Page 333 - From Smart Grid to Internet of Energy

Internet of things for smart grid applications Chapter 7 297

other hand, it is obvious that gateway studies on IEEE 802.15.4 based standards
pose challenges due to low-rate data transfer capacity. However, recently
improved IEEE 802.15.4 g standard can solve data rate and interoperability
issues by its efficiently operating capability in heterogenous networks and infer-
ence prevention. The specific protocol-based applications are another emerging
research area in the context of smart grid and IoT integration where CoAP,
AMQP, MQTT, and JMS are prominent ones. The security and privacy
researches are also expected to emerge due to several different communication
protocols and frameworks are utilized in IoT and smart grid interaction with
particular coding and encryption infrastructures. Some researchers surveyed
on this topic have remarked that public key infrastructure (PKI) usage may
tackle the security issues. The security concerns have also increased the
researches on PHY and MAC layer security, IEEE 802.15.4 end-to-end secu-
rity, network layer, IP and 6LoWPAN security, and routing security.
The discussed issues show that IoT systems are still emerging in its current
ICT technologies and many smart grid infrastructures are tranformed to IoT
technologies. Most of the research papers indicates that the progress of IoT
is not clearly predicted. Due to wider connectivity and improvement of cellular
technologies, it is assumed that billions of devices are going to be connected to
each other by WAN and LPWAN infrastructures. It is expected that predicted
progress will require tremendous growth in WSN, WMN, data clouds, ICT sys-
tems, and CPS infrastructures. One of the most crucial components of IoT and
smart grid integration is WSN that provides the main player of system data. It is
obvious that WSNs will become prevailing technology owing to featured prop-
erties of wireless devices and plenty of individual applications are expected to
be developed. QoS definition and support is one of the most important points to
be researched for WSNs.
The communication technologies and protocols that have been discussed
earlier are also expected to be researched and improved to meet the require-
ments of WSNs. In the researched literature, it is seen that layer structure of
IoT is not clear, and there are several approaches proposed in the literature.
Beyond the layer definitions, cross-layer operation will likely become more
important since it facilitates the interaction between separate layers and pro-
vides to achieve the required QoS. The surveyed PHY and MAC layer studies
have shown that WSN improvements should be met by appropriate services at
these layers. The studies on these layers also focused on channel access man-
agement, data packet conversion, and optimization methods. Therefore, it can
be said that cross-layer operation and layer based QoS researches can find place
in literature.
It is apparent that integration of IoT and smart grid is not a simple task since
many challenges on accessibility, reliability, availability, and management are
also brought by IoT system. To improve efficient and reliable services, service
providers and operators should address these challenges. A CPS including many
sensors, transducers, actuators, devices and operators that are connected to web-