The application layer is the ultimate value embodiment of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Addressing the needs of industrial applications, the application layer deeply integrates with industry-specific technologies, utilizing big data processing techniques to analyze data from the perception layer. This primarily includes monitoring production processes and tracking and recording the operational status of industrial machines. Ultimately, it generates results that guide enterprise and industry development, such as optimizing production processes, guiding production management, improving operational efficiency, and predicting industry trends, thus achieving widespread intelligentization. Furthermore, different enterprises can share the results of big data analysis and processing, which plays a significant role in promoting collaborative production and overall productivity across enterprises.
The application layer mainly comprises the service support layer and the application subset layer. The core function of the Internet of Things (IoT) is the collection, development, and utilization of information resources; therefore, this part is crucial. The main function of the service support layer is to create a dynamic data resource library that adapts to business needs and is updated in real time, based on the data collected from the underlying layers.
This section will employ various technologies such as metadata registration, metadata discovery, information resource catalogs, interoperability meta-models, classification coding, parallel computing, data mining, data harvesting, and intelligent search. It urgently needs to focus on developing standards for IoT data models, metadata, ontology, and services, and to carry out technologies such as IoT data architecture, information resource planning, information resource repository design, and maintenance. Based on this, various business scenarios can carry out corresponding data resource management according to their business needs and characteristics.
The main function of the business architecture layer is to design the IoT business architecture, application architecture, IT architecture, data architecture, technical reference model, and business operation view based on IoT business requirements, using design methodologies such as modeling, enterprise architecture, and SOA. The IoT has a wide scope, encompassing various application systems with different business needs, operating models, application systems, technical systems, information requirements, and product forms. Therefore, a unified and systematic business architecture is essential to meet the IoT's requirements for comprehensive real-time sensing, multi-objective business operations, and the integration of heterogeneous technical systems.
Each business application area can be further subdivided into business types, including various business services such as green agriculture, industrial monitoring, public safety, urban management, telemedicine, smart home, intelligent transportation, and environmental monitoring. Based on different business needs, the technologies of business, services, data resources, common support, network, and perception layer can be tailored to form different solutions. This part can undertake some presentation and human-computer interaction functions.
The application layer will provide unified information resource support for various businesses. By establishing and updating reusable information resource repositories and application service resource repositories in real time, various business services can be combined on demand according to user needs, significantly improving the adaptability of IoT application systems to business requirements. This layer can enhance the reusability of application system resources, laying the foundation for rapidly building new IoT applications and meeting the complex and ever-changing network resource application needs and services in the IoT environment. This part involves data resources, architecture, and business processes, which are crucial to the effectiveness of the IoT. There are few universally applicable information technology standards available, therefore, a large number of standards still need to be developed.
In addition to the above, the Internet of Things (IoT) also requires public technical support such as information security, IoT management, and service quality management, primarily adopting existing standards. Between each layer, information is not transmitted unidirectionally but involves interaction and control, and the transmitted information is diverse. The most crucial aspect is the handling of massive data collection, identification and resolution, transmission, and intelligent processing related to object information, integrating with various business applications to fulfill specific business functions. Therefore, the system architecture and standards framework of the IoT form a closely interconnected whole, guiding the direction and scope of IoT research.
