Domotic evolution towards the IoT

The number of smart devices around us grows more and more every day, and with it the need to interface them in order to share data and activate functions. Each day, new scenarios and new applications emerge to make our lives easier in many different contexts. The race towards realizing a true Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm has already begun, and by now such reality is at hand. The work presented herein aims to offer a practicable, scalable solution for fulfilling many of the promises of the Internet of Things, even in contexts rendered problematic by the continuing presence of closed proprietary systems, lacking any compatibility with Internet protocols, such as the home automation industry. Starting with a major contribution by our laboratory to the field of interoperability among natively incompatible domotic technologies, a software module has been developed to enable any and all home automation devices to interface and interact via the IPv6 network protocol. Each and every home automation device can thereby interact actively with the surrounding world, as it has been made reachable through its own IPv6 address that identifies it uniquely on the Internet. The proposed system thereby advances users' ability to take full advantage of the benefits offered by the new IoT vision of the world.