Application and Service Architectures for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communications

机器对机器（M2M）通信（简称M2M）使无线传感器、致动器、智能抄表器和蜂窝电话等设备能够在很少或没有人为干预的情况下相互通信。它是大量应用程序的基础。目前，M2M的研究和标准化正在经历一个蓬勃发展的时期，特别是在通信和网络方面。应用方面的研究仍然不足，尽管他们的关键作用。该提案的长期目标是指定和验证M2M的原始和创新应用架构。 短期目标是规范和验证以下内容：M2M中间件的创新架构解决方案，考虑到M2M设备特性的新型高层协议，能够利用其他应用和服务基础设施（如云和新兴的第四代（4G）电信网络的演进分组核心（EPC））的原始集成构建块。目前的M2M中间件缺乏通用性，应用层协议只关注嵌入式控制功能，只有IP多媒体系统（IMS）的杠杆作用得到了广泛的研究。研究将遵循两条轨道。在第一个轨道上，更通用的中间件和应用层协议，目标功能，如交互/协作，除了嵌入式控制功能将被调查。第二条轨道，我们将研究云和EPC/4G的杠杆作用。M2M加拿大市场预计将在未来几年大幅增长。我们将通过培养至少3名博士生和6名硕士生为这一增长做出贡献。我们对IETF标准的贡献也将促进这一增长。此外，拟议的研究将为医疗和制造业等行业带来直接利益，其中M2M应用和服务发挥着关键作用。 它还将有助于制定横向办法。这将使中小型企业（SME）更容易进入M2M应用和服务竞技场，从而促进更广泛的应用和服务的开发。

Machine to Machine (M2M) communications (M2M for short) enables devices such as wireless sensors, actuators, smart meter readers and cellular phones to communicate with each other, with little or no human intervention. It is the basis of a plethora of applications. Currently, M2M research and standardization are enjoying a period of effervescence, especially in the communications and networking aspects. The application aspects remain under-researched despite their pivotal role. The long term objective of this proposal is to specify and validate original and innovative application architectures for M2M. The short term objectives are the specification and validation of the following: innovative architectural solutions for M2M middleware, novel higher layer protocols that take into account the specifics of M2M devices, original integration building blocks that enable the leverage of other applications and service infrastructures such as the cloud and the evolved packet core (EPC) of the emerging fourth generation (4G) telecommunication networks. Today's M2M middleware lack generality, the application layer protocols focus solely on embedded control functions, and only the leverage of the IP multimedia System (IMS) has been extensively researched. Two tracks will be followed for the research. On the first track more general middleware and application layer protocols that target functions such as interaction/collaboration in addition to the embedded control functions will be investigated. On the second track, we will research the leverage of cloud and EPC/4G. The M2M Canadian market is expected to grow significantly the coming years. We will contribute to this growth by training at least 3 PhD students and 6 master students. Our contributions to IETF standards will also foster this growth. Furthermore the proposed research will bring direct benefits to industries such as health and manufacturing where M2M applications and services play a key role. It will also contribute to the development of a horizontal approach. This will allow Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) to more easily enter the M2M applications and services arena, thereby promoting the development of a much wider range of applications and services.