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Abstract In the future Internet of Things (IoT), smart objects will with peer CSOs, and exchange information with other kinds of
be the fundamental building blocks for the creation of cyber- IT devices/systems and human users.
physical smart pervasive systems in a great variety of application
domains ranging from health-care to transportation, from logistics The development of IoT smart objects, their management as
to smart grid and cities. The implementation of a smart objects- well as their integration in real applications, are complex
oriented IoT is a complex challenge as distributed, autonomous, challenges that require suitable models, techniques and
and heterogeneous IoT components at different levels of technology. To this purpose, we propose the synergic
abstractions and granularity need to cooperate among themselves, integration of two complementary mainstream paradigms for
with conventional networked IT infrastructures, and also with large-scale distributed computing: (i) Agent-based Computing
human users. In this paper, we propose the integration of two paradigm, which fully supports the development of
complementary mainstream paradigms for large-scale distributed decentralized, dynamic, cooperative and open systems, and (ii)
computing: Agents and Cloud. Agent-based computing can support the Cloud Computing paradigm, which efficiently empowers
the development of decentralized, dynamic, cooperating and open computing and storage resources of IT systems.
IoT systems in terms of multi-agent systems. Cloud computing can
enhance the IoT objects with high performance computing The Agent-based Computing paradigm models distributed
capabilities and huge storage resources. In particular, we introduce software systems in terms of multi-agent systems (MAS). In
a cloud-assisted and agent-oriented IoT architecture that will be particular, agents are networked software entities that can
realized through ACOSO, an agent-oriented middleware for perform specific tasks for a user and have a degree of
cooperating smart objects, and BodyCloud, a sensor-cloud intelligence that permits them to perform parts of their tasks
infrastructure for large-scale sensor-based systems. autonomously and to interact with their environment in a useful
manner. Agents are characterized by important features (e.g.
Keywords - Internet of Things; Cooperating Smart Objects; autonomy, sociality, rationality, responsiveness, proactiveness,
Agent-oriented Computing; Cloud Computing; Middleware situatedness, mobility) [3], which make them very suitable to
effectively model CSOs.
I. INTRODUCTION
The Cloud Computing paradigm provides flexible, robust
The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a world-wide and powerful storage and computing resources, which supports
network of heterogeneous cyberphysical objects such as extreme scale computation through virtualization, dynamic data
sensors, actuators, smart devices, smart objects, RFID, integration and fusion from multiple data sources [4]. Cloud
embedded computers. These objects, which have identities, computing layers (Infrastructure as a Service - IaaS, Platform
physical attributes, and communication interface for service as a Service - PaaS, Software as a Service - SaaS) and software
provision, are uniquely addressable and based on standard components (e.g., databases, data mining workflow tools) can
communication protocols [1]. They will be seamlessly be customized to support a distributed real-time system for the
embedded into the global information network to become management and analysis of IoT objects and data streams
active participants in business, logistics, information and social generated by IoT objects.
processes wherever and whenever needed and proper.
This paper proposes the high-level design of a cloud-
Different high-level approaches to model the IoT exist, assisted and agent-based architecture for smart objects-oriented
such as networking-oriented, object-based, service-oriented [2]. IoT that can be realized by integrating ACOSO [5, 6], an agent-
In this paper, we focus on a smart objects-oriented IoT that is oriented middleware for CSOs, and BodyCloud [7], a sensor-
modeled as a loosely coupled, decentralized system of cloud infrastructure for sensor streams collecting and analysis.
cooperative smart objects (CSOs). In particular, a CSO is a
smart object (i.e. a physical object augmented with The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section II
sensing/actuation, computing, memory and communication provides a brief overview of some main IoT concepts. In
capabilities) able to sense, store, and interpret information Section III, ACOSO, a middleware for smart objects
created within itself and in the environment where it is situated, development, is described, whereas in Section IV, BodyCloud,
act on its own by also performing directed actuation, cooperate a Sensor-Cloud architecture for the management of
decentralized sensor-based systems, is overviewed. Section V - The Smart Object layer, which makes it available
discusses a reference architecture for cloud-assisted and agent- programming frameworks and tools for the design
based IoT that can be implemented by integrating ACOSO and and implementation of SOs.
BodyCloud. Finally, conclusions are drawn and directions of
future work are delineated.