT edge device (110), it searches for the corresponding service in the service status table and then reports the execution status in response to the request.

[0069] The IoT edge system (10) of the present invention can request execution of a service disclosed by a lower-layer IoT edge device (110) through the middleware of an upper-layer IoT edge device (110). Whether the current service is executable is managed using a service status table in the IoT edge device (110) where the service is registered. Even if the service is disclosed, the upper-layer IoT edge device (110) with access rights, other than the IoT edge device (110) where the service is registered, does not directly manage the status of the service. Therefore, the upper-layer IoT edge device (110) requests the service without knowing whether the disclosed lower-layer service is executable, which causes a problem in that an unnecessary request is made even in a situation where the service cannot be executed.

[0070] An upper-layer IoT edge device (110) that requests execution of a service disclosed by a lower-layer IoT edge device (110) can check the availability of the service in the lower-layer IoT edge device (110) before requesting the execution of the service. At this time, the middleware of the upper-layer IoT edge device (110) can transmit a service execution status report request to the middleware of the lower-layer IoT edge device (110) and receive the result to check the availability of the service.

[0071] As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, the IoT edge device (110) can dynamically manage the execution status of the services it provides. The middleware of the IoT edge device (110) can monitor the status of the registered IoT device (120) and the execution status of the services provided by the IoT device (120) and dynamically manage the status thereof.

[0072] An IoT edge device (110) executing a super service can initiate execution of the super service after checking the availability of all services constituting the super service.

[0073] The middleware of the IoT edge device (110) executing the super service can check the availability of all services that constitute the super service by requesting a service execution status report to the IoT edge device (120) in which the IoT device (120) mapped to the corresponding service is registered, and then execute the super service when all services are determined to be available.

[0074]

[0075] The various embodiments disclosed in this specification and drawings are merely specific examples to aid understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0076] Accordingly, the scope of the various embodiments of the present invention should be interpreted as including all changes or modifications derived based on the technical ideas of the various embodiments of the present invention in addition to the embodiments described herein.

Claims

1. Multiple IoT devices that register a list of available services to the IoT edge devices below within the same network and receive and process service requests from the IoT edge devices below; and Multiple IoT edge devices including middleware that registers and manages services provided by IoT devices within the same network, sets whether to make registered services public, and determines whether to provide services based on access rights when another IoT edge device requests services; Including, but not limited to, An IoT edge system capable of resource sharing between IoT edge devices having a hierarchical structure in which multiple IoT edge devices form a tree-shaped hierarchical structure, an IoT edge device having a higher layer transmits a list of services it has disclosed to an IoT edge device of a higher layer, and an IoT edge device of a higher layer has access to the services disclosed by an IoT edge device of a lower layer.

2. In paragraph 1, The upper-layer IoT edge device creates a super service by combining the services registered in the IoT edge device and the services disclosed by the lower-layer IoT edge device, or by combining the services disclosed by the lower-layer IoT edge device. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

3. In paragraph 2, The IoT edge device that created the super service sets the super service to be public and delivers the created super service to the IoT edge devices in its lower layer. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

4. In paragraph 2 or paragraph 3, The IoT edge device that created the super service creates a virtual IoT device to execute the super service and registers it in its middleware, and when a super service request is received, it executes the super service through the virtual IoT device to process the service. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

5. In paragraph 4, An IoT edge device that processes a super service upon request stops executing the super service if the execution of one service that constitutes the super service fails and notifies the IoT edge device that requested the super service of the failure in processing the super service. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

6. In paragraph 4, An IoT edge device that processes a super service upon request requests execution of a service that constitutes the super service if the execution fails and the same service is provided by another IoT edge device, to another IoT edge device that provides the same service. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

7. In paragraph 4, When the services that constitute a super service are provided equally by multiple IoT edge devices, the IoT edge device that processes the super service upon request requests service processing so that the services that constitute the super service are distributed and executed by multiple IoT edge devices. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

8. In paragraph 1, IoT edge devices dynamically manage the execution status of the services they provide and report the execution status in response to service execution status reporting requests received from upper-layer IoT edge devices. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

9. In paragraph 8, The upper layer IoT edge device that requests execution of a service disclosed by a lower layer IoT edge device checks the availability of the service to the lower layer IoT edge device before requesting execution of the service. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

10. In paragraph 2, IoT edge devices dynamically manage the execution status of the services they provide, The IoT edge device running the super service checks the availability of all services that make up the super service and then initiates the execution of the super service. An IoT edge system that enables resource sharing between IoT edges with a hierarchical structure.

Images