From Internet of Things Mashups to Model-Based Development

In this paper, we consider approaches and tools for the development of applications for the Internet of things, connecting sensors and Internet services. We compare tools for application mash up with approaches based on model-based development and then identify several key differences. For instance, model-based approaches have more expressiveness to model different views and behaviour, and then to generate code from models for different platforms. On the other hand, mash up tools can nicely model the data flow between applications and integrate existing services. We discuss how both approaches can benefit from each other and show how to use state models to specify the behaviour of components. We illustrate the advantages of model-based design by using a model checker to verify properties of a system.