WiFi-aware as a connectivity solution for IoT pairing IoT with WiFi aware technology: Enabling new proximity based services

Internet of Things is referred to a combination of physical devices having sensors and connection capabilities enabling them to interact with each other (machine to machine) and can be controlled remotely via cloud engine. Success of an IoT device depends on the ability of systems and devices to securely sample, collect, and analyze data, and then transmit over link, protocol, or media selections based on stated requirements, all without human intervention. Among the requirements of the IoT, connectivity is paramount. It's hard to imagine that a single communication technology can address all the use cases possible in home, industry and smart cities. Along with the existing low power technologies like Zigbee, Bluetooth and 6LoWPAN, 802.11 WiFi standards are also making its way into the market with its own advantages in high range and better speed. Along with IEEE, WiFi Alliance has a new standard for the proximity applications. Neighbor Awareness Network (NAN) popularly known as WiFi Aware is that standard which enables low power discovery over WiFi and can light up many proximity based used cases. In this paper we discuss how NAN can influence the emerging IoT market as a connectivity solution for proximity assessment and contextual notifications with its benefits in some of the scenarios. When we consider WiFi the infrastructure already exists in terms of access points all around in public and smart phones or tablets come with WiFi as a default feature hence enabling NAN can be easy and if we can pair them with IoT, many innovative use cases can evolve.