IIC publishes white paper offering guidance on improving IOT interoperability

The Industry IoT Consortium (IIC) released the Identification of Information Entities White Paper. The paper is designed to help organizations evaluate and evolve identifier systems for interoperability in IoT systems.

IIC explains that identifiers define entities for data exchange between systems. The entities needing an ID range from simple devices and single variables to complex systems of systems. Today, the numbers and types of connected devices and applications in industrial and business sectors have grown rapidly. As a result, many different identification systems for the entities found in IoT systems have emerged.

“Identifiers are needed so that you know what entities (both physical and abstract) you are communicating with. The motivation is to know with whom and what you are communicating. The communication partners need a common understanding of the data transferred,” said Stephen Mellor, IIC CTO. “This paper describes existing identification schemes and points the way towards core standards that will emerge over time, based on lessons learned from current initiatives. The Technology Working Group of the Industry IoT Consortium is leading the way towards more interconnected IoT systems.”

The new whitepaper defines identifiers and their use. It also provides examples of commonly used identifiers and references associations involved in specifying identifiers. The IIC Technology Working Group authored the white paper.