Development and Implementation of an OpenSource IoT Platform, Network and Data Warehouse for Privacy-Compliant Applications in Research and Industry

• Published in: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering
• Main Authors: Stadler Sebastian, Borrero Eduardo Romero, Zauner Johannes, Hanshans Christian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2021-10-01
• Subjects: iot platform; mqtt; opensource; internet of things; data privacy; digital sovereignty; pseudonymization; connected sensors; sensor application; scientific automation; arduino; esp; raspberry pi; diy; laboratory automation; linux; visual programming
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2021-2129

In the scientific field, data acquisition using commercial or self-developed sensors is a necessity for many research activities. Data security and data privacy are important requirements in all types of IoT applications, especially in the medical context. IoTree42 is a powerful, OpenSource platform that closes the gap between cost-efficiency, the ease of use and digital sovereignty. The flexible and user-friendly design makes the platform ideal for the originally conceived research context. Nevertheless, it can be used for smaller budget-oriented setups and industrial applications with thousands of sensors and actuators likewise. The platform was developed with security in mind by minimizing interfaces and the use of stable software components and transport protocols. IoTree42 utilizes lightweight OpenSource software cast into a flexible backend, allowing the deployment not only on full-fledged servers but also on single board computers like the Raspberry Pi. Data is transmitted with low overhead via MQTT, a robust protocol optimized for machine to machine communication. The transmission technology between all components is freely selectable. Besides data acquisition, IoTree42 enables control of actuators and automation through interfaces with visual programming tools. This allows for remote interventions without requiring prior programming experience. The incoming data can conveniently be visualized in dashboards or easily be exported for further analysis. The network consists of a central server and satellites (gateways) arranged in a star topology. Sensors and actuators connect to the gateway. The initial setup of the server and the gateways is automated, well documented, and can be done within minutes. Thanks to the increasing usage and the contribution of the community, the pool of code examples for sensors is growing and lowers the entry hurdle for users without programming background. IoTree42 is a fast-growing, multi-user, hardware and cloud agnostic, easy to deploy, privacy compliant and competitive solution compared to commercial IoT alternatives.