IoT Connectivity

IoTivity offers seamless device-to-device connectivity to address the emerging needs of the Internet of Things (IoT) through the open source reference implementation of the OIC (Open Interconnect Consortium) standard specifications. IoT connectivity (Iotcon) provides the means of using IoTivity in Tizen.

The Iotcon API is optional for Tizen Mobile, Wearable, and TV profiles, which means that it may not be supported on all mobile, wearable, and TV devices. The Iotcon API is supported on all Tizen emulators.

IoT connectivity is usually handled with a server and client. The server is responsible for creating and providing resources, and the client can access those resources through requests.

The main features of the Iotcon API include:

Prerequisites

To enable your application to use the IoT functionality:

  1. To use the Iotcon API (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications), the application has to request permission by adding the following privilege to the config.xml file:

    <tizen:privilege name="http://tizen.org/privilege/internet"/>
    
  2. To make your application visible in the official site for Tizen applications only for devices that support Iotcon, the application must specify the following feature in the config.xml file:

    <widget>
        <feature name="http://tizen.org/feature/iot.ocf"/>
    </widget>
    

    Additionally, to double-check the for Iotcon API support while the application is running, use the tizen.systeminfo.getCapability() method and enable or disable the code that needs the API, as needed:

    try {
        /* Checks whether a device supports the Iotcon API */
        var iotcon_feature = tizen.systeminfo.getCapability('http://tizen.org/feature/iot.ocf');
        console.log('Iotcon = ' + iotcon_feature);
    } catch (error) {
        console.log('Error name: ' + error.name + ', message: ' + error.message);
    }
    

For more information on OIC IoT standard specifications, see the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) Web site.

Creating a New Resource

To create a new resource:

  1. Initialize a server and set the device name:

    1. For managing secure virtual resources, a CBOR format file (Concise Binary Object Representation) must be available, preferably in the application local storage.

      var cborPath = 'path_to_my_app_storage/iotcon-server-test.dat';
      
    2. Initialize Iotcon and set a human-friendly name:

      tizen.iotcon.initialize(cborPath);
      tizen.iotcon.deviceName = 'Device 1';
      
    3. Get the Iotcon server object:

      var iotServer = tizen.iotcon.getServer();
      
  2. Prepare a resource:

    1. On the server side, prepare a variable for storing the resource object and its attributes. The following example shows a door resource:

      var doorResource;
      var doorAttributes = {openstate: 'open'};
      
    2. Prepare handlers for the get, put, post, delete, and observing requests from the client.

      The exact list of required handlers depends on the resource interfaces. The following example uses the “oic.if.b” interface.

      var requestCallbacks = {
          onget: function(request) {/* Handler code */},
          onput: function(request) {/* Handler code */},
          onpost: function(request) {/* Handler code */},
          ondelete: function(request) {/* Handler code */},
          onobserving: function(request, observeType, observeId) {/* Handler code */}
      }
      
    3. Fill the onget handler with a code that sends a response to the client. Other handlers remain empty in this example (you can modify attributes in them).

      To send a response to the client:

      1. Create a new Response object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) from the Request object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications): new tizen.Response(request)
      2. Create a new Representation object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications), to be sent inside the response: new tizen.Representation(doorResource.uriPath)
      3. Fill the Representation object with values from the resource object.
      4. Send the response: response.send()
      var requestCallbacks = {
          onget: function(request) {
              console.log('onget');
              var response = new tizen.Response(request);
              try {
                  var representation = new tizen.Representation(doorResource.uriPath);
                  representation.resourceTypes = doorResource.resourceTypes;
                  representation.resourceInterfaces = doorResource.resourceInterfaces;
                  representation.attributes = doorAttributes;
                  response.representation = representation;
                  response.result = 'SUCCESS';
              } catch (err) {
                  console.log(err.name + ': ' + err.message);
                  response.result = 'ERROR';
              }
              response.send();
          }
      }
      
    4. Create a resource using the prepared handlers, chosen resource path, types, and interfaces:

      var uriPath = '/door';
      var resourceTypes = ['core.door'];
      var resourceInterfaces = ['oic.if.b'];
      var policy = {
          isObservable: true,
          isDiscoverable: true
      };
      
      doorResource = iotServer.createResource(uriPath, resourceTypes, resourceInterfaces, requestCallbacks, policy);
      

Finding Remote Resources

To find remote resources:

  1. Initialize a client and set the device name:

    1. For managing secure virtual resources, a CBOR format file (Concise Binary Object Representation) must be available, preferably in the application local storage.

      var cborPath = 'path_to_my_app_storage/iotcon-client-test.dat';
      
    2. Initialize Iotcon and set a human-friendly name:

      tizen.iotcon.initialize(cborPath);
      tizen.iotcon.deviceName = 'Device 2';
      
    3. Get the Iotcon client object:

      var iotClient = tizen.iotcon.getClient();
      

    Now you can use the iotClient methods for IoT connectivity with the server.

  2. On the client side, search for resources on servers:

    1. Get the client object:

      var client = tizen.iotcon.getClient();
      
    2. Set the remote server address and connectivity type.

      The hostAddress value must be in the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) format (coap(s)://address:port), for example, coaps://[fe80::ae5a:14ff:fe24:b8fe]:12345 or coaps://192.168.1.10:12345. The null value indicates that the client communicates with all nodes (multicast).

      var hostAddress = null;
      var connectivityType = 'IP';
      
    3. Prepare a query. You can search for specific resourceType and resourceInterface values, and add an attribute filter:

      var query = {resourceType: 'core.door'};
      

      For more information, see the Query interface (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications).

    4. Find a resource:

      client.findResource(hostAddress, query, connectivityType, foundSuccess, onerror);
      

      The foundSuccess and onerror parameters are success and error callbacks for an async operation:

      function onerror(err) {
          console.log('Failed to find resource: ' + err.message);
      }
      

      The success callback lists information, types, and interfaces for every found remote resource:

      function foundSuccess(resource) {
          if (resource) {
              console.log(resource.uriPath);
              console.log(resource.hostAddress);
              console.log(resource.deviceId);
              var resourceTypes = resource.resourceTypes;
              for (var i in resourceTypes) {
                  console.log(resourceTypes[i]);
              }
              var resourceInterfaces = resource.resourceInterfaces;
              for (var i in resourceInterfaces) {
                  console.log(resourceInterfaces[i]);
              }
          }
      }
      

Retrieving Device and Platform Information

On the client side, you can get device and platform information from the server for a given remote resource:

  1. Prepare the error and success callbacks:

    function onerror(err) {
        console.log('Failed to find resource: ' + err.message);
    }
    
    function foundSuccess(platformInfo) {
        console.log(platformInfo.platformId);
        console.log(platformInfo.modelNumber);
        console.log(platformInfo.platformVersion);
        console.log(platformInfo.operatingSystemVersion);
        console.log(platformInfo.systemTime);
        /* Other PlatformInfo object attributes; see the API Reference for details */
    }
    
  2. Get the client object:

    var client = tizen.iotcon.getClient();
    
  3. Prepare the server address, connectivity type, and query (with optional filters):

    /* hostAddress must be a valid IP address, or null for all nodes (multicast) */
    var hostAddress = 'coaps://192.168.0.10:12345';
    var connectivityType = 'IP';
    /* null means no filter */
    var query = null;
    
  4. Retrieve the information:

    • Get the platform information from the remote server:

      client.findPlatformInfo(hostAddress, query, connectivityType, foundSuccess, onerror);
      

      The success callback is called with the PlatformInfo object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) as a parameter. You can access the platform information in the object attributes.

    • Get the device information from the remote server:

      client.findDeviceInfo(hostDeviceIpAddress, query, connectivityType, foundSuccess, onerror);
      

      The success callback is called with the DeviceInfo object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications) as a parameter. You can access the device information in the object attributes.

Sending GET Requests

On the client side, you can read resource attributes:

  1. Prepare a callback for reading the attributes:

    function onresponse(remoteResponse) {
        if (remoteResponse.result != 'SUCCESS') {
            console.log('the result is not SUCCESS');
    
            return;
        }
    
        var repr = remoteResponse.representation;
    
        /* You can retrieve attributes from Representation object in RemoteResponse */
        for (var key in repr.attributes) {
            console.log(key + ': ' + repr.attributes[key]);
        }
    }
    
  2. Find a remote resource.

  3. Once you have a RemoteResource object, use the methodGet() method to send a request to the server. For a list of resource attributes you can request, see the API Reference (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications).

    /* filter results, query = null means no filter */
    query['filter'] = {openstate: 'open'};
    resource.methodGet(onresponse, query, onerror);
    

    As a result, the onresponse or (optional) onerror callback is called.

Sending PUT Requests

On the client side, you can modify remote resource attributes using the PUT method:

  1. Prepare a callback that is called after the PUT request:

    function onresponse(remoteResponse) {
        console.log('result is ' + remoteResponse.result);
        /* remoteResponse.result is expected to be 'RESOURCE_CHANGED' */
    }
    
  2. Find a remote resource.

  3. Once you have a RemoteResource object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications), use the success callback to create a Representation object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications). This object represents the changes in attributes, types, and interfaces.

    representation = new tizen.Representation(uriPath);
    representation.resourceTypes = ['core.door'];
    representation.attributes = {openstate: 'closed'};
    
  4. Call the methodPut() method on the RemoteResource object:

    /* Optional filter, query = null means no filter */
    query['filter'] = {openstate: 'open'}
    resource.methodPut(representation, onresponse, query, onerror);
    

    After a successful request, the onresponse callback is called with the result and updated resource representation. On a failure, the (optional) onerror callback is called.

Observing Resource Changes

On the client side, you can observe remote resource attribute changes with the startObserving() method, and the isAlive state with the setResourceStateChangeListener() method:

  1. Find a remote resource.

  2. Prepare a callback for state change events:

    function onchanged(isAlive) {
        if (isAlive == true) {
            console.log('Remote resource is alive');
        } else {
            console.log('Remote resource is lost');
        }
    }
    
  3. Register a listener on the RemoteResource object (in mobile, wearable, and TV applications):

    resource.setResourceStateChangeListener(onchanged);
    
  4. When the notifications are no longer needed, deregister the listener:

    resource.unsetResourceStateChangeListener();
    

You can monitor attribute changes in a remote resource similarly using the startObserving() method on the RemoteResource object.

  • Dependencies
    • Tizen 3.0 and Higher for Mobile
    • Tizen 3.0 and Higher for Wearable
    • Tizen 3.0 and Higher for TV