Cloud Computing, REST and Mashups to
Simplify RFID Applications
Dominique GuinardChristian Floerkemeier
Sanjay SarmaMIT Auto-ID Labs & LMP / ETH Zurich
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 1
EPC Network in a Nutshell
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 2
Motivation
• RFID, EPC Network-based applications have a lot of potential:– Combined with other IoT devices (sensors, mobile
phones, etc.)– Combined with service on the Web (visualization,
storage, etc.)– SMEs (Small and medium enterprises) yet to convince!
• Yet, lack of adoption of EPC Network software standards:– Complex (install, maintenance, integration) software
stack
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 3
1) Deploying and Maintaining EPC Systems
• Pain-Point
– Complex and Expensive Backend Deployment and Maintenance
• Web Remedy:
– Virtualization & Cloud Computing
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 4
[www.flickr.com/photos/sunep]
A Typical Fosstrak Deployment…
1
2 3
45
6
8 79
10
11) Java App Contrainer(e.g., Tomcat)
12) Java Enterprise SDK ~12 software components for a typical RFID deployment!!
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 5
Deploying and Maintaining EPC Systems
Remedy: Virtualization & Cloud Computing
• Run your EPC Network server in 5 minutes!
• Cloud appliance:– Full EPC Network server
– Admin Web interface
– Fully configured Tomcat Instance
• 2 VMs:– Amazon EC2
(public cloud)
– VMWare (private cloud)
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 6
Deploying and Maintaining EPC Systems
2) Developing EPC Applications
• Pain-Points
– Complicated Applications Developments:• Mobile Apps
• Web Apps
• Web Remedies
– RESTful APIs
– Real-time Web
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 7
[www.flickr.com/photos/jgarber/]
Remedy: EPCIS Webadapter
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 8
http://.../location/migros:basel/reader/warehouse:incoming/time/2009-12-21T13:22:04.000Z/event/EPC
“Giving RFID a REST: Building a Web-Enabled EPCIS.” Proc. of IoT 2010
Developing EPC Applications
Benefits and Shortcomings
• Easier/Possible to build:
– Mobile apps
– Web apps
• Shortcomings:
– How about real-time?
– Beyond EPCIS?
• « Reader » push?
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 9
Developing EPC Applications
Remedy 4: HTML5 Websockets
• Full-duplex in the browser
• Part of the soon standard HTML 5 drafts.
• Subscription through Javascript
• Increasing number of browsers support
[Generated with websequencediagrams.com]6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 10
Developing EPC Applications
tPusher
• Web Push Service
• Supports several transports:– Websockets
– Long-polling / Comet
– Streaming
• Client (mobile/Web) application in 10 lines!
• Based on Atmosphere/Jersey and its JQuery Plugin
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 11
Developing EPC Applications
Sample App: Mobile Reader Monitor
• Use-case:– Scan QR code
– Monitor an RFID reader (via LLRP/ALE) live from any mobile browser
• Technology:– Fosstrak EPC Cloud
– tPusher
– ~20 lines of Javascriptcompatible with most mobile browsers
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 12
Developing EPC Applications
3) Enabling Business Use-Cases
• Pain-Points:
– Tedious Business Case Modeling
– Tedious Cross-IoTSystems Integration
• Web Remedy:
– RFID Mashup editor and engine
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 13
[www.flickr.com/photos/sunep]
[www.flickr.com/photos/dantheurer]
Remedy 5: Mashup Editor for RFID
• Modularize simple components of typical RFID applications
• Offer a MashupFramework + Engine:– Users can build their own
use cases
• Protoype based on:– Browser-based (Javascript)
– Clickscript.ch added:• Web push support
• Serveral RFID/WoTmodules
IP
Reader Name
EPC
IP
Business step
EPCEvents(json)
True/False
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 14
Enabling Business Use-Cases
Clickscript-based RFID Mashup Editor
[Clickscript.ch]
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 15
Enabling Business Use-Cases
All together: Fosstrak EPC Cloud
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 16
Enabling BusinessUse-Cases
Deploying and Maintaining EPC
Systems
Developing EPC Applications
Future Work
• Qualitative/quantiative evaluation of the EPC Cloud project:– Latency? Quality of Service?– Real-world deployment/experience?
• EPC Cloud as SAAS (Software as a Service) plateform :– Several SME’s on one (scalable) instance of the EPC Cloud
• RFID use-cases as mashup modules:– Study most important RFID uses-cases– Extract (mashup) modules– Provide a scalable execution environment (engine)
• Open-sourcing the EPC Cloud?
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 17
Thanks for your attention…
• Special thanks to:
– Lukas Naef (Clickscript)
– Mathias Mueller (Webadapter)
• Contact:
– www.guinard.org
• Open Source Software & Details:– www.webofthings.com/rfid
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 18
BACKUPYou want more? Well here we go!
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 19
APIs to Foster Public Innovation
• Study with ~70 developers:– REST seen as more adapted
to smart things
– REST seen as easier to learn• => Fosters public innovation
• Security as the biggest drawback of REST:– REST offers security over the
communication channel (HTTPS)
– WS-* offers endpoint to endpoint security (WS-Security)
Credit Suisse, May 30, 2011 Dominique Guinard ETH / MIT20 / 50
Capture Webadapter
• Modular Capture-App
– Listening for ALE events
– Multiplexer:• 1 event -> n Connectors
– Control through RESTfulAPI.
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 21
Project Goals
1. Reduce the deployment complexity of standard RFID/IoT software stacks.
2. Allow easier (cheaper), more lightweight (mobile/WSNs) RFID application development.
3. Enable RFID mashability:
– Composition of RFID/WSNs/appliances and existing services on the Web
– Allow anyone to implement simple use-cases
…. By applying Web (of Things) blueprints!
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 22
Sample App: Mobile EAS
• Mashup:– Get EPCs from readers– Where products (EPC) already
sold?– If not take a picture with
Webcam– Push (websocket) picture to
all clients on …/thefts
• Mobile:– Subscribe to /thefts– Display snapshot and product
info– Implemented with the Sencha
Touch Javascript Library.
6/13/2011 Dominique Guinard, MIT 23