Achieving IoT Harmonization using XMPP in the IEEE P1451.99 Context

The world of Internet of Things (IoT) is comprised of a multitude of incompatible islands, separated by different protocols and communication patterns. Harmonizing these different islands while ensuring security and data ownership in such heterogeneous networks is complex and requires a well-defined network architecture together with a commonly agreed standard not aiming to substitute them, but allowing them to coexist in an interoperable ecosystem. This position paper describes how IEEE P1451.99 IoT standard, together with the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), can be used to bridge in real-time these seemingly incompatible islands thus achieving the harmonization of IoT; all of this regardless of underlying technologies, while also promoting the seamless integration of the IEEE 1451 family of standards-based devices. XMPP is standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and provides an open and free alternative to commercial or bespoke middleware platforms. XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) provides standardization of extensions for XMPP, that are widely in use. XMPP also provides a method to inject trust on which security decisions can be made, in globally scalable and decentralized networks, letting users play a central role in data ownership. Using this trust, moreover, resources can be monetized, promoting interoperation and guaranteeing a level of privacy that may extend up to sensitive data management.