Thesis title: Next Generation IoT technologies to boost 5G infrastructures performance
Communication technologies are developing very rapidly and are achieving several breakthrough
results. The advent of the 5 th generation mobile communication networks (5G) has completely
reshaped the domain of wireless technologies, allowing to reach high throughput, even in the order
of Gbps, and low latency, below a millisecond. Such an innovative concept allows to serve different
use cases with specific communication requirements, in fact, 5G paradigm provides a set of key
enabling technologies to support the Internet of Things paradigm towards the goal of ubiquitous
deployment. This thesis presents an overview for these key enabling technologies, in particular by
focusing on Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Edge/Fog computing. The thesis also discusses
the potential of 5G-based IoT in supporting vertical domains.
The railway vertical is investigated, by identifying the limitations of the diagnostic systems
currently available. A edge computing driven solution is then provided to autonomously traffic
steer towards terrestrial 5G and satellite connectivity. The conceived solution is realized as a
Proof-of-Concept and evaluated, representing a concrete step towards the realization of on-board
predictive maintenance systems.
The energy vertical is the second domain investigated by identifying the limits of 4G tech-
nologies towards the realization of the smart grid paradigm. A solution fostering the application
of synchrophasor measurement technology to dynamic distribution energy networks has been im-
plemented accordingly. An evaluation on a real energy monitoring testbed showed a noticeable
improvement in the availability of the system and the capability to readily respond to network
reconfigurations.
Short range connectivity services is the last considered domain. An analysis of the recently
standardized non-cellular 5G paradigm has been carried out, implementing an autonomous mesh
routing protocol for Bluetooth Low Energy version 5. The developed solution is shown to correctly
relay end-to-end messages outperforming flooding-based protocols. A use case implementation of
such a technology is finally presented as an Intrusion Detection System for Industry 4.0.
The work concludes by outlining possible future developments of the considered solutions.