ITU Internet of Things Compendium 2016

Unleashing the
potential of the
Internet of Things

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FOREWORD
The years approaching 2020 will see Internet of
Things (IoT) technologies enabling the intercon-
nection of billions of devices, things and objects
to achieve the efficiencies borne of innovations
such as intelligent buildings and transportation
systems, and smart energy and water networks.
IoT is contributing to the convergence of industry
sectors, with utilities, healthcare and transporta-
tion among the many sectors with a stake in the
future of IoT. The new ITU-T Study Group 20 es-
tablished in June 2015 provides the specialized
IoT standardization platform necessary for this
convergence to rest on a cohesive set of interna-
tional standards.
Today we are faced with the challenge of address-
ing the standardization requirements of the many
vertical industries applying information and com-
munication technologies (ICTs) as enabling tech-
nologies. This is particularly evident in the field
of IoT, where IoT platforms are being developed
independently, according to the specific needs of
each sector. This divergence in IoT development
and deployment has led to an urgent need for
stakeholders to come together to mitigate the
risk of data “silos” emerging in different industry
sectors.
ITU-T Study Group 20 has taken up this challenge,
providing government, industry and academia
with a unique global platform to collaborate in the
development of international IoT standards. One
of the group’s primary objectives is to support
the creation of an inclusive, interoperable IoT
ecosystem capable of making full use of the data
generated by IoT-enabled systems.
The Study Group is building on over ten years
of ITU-T experience in IoT standardization, de-
veloping international standards to enable the
coordinated development of IoT technologies,
including radio-frequency identification, ubiqui-
tous sensor networks and machine-to-machine
communications. A central part of this study is
the standardization of end-to-end architectures
for IoT, and mechanisms for the interoperabili-
ty of IoT applications and datasets employed by
various vertical industries. An important aspect
of the group’s work is the development of stand-
ards that leverage IoT technologies to address ur-
ban-development challenges.
This flipbook presents a compendium of the first
set of ITU international standards for IoT, provid-
ing a resource of great value to standards experts
interested in contributing to the work of ITU-T
Study Group 20. This compendium is also expect-
ed to assist the wide variety of stakeholders in-
terested in implementing these IoT standards or
calling for adherence to standards in policy and
regulatory frameworks relevant to IoT. This com-
pendium will be updated continuously, according
to the progress of IoT developments in ITU.
Chaesub Lee
Director, ITU Telecommunication
Standardization Bureau

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
1 General 1
Y.4000/Y.2060 Overview of theInternet of things ....................................................................................................................3
Y.4001/F.748.2 Machine socialization: Overview and reference model .................................................................21
Y.4002/F.748.3 Machine socialization: Relation management models anddescriptions .........................35
2 Definitions andterminologies 53
Y.4050/Y.2069 Terms and definitions for the Internet of things...................................................................................55
3 Requirements and Use of Cases 65
Y.4100/Y.2066 Common requirements of the Internet of Things...............................................................................67
Y.4101/Y.2067 Common requirements and capabilities of a gateway for Internetof Things
applications........................................................................................................................................................................95
Y.4102/Y.2074 Requirements for Internet of things devices and operation of Internet of things
applications during disasters.............................................................................................................................117
Y.4103/F.748.0 Common requirements for Internet of things (IoT) applications.........................................131
Y.4104/F.744 Service description and requirements for ubiquitous sensor network
middleware......................................................................................................................................................................145
Y.4105/Y.2221 Requirements for support of ubiquitous sensor network (USN) applications and
services in the NGN environment.................................................................................................................161
Y.4106/F.747.3 Requirements and functional model for a ubiquitous network robot platform
that supports ubiquitous sensor network applications and services................................189
Y.4107/F.747.6 Requirements for water quality assessment services using ubiquitous sensor
networks (USNs)..........................................................................................................................................................209
Y.4108/Y.2213 NGN service requirements and capabilities for network aspects of applications
and services using tag-based identification...........................................................................................223
Y.4109/Y.2061 Requirements for the support of machine-oriented communication applications
in the next generation network environment......................................................................................255
Y.4110/Y.2065 Service and capability requirements for e-health monitoring services...........................297
Y.4111/Y.2076 Semantics based requirements and framework of the Internet of Things...................333
Y.4112/Y.2077 Requirements of the Plug and Play capability of the Internet of Things........................357
4 Infrastructure, Connectivity andNetworks 371
Y.4250/Y.2222 Sensor control networks and related applications in a next generation
network environment.............................................................................................................................................373
Y.4251/F.747.1 Capabilities of ubiquitous sensor networks for supporting the requirements of
smart metering services........................................................................................................................................401
Y.4252/Y.2064 Energy saving using smart objects in home networks..................................................................419

TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 Frameworks, Architectures and Protocols 435
Y.4400/Y.2063 Framework of the web of things....................................................................................................................437
Y.4401/Y.2068 Functional framework and capabilities of the Internet of Things........................................463
Y.4402/F.747.4 Requirements and functional architecture for the open ubiquitous sensor
network service platform.....................................................................................................................................511
Y.4403/Y.2026 Functional requirements and architecture of the next generation network for
support of ubiquitous sensor network applications and services.......................................531
Y.4404/Y.2062 Framework of object-to-object communication for ubiquitous networking
in next generation networks..............................................................................................................................553
Y.4405/H.621 Architecture of a system for multimedia information access triggered by
tag-based identification.........................................................................................................................................573
Y.4406/Y.2016 Functional requirements and architecture of the NGN for applications
and services using tag-based identification...........................................................................................601
Y.4407/Y.2281 Framework of networked vehicle services and applications using NGN........................627
Y.4408/Y.2075 Capability framework for e-health monitoring services..............................................................657
Y.4409/Y.2070 Requirements and architecture of the home energy management system
and home network services...............................................................................................................................679
Y.4410/Y.229 Architectural overview of next generation home networks.....................................................713
Y.4411/Q.3052 Overview of application programming interfaces and protocols for the
machine-to-machine service layer................................................................................................................727
Y.4412/F.747.8 Requirements and reference architecture for audience-selectable media
service framework in the IoT environment............................................................................................749
Y.4413/F.748.5 Requirements and reference architecture of the machine-to-machine
service layer....................................................................................................................................................................767
Y.4414/H.623 Web of things service architecture..............................................................................................................787
Y.4450/Y.2238 Overview of Smart Farming based on networks................................................................................809
6 Services, Applications, Computation andData Processing 829
Y.4551/F.771 Service description and requirements for multimedia information access
triggered by tag-based identification..........................................................................................................831
Y.4552/Y.2078 Application support models of the Internet of Things..................................................................849
Y.4553 Requirements of smartphone as sink node for IoT applications and services...........903
7 Management, Controland Performance 923
Y.4700/F.747.2 Deployment guidelines for ubiquitous sensor network applications
and services for mitigating climate change............................................................................................925
Y.4701/H.641 SNMP-based sensor network management framework..............................................................941
Y.4702 Common requirements and capabilities of device management in the
Internet of things........................................................................................................................................................957
8 Identification and Security 977
Y.4800/F.747.5 Requirements and functional architecture of an automatic location identification
system for ubiquitous sensor network (USN) applications and services .......................979
Y.4801/F.748.1 Requirements and common characteristics of the IoT identifier for
the IoT service...............................................................................................................................................................999
Y.4802/H.642.2 Multimedia information access triggeredtag-based identification –
Registration procedures for identifiers...................................................................................................1015
Y.4804/H.642.1 Multimedia information access triggered by tag-based identification –
identification scheme...........................................................................................................................................1025

Y.4000/Y.2060
Overview of the
Internet of things

1 Unleashing the potential of the Internet of Things
4 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
Overview of the Internet of things
Summary
Recommendation ITU-T Y.2060 provides an overview of the Internet of things (IoT). It clarifies the
concept and scope of the IoT, identifies the fundamental characteristics and high-level requirements
of the IoT and describes the IoT reference model. The ecosystem and business models are also
provided in an informative appendix.
History
Edition Recommendation Approval Study Group
1.0 ITU-T Y.2060 2012-06-15 13
Keywords
Device, Internet of things, physical thing, reference model, thing, virtual thing.

Unleashing the potential of the Internet of Things 1
Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 5
Table of Contents
Page
1 Scope............................................................................................................................. 7
2 References..................................................................................................................... 7
3 Definitions .................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Terms defined elsewhere................................................................................ 7
3.2 Terms defined in this Recommendation......................................................... 7
4 Abbreviations and acronyms ........................................................................................ 8
5 Conventions.................................................................................................................. 8
6 Introduction of the IoT.................................................................................................. 8
6.1 Concept of the IoT.......................................................................................... 8
6.2 Technical overview of the IoT ....................................................................... 9
7 Fundamental characteristics and high-level requirements of the IoT.......................... 11
7.1 Fundamental characteristics ........................................................................... 11
7.2 High-level requirements ................................................................................. 12
8 IoT reference model...................................................................................................... 13
8.1 Application layer ............................................................................................ 13
8.2 Service support and application support layer................................................ 13
8.3 Network layer ................................................................................................. 14
8.4 Device layer.................................................................................................... 14
8.5 Management capabilities................................................................................ 15
8.6 Security capabilities........................................................................................ 15
Appendix I  IoT ecosystem and business models.................................................................. 16
I.1 Business roles ................................................................................................. 16
I.2 Business models ............................................................................................. 17
Bibliography............................................................................................................................. 19

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 7
Recommendation ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060
Overview of the Internet of things
1 Scope
This Recommendation provides an overview of the Internet of things (IoT) with the main objective
of highlighting this important area for future standardization.
More specifically, this Recommendation covers the following:
– IoT-related terms and definitions
– concept and scope of the IoT
– characteristics of the IoT
– high-level requirements of the IoT
– IoT reference models.
IoT ecosystem and business models-related information is provided in Appendix I.
2 References
None.
3 Definitions
3.1 Terms defined elsewhere
This Recommendation uses the following term defined elsewhere:
3.1.1 next generation network (NGN) [b-ITU-T Y.2001]: A packet-based network which is
able to provide telecommunication services and able to make use of multiple broadband,
QoS-enabled transport technologies and in which service-related functions are independent from
underlying transport-related technologies. It enables unfettered access for users to networks and to
competing service providers and/or services of their choice. It supports generalized mobility which
will allow consistent and ubiquitous provision of services to users.
3.2 Terms defined in this Recommendation
This Recommendation defines the following terms:
3.2.1 device: With regard to the Internet of things, this is a piece of equipment with the
mandatory capabilities of communication and the optional capabilities of sensing, actuation, data
capture, data storage and data processing.
3.2.2 Internet of things (IoT): A global infrastructure for the information society, enabling
advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and evolving
interoperable information and communication technologies.
NOTE 1 – Through the exploitation of identification, data capture, processing and communication
capabilities, the IoT makes full use of things to offer services to all kinds of applications, whilst ensuring that
security and privacy requirements are fulfilled.
NOTE 2 – From a broader perspective, the IoT can be perceived as a vision with technological and societal
implications.
3.2.3 thing: With regard to the Internet of things, this is an object of the physical world (physical
things) or the information world (virtual things), which is capable of being identified and integrated
into communication networks.

8 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
4 Abbreviations and acronyms
This Recommendation uses the following abbreviations and acronyms:
2G Second Generation
3G Third Generation
AAA Authentication, Authorization and Accounting
CAN Controller Area Network
DSL Digital Subscriber Line
FCAPS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IoT Internet of Things
ITS Intelligent Transport Systems
LTE Long Term Evolution
NGN Next Generation Network
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
5 Conventions
None.
6 Introduction of the IoT
6.1 Concept of the IoT
The Internet of things (IoT) can be perceived as a far-reaching vision with technological and
societal implications.
From the perspective of technical standardization, the IoT can be viewed as a global infrastructure
for the information society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual)
things based on existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies
(ICT).
Through the exploitation of identification, data capture, processing and communication capabilities,
the IoT makes full use of "things" to offer services to all kinds of applications, whilst ensuring that
NOTE – The IoT is expected to greatly integrate leading technologies, such as technologies related to
advanced machine-to-machine communication, autonomic networking, data mining and decision-making,
security and privacy protection and cloud computing, with technologies for advanced sensing and actuation.
As shown in Figure 1, the IoT adds the dimension "Any THING communication" to the information
and communication technologies (ICTs) which already provide "any TIME" and "any PLACE"
communication.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 9
Y.2060(12)_F01
Any TIME communication
- on the move
- night
- daytime
- outdoor
- indoor (away from the computer)
- at the computer
Any PLACE communication
- between computers
- human to human, not using a computer
- human to thing, using generic equipment
- thing to thing
Any THING communication
Figure 1 – The new dimension introduced in the Internet of things [b-ITU Report]
Regarding the IoT, things are objects of the physical world (physical things) or of the information
world (virtual world) which are capable of being identified and integrated into communication
networks. Things have associated information, which can be static and dynamic.
Physical things exist in the physical world and are capable of being sensed, actuated and connected.
Examples of physical things include the surrounding environment, industrial robots, goods and
electrical equipment.
Virtual things exist in the information world and are capable of being stored, processed and
accessed. Examples of virtual things include multimedia content and application software.
6.2 Technical overview of the IoT
Figure 2 shows the technical overview of the IoT.
communication
networks
gateway
physical thing
communication
Physical world Information world
virtual thing
mapping
device
a
b
c
a communication via gateway
b communication without gateway
c direct communication
Figure 2 – Technical overview of the IoT

10 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
A physical thing may be represented in the information world via one or more virtual things
(mapping), but a virtual thing can also exist without any associated physical thing.
A device is a piece of equipment with the mandatory capabilities of communication and optional
capabilities of sensing, actuation, data capture, data storage and data processing. The devices collect
various kinds of information and provide it to the information and communication networks for
further processing. Some devices also execute operations based on information received from the
information and communication networks.
Devices communicate with other devices: they communicate through the communication network
via a gateway (case a), through the communication network without a gateway (case b) or directly,
that is without using the communication network (case c). Also, combinations of cases a and c, and
cases b and c are possible; for example, devices can communicate with other devices using direct
communication through a local network (i.e., a network providing local connectivity between
devices and between devices and a gateway, such as an ad-hoc network) (case c) and then
communication through the communication network via a local network gateway (case a).
NOTE 1 – Although Figure 2 shows only interactions taking place in the physical world (communications
between devices), interactions also take place in the information world (exchanges between virtual things)
and between the physical world and the information world (exchanges between physical things and virtual
things).
The IoT applications include various kinds of applications, e.g., "intelligent transportation systems",
"smart grid", "e-health" or "smart home". The applications can be based on proprietary application
platforms, but can also be built upon common service/application support platform(s) providing
generic enabling capabilities, such as authentication, device management, charging and accounting.
The communication networks transfer data captured by devices to applications and other devices, as
well as instructions from applications to devices. The communication networks provide capabilities
for reliable and efficient data transfer. The IoT network infrastructure may be realized via existing
networks, such as conventional TCP/IP-based networks, and/or evolving networks, such as next
generation networks (NGN) [b-ITU-T Y.2001].
Figure 3 shows the different types of devices and the relationship between devices and physical
things.
Y.2060(12)_F03
Data capturing
device
Data carrying
device
Data
carrier
Sensing/actuating
device General device
Communication networks
Physical
thing
Physical thing
Physical
thing
Figure 3 – Types of devices and their relationship with physical things
NOTE 2 – A "general device" is also a (set of) physical thing(s).
The minimum requirement of the devices in the IoT is their support of communication capabilities.
Devices are categorized into data-carrying devices, data-capturing devices, sensing and actuating
devices and general devices as described as follows:

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 11
– Data-carrying device: A data-carrying device is attached to a physical thing to indirectly
connect the physical thing with the communication networks.
– Data-capturing device: A data-capturing device refers to a reader/writer device with the
capability to interact with physical things. The interaction can happen indirectly via
data-carrying devices, or directly via data carriers attached to the physical things. In the
first case, the data-capturing device reads information on a data-carrying device and can
optionally also write information given by the communication networks on the
data-carrying device.
NOTE 3 – Technologies used for interaction between data-capturing devices and data-carrying
devices or data carriers include radio frequency, infrared, optical and galvanic driving.
– Sensing and actuating device: A sensing and actuating device may detect or measure
information related to the surrounding environment and convert it into digital electronic
signals. It may also convert digital electronic signals from the information networks into
operations. Generally, sensing and actuating devices form local networks communicate
with each other using wired or wireless communication technologies and use gateways to
connect to the communication networks.
– General device: A general device has embedded processing and communication capabilities
and may communicate with the communication networks via wired or wireless
technologies. General devices include equipment and appliances for different IoT
application domains, such as industrial machines, home electrical appliances and smart
phones.
7 Fundamental characteristics and high-level requirements of the IoT
7.1 Fundamental characteristics
The fundamental characteristics of the IoT are as follows:
– Interconnectivity: With regard to the IoT, anything can be interconnected with the global
information and communication infrastructure.
– Things-related services: The IoT is capable of providing thing-related services within the
constraints of things, such as privacy protection and semantic consistency between physical
things and their associated virtual things. In order to provide thing-related services within
the constraints of things, both the technologies in physical world and information world
will change.
– Heterogeneity: The devices in the IoT are heterogeneous as based on different hardware
platforms and networks. They can interact with other devices or service platforms through
different networks.
– Dynamic changes: The state of devices change dynamically, e.g., sleeping and waking up,
connected and/or disconnected as well as the context of devices including location and
speed. Moreover, the number of devices can change dynamically.
– Enormous scale: The number of devices that need to be managed and that communicate
with each other will be at least an order of magnitude larger than the devices connected to
the current Internet. The ratio of communication triggered by devices as compared to
communication triggered by humans will noticeably shift towards device-triggered
communication. Even more critical will be the management of the data generated and their
interpretation for application purposes. This relates to semantics of data, as well as efficient
data handling.

12 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
7.2 High-level requirements
The following provide high-level requirements which are relevant for the IoT:
– Identification-based connectivity: The IoT needs to support that the connectivity between a
thing and the IoT is established based on the thing's identifier. Also, this includes that
possibly heterogeneous identifiers of the different things are processed in a unified way.
– Interoperability: Interoperability needs to be ensured among heterogeneous and distributed
systems for provision and consumption of a variety of information and services.
– Autonomic networking: Autonomic networking (including self-management,
self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing and self-protecting techniques and/or
mechanisms) needs to be supported in the networking control functions of the IoT, in order
to adapt to different application domains, different communication environments and large
numbers and types of devices.
– Autonomic services provisioning: The services need to be able to be provided by capturing,
communicating and processing automatically the data of things based on the rules
configured by operators or customized by subscribers. Autonomic services may depend on
the techniques of automatic data fusion and data mining.
– Location-based capabilities: Location-based capabilities need to be supported in the IoT.
Something-related communications and services will depend on the location information of
things and/or users. It is needed to sense and track the location information automatically.
Location-based communications and services may be constrained by laws and regulations,
and should comply with security requirements.
– Security: In the IoT, every 'thing' is connected which results in significant security threats,
such as threats towards confidentiality, authenticity and integrity of both data and services.
A critical example of security requirements is the need to integrate different security
policies and techniques related to the variety of devices and user networks in the IoT.
– Privacy protection: Privacy protection needs to be supported in the IoT. Many things have
their owners and users. Sensed data of things may contain private information concerning
their owners or users. The IoT needs to support privacy protection during data transmission,
aggregation, storage, mining and processing. Privacy protection should not set a barrier to
data source authentication.
– High quality and highly secure human body related services: High quality and highly secure
human body related services needs to be supported in the IoT. Different countries have
different laws and regulations on these services.
NOTE – Human body related services refer to the services provided by capturing, communicating
and processing the data related to human static features and dynamic behaviour with or without
human intervention.
– Plug and play: Plug and play capability needs to be supported in the IoT in order to enable
on-the-fly generation, composition or the acquiring of semantic-based configurations for
seamless integration and cooperation of interconnected things with applications, and
responsiveness to application requirements.
– Manageability: Manageability needs to be supported in the IoT in order to ensure normal
network operations. IoT applications usually work automatically without the participation
of people, but their whole operation process should be manageable by the relevant parties.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 13
8 IoT reference model
Figure 4 shows the IoT reference model. It is composed of four layers as well as management
capabilities and security capabilities which are associated with the four layers.
The four layers are as follows:
– application layer
– service support and application support layer
– network layer
– device layer.
Figure 4 – IoT reference model
8.1 Application layer
The application layer contains IoT applications.
8.2 Service support and application support layer
The service support and application support layer consists of the following two capability
groupings:
– Generic support capabilities: The generic support capabilities are common capabilities
which can be used by different IoT applications, such as data processing or data storage.
These capabilities may be also invoked by specific support capabilities, e.g., to build other
specific support capabilities.
– Specific support capabilities: The specific support capabilities are particular capabilities
which cater for the requirements of diversified applications. In fact, they may consist of
various detailed capability groupings, in order to provide different support functions to
different IoT applications.

14 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
8.3 Network layer
This consists of the following two types of capabilities:
– Networking capabilities: provide relevant control functions of network connectivity, such
as access and transport resource control functions, mobility management or authentication,
authorization and accounting (AAA).
– Transport capabilities: focus on providing connectivity for the transport of IoT service and
application specific data information, as well as the transport of IoT-related control and
management information.
8.4 Device layer
Device layer capabilities can be logically categorized into two kinds of capabilities:
– Device capabilities:
The device capabilities include but are not limited to:
Direct interaction with the communication network: Devices are able to gather and upload
information directly (i.e., without using gateway capabilities) to the communication
network and can directly receive information (e.g., commands) from the communication
network.
Indirect interaction with the communication network: Devices are able to gather and upload
information to the communication network indirectly, i.e., through gateway capabilities. On
the other side, devices can indirectly receive information (e.g., commands) from the
communication network.
Ad-hoc networking: Devices may be able to construct networks in an ad-hoc manner in
some scenarios which need increased scalability and quick deployment.
Sleeping and waking-up: Device capabilities may support "sleeping" and "waking-up"
mechanisms to save energy.
NOTE – The support in a single device of both capabilities of direct interaction with the communication
network and indirect interaction with the communication network is not mandatory.
– Gateway capabilities:
The gateway capabilities include but are not limited to:
Multiple interfaces support: At the device layer, the gateway capabilities support devices
connected through different kinds of wired or wireless technologies, such as a controller
area network (CAN) bus, ZigBee, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. At the network layer, the gateway
capabilities may communicate through various technologies, such as the public switched
telephone network (PSTN), second generation or third generation (2G or 3G) networks,
long-term evolution networks (LTE), Ethernet or digital subscriber lines (DSL).
Protocol conversion: There are two situations where gateway capabilities are needed. One
situation is when communications at the device layer use different device layer protocols,
e.g., ZigBee technology protocols and Bluetooth technology protocols, the other one is
when communications involving both the device layer and network layer use different
protocols e.g., a ZigBee technology protocol at the device layer and a 3G technology
protocol at the network layer.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 15
8.5 Management capabilities
In a similar way to traditional communication networks, IoT management capabilities cover the
traditional fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security (FCAPS) classes, i.e., fault
management, configuration management, accounting management, performance management and
security management.
The IoT management capabilities can be categorized into generic management capabilities and
specific management capabilities.
Essential generic management capabilities in the IoT include:
– device management, such as remote device activation and de-activation, diagnostics,
firmware and/or software updating, device working status management;
– local network topology management;
– traffic and congestion management, such as the detection of network overflow conditions
and the implementation of resource reservation for time-critical and/or life-critical data
flows.
Specific management capabilities are closely coupled with application-specific requirements, e.g.,
smart grid power transmission line monitoring requirements.
8.6 Security capabilities
There are two kinds of security capabilities: generic security capabilities and specific security
capabilities. Generic security capabilities are independent of applications. They include:
– at the application layer: authorization, authentication, application data confidentiality and
integrity protection, privacy protection, security audit and anti-virus;
– at the network layer: authorization, authentication, use data and signalling data
confidentiality, and signalling integrity protection;
– at the device layer: authentication, authorization, device integrity validation, access control,
data confidentiality and integrity protection.
Specific security capabilities are closely coupled with application-specific requirements, e.g.,
mobile payment, security requirements.

16 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
Appendix I
IoT ecosystem and business models
(This appendix does not form an integral part of this Recommendation.)
I.1 Business roles
The IoT ecosystem is composed of a variety of business players. Each business player plays at least
one business role, but more roles are possible. The identified IoT business roles are shown in
Figure I.1.
Platform provider Application provider
Application customer
Network provider
Device provider
Figure I.1 – IoT ecosystem
NOTE – The identified business roles and their relationships as described in the IoT ecosystem do not
represent all possible relevant roles and relationships which can be found across IoT business deployments.
I.1.1 Device provider
The device provider is responsible for devices providing raw data and/or content to the network
provider and application provider according to the service logic.
I.1.2 Network provider
The network provider plays a central role in the IoT ecosystem. In particular, the network provider
performs the following main functions:
– access and integration of resources provided by other providers;
– support and control of the IoT capabilities infrastructure;
– offering of IoT capabilities, including network capabilities and resource exposure to other
providers.
I.1.3 Platform provider
The platform provider provides integration capabilities and open interfaces. Different platforms can
provide different capabilities to application providers. Platform capabilities include typical
integration capabilities, as well as data storage, data processing or device management. Support for
different types of IoT applications is also possible.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 17
I.1.4 Application provider
The application provider utilizes capabilities or resources provided by the network provider, device
provider and platform provider, in order to provide IoT applications to application customers.
I.1.5 Application customer
The application customer is the user of IoT application(s) provided by the application provider.
NOTE – An application customer may represent multiple applications users.
I.2 Business models
The IoT ecosystem players may have a variety of relationships in real deployments.
The motivations for this variety of relationships are based on different possible business models.
This appendix examines only some IoT business models from the perspective of telecom service
and network operators. From this perspective, five business models are described below.
I.2.1 Model 1
In model 1, player A operates the device, network, platform and applications and serves the
application customer directly, as shown in Figure I.2.
In general, telecom operators and some vertically integrated businesses (such as smart grid and
intelligent transport systems (ITS) businesses) act as player A in model 1.
Figure I.2 – Model 1
I.2.2 Model 2
In model 2, player A operates the device, network, and platform, and player B operates the
application and serves the application customers, as shown in Figure I.3.
In general, telecom operators act as player A, other service providers as player B in model 2.

18 Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012)
I.2.3 Model 3
In model 3, player A operates the network and platform, player B operates the device and
applications and serves the application customers, as shown in Figure I.4.
In general, telecom operators act as player A and other service providers act as player B.
I.2.4 Model 4
In model 4, player A only operates the network and player B operates the device and platform,
providing applications to the application customers, as shown in Figure I.5.
In general, telecom operators act as player A, other service providers and vertically integrated
businesses act as player B in model 4.
NOTE – A variation of this model does not include a platform provider and associated platform
functionalities (player B only provides applications).
I.2.5 Model 5
In model 5, player A only operates the network, player B operates the platform, and player C
operates devices and provides applications to the application customers, as shown in Figure I.6.
In general, telecom operators act as player A, other service providers act as player B, and vertically
integrated businesses act as player C in model 5.
NOTE – A variation of this model does not include a platform provider and associated platform
functionalities (player B only provides applications).

Rec. ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (06/2012) 19
Bibliography
[b-ITU Report] ITU Internet Reports (2005), The Internet of Things.
[b-ITU-T Y.2001] Recommendation ITU-T Y.2001 (2004), General overview of NGN.

Y.4001/F.748.2
Machine socialization:
Overview and reference
model

22 Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015)
Machine socialization: Overview and reference model
Summary
Recommendation ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 describes machine socialization, which enables machines
to cooperate with one another via their relations with other machines. In machine socialization,
machines can be identified, can communicate and can capture data using machine identifiers,
features of machine capabilities and machine owners, etc. Machines can be socialized with the
information of identified machines through the establishment of relations. This Recommendation
provides an overview, requirements and a reference model for machine socialization.
History
Edition Recommendation Approval Study Group Unique ID*
1.0 ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 2015-11-29 16 11.1002/1000/12621
Keywords
Internet of things (IoT), machine socialization, social Internet of things, socialization, social web of
things.
* To access the Recommendation, type the URL http://handle.itu.int/ in the address field of your web
browser, followed by the Recommendation's unique ID. For example, http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/1000/11
830-en.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015) 23
Table of Contents
Page
1 Scope............................................................................................................................. 25
2 References..................................................................................................................... 25
3 Definitions .................................................................................................................... 25
5 Conventions.................................................................................................................. 26
6 Overview of machine socialization .............................................................................. 26
6.1 General overview of machine socialization ................................................... 26
6.2 Relations for socialization .............................................................................. 27
6.3 Socialization under the same ownership of machines.................................... 29
6.4 Socialization under different ownerships of machines................................... 29
6.5 General procedures of machine socialization................................................. 29
7 Requirements for machine socialization....................................................................... 30
7.1 Standardized description of a machine........................................................... 30
7.2 Service discovery............................................................................................ 30
7.3 Standardized expression of relation................................................................ 30
7.4 Dynamic update of relation ............................................................................ 31
7.5 Multiple ways of establishing a relation......................................................... 31
7.6 Caching of relation information ..................................................................... 31
7.7 Fault recovery for a relation ........................................................................... 31
7.8 Resilience of relation...................................................................................... 31
7.9 Negotiation of QoS......................................................................................... 31
7.10 Verification of ownership of a machine ......................................................... 31
8 Reference models of machine socialization ................................................................. 31
8.1 Service model of machine socialization......................................................... 31
8.2 Functional model of machine socialization.................................................... 32

24 Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015)
Introduction
Social relations existed between people before the appearance of social network services as known
today. However, these social relations were constrained by time, location, space, etc.
A social networking service is a platform that enables the building of social networks or social
relations among people who share interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. Unlike
traditional social networks or social relations, social network services make it possible to connect
people who share interests and activities across political, economic, and geographic borders, etc. In
addition, social network services make it easy to create, maintain, strengthen and extend social
networks or social relations.
The most important factor in the use of social network services is the possibility of being able to
cooperate with other people including crowd activities by sharing and exchanging information.
According to the definition of the Internet of things (IoT), things or machines collect data (either
environmental or non-environmental) and transfer this data to the information world through
communication networks. Though things or machines are interconnected with one another, the
important point of the IoT is in providing the capability for communication and data (either
environmental or non-environmental) capture to things or machines. Without collaboration or
cooperation between things or machines, they may remain isolated and constrained from a
capability point of view.
Because humans have an always-on networking capability, a social network service becomes a
great way to share and exchange information. Using this capability, it is easy for humans to acquire
information on the experience, knowledge and capability of other humans without the barriers
associated with time, space, etc.
Consequently, it can be easily understood that all networked things or machines will:
– produce numerous items of meaningful information or more specifically, captured data,
occasionally pre-processed by things or machines;
– evolve intellectually and then converse with one another, in other words, they will be
socialized.
To enable things to communicate what they do or need, follow one another, discuss with one
another, collaborate, create events and do things together demands the socialization of machines to
a level corresponding to that of social relations among humans.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015) 25
Recommendation ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2
Machine socialization: Overview and reference model
1 Scope
This Recommendation specifies machine socialization which enables machines to cooperate with
one another using their relations with other machines. This Recommendation covers the following:
– overview of machine socialization;
– requirements for machine socialization; and
– reference models of machine socialization including a service model and functional model.
2 References
The following ITU-T Recommendations and other references contain provisions which, through
reference in this text, constitute provisions of this Recommendation. At the time of publication, the
editions indicated were valid. All Recommendations and other references are subject to revision;
users of this Recommendation are therefore encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the
most recent edition of the Recommendations and other references listed below. A list of the
currently valid ITU-T Recommendations is regularly published. The reference to a document within
this Recommendation does not give it, as a stand-alone document, the status of a Recommendation.
[ITU-T Y.4000] Recommendation ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (2012), Overview of the Internet of
things.
3 Definitions
This Recommendation uses the following terms defined elsewhere:
3.1.1 Internet of things (IoT) [ITU-T Y.4000]: A global infrastructure for the information
society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on
existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies.
implications.
3.1.2 thing [ITU-T Y.4000]: In the Internet of things, this is an object of the physical world
(physical things) or of the information world (virtual things), which is capable of being identified
and integrated into communication networks.
This Recommendation defines the following terms:
3.2.1 machine: An object of the physical world which is capable of being identified and of
communicating, computing and processing data.
3.2.2 machine socialization: Enabling things or machines to communicate what they do or what
they need, as well as to follow one another, discuss with one another and collaborate with one
another.

26 Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015)
3.2.3 relation: An association between or among machines or things enabling machines or things
to share or to provide the capability to achieve a task in collaboration. This includes scheduling of
processes between or among machines or things to perform a task.
3.2.4 sociality: The tendency of things or machines to be in the state of socialization.
E-R Entity Relationship
IoT Internet of Things
M2M Machine to Machine
QoS Quality of Service
RFID Radio Frequency Identification
XML Extensible Markup Language
5 Conventions
The keywords "is required to" indicate a requirement which must be strictly followed and from
which no deviation is permitted if conformance to this Recommendation is to be claimed.
The keywords "is recommended" indicate a requirement which is recommended but which is not
absolutely required. Thus this requirement need not be present to claim conformance.
6 Overview of machine socialization
6.1 General overview of machine socialization
The Internet of things (IoT) is defined as a global infrastructure for the information society,
enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and
evolving interoperable information and communication technologies. Through the exploitation of
identification, data capture, processing and communication capabilities, the IoT makes full use of
things to offer services to all kinds of applications, while ensuring that security and privacy
requirements are fulfilled. From a broader perspective, the IoT can be perceived as a vision with
technological and societal implications [ITU-T Y.4000]. Other definitions on the IoT can be found,
however they do not have any significant differences.
According to the existing definitions of the IoT, things or machines collect data (either
environmental or non-environmental) and transfer it to the information world through
communication networks. In other words, current understating of the IoT is reduced to merely a
collection of world-wide sensor networks and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and
global machine-to-machine (M2M) systems. Though things or machines are interconnected with
one another, the point of interest of the IoT is in providing capability for communication and data
capture to things or machines. However, expectations for the IoT go beyond sensor networks, RFID
and M2M, etc., as these are just some of the enablers for the IoT.
Like the human experience of using social network services to obtain information on the knowledge
and capabilities of other people, unrestricted by barriers of time and place, etc., machines can
communicate and say what they do or what they need, they can follow one another, discuss,
collaborate, create events and do things together. This involves the socialization of machines to a
level corresponding to that of the social relations of humans.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015) 27
Figure 1 depicts a conceptual model of machine socialization. In machine socialization, machines
are capable of basic communication and computing. For machine socialization, machines should at
least be able to discover other machines and obtain information about the properties of other
machines such as capability (service that the machine can provide) and interface.
In Figure 1, M3 locates in the home and office whereas M2 locates in public and the home. When
M3 locates in the office, M3 has M4 and M5 as its neighbourhood. M4 and M5 have different
properties from the properties of M1 and M2 which locate in M3's home. If M3 is socialized with
M4 and M5, M3 is able to collaborate with M4 and M5.
M3 can do different jobs when M3 is socialized with M4 and M5 compared to the socialization with
M1 and M2 because M4 and M5 provide different services. M2 also has M1, M3 and M6 and M7
as its neighbourhood in home and public. From the socialization with both neighbourhoods in home
and public, M2 can do different jobs when it locates in home and in public respectively.
The capability of machines can be extended through socializations supporting collaboration, and
machines can be socialized with many other types of machines. This means that machines can
extend their capability in different ways using various socializations.
Figure 1 – Conceptual model of machine socialization
6.2 Relations for socialization
As defined in clause 3, a relation is an association between or among machines to share or provide
capability. A relation also specifies the schedule of processes between or among machines while
performing the task in collaboration.
Establishing a relation enables machines to collaborate with other machines in a form of capabilities
sharing.
Figure 2 depicts an entity relationship (E-R) diagram of socialization which associates two
machines by a relation.

28 Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015)
Figure 2 – E-R diagram of socialization
As shown in Figure 2, socialization can be established by establishing a relation or relations. A
relation is an association between or among machines to enable a machine to expose its capabilities
to other machines for collaboration. Once a machine is associated with other machine(s) as a
relation, their capabilities can be exchanged to achieve a given task.
Figure 3 presents an E-R diagram of a relation as an example. In this example, three machines are
associated as a relation. Each machine has different properties and capabilities. This relation
includes machine information of machines that are involved in socialization and also includes
procedures to be carried out in each machine to achieve a given task. This procedure defines
sequential actions for each machine and the relationship between or among capabilities of the
machines.
In a relation, output from one machine can be transferred to another machine as an input. Display
mirroring is an example of this property. Some vehicles can be associated with a smart phone for
mirroring a smart phone's display. In this case, navigation information can be displayed in a vehicle
with the aid of a smart phone, even if the vehicle does not have a navigation system.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015) 29
Figure 3 – E-R diagram of relation (example)
6.3 Socialization under the same ownership of machines
Typically, machine socialization is established between or among machines which are under the
same ownership. In the case of machine socialization under the same ownership, particular
authentication and authorization of access to a machine is not necessary.
6.4 Socialization under different ownerships of machines
A user of a machine can configure his/her machine to expose its capability to other machines which
are under different owners, or vice versa. When machine socialization is necessary between or
among machines which are under different ownerships, particular authentications and
authorizations are needed with respect to machine socialization under the same ownership.
6.5 General procedures of machine socialization
Figure 4 shows socialization procedures.

30 Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015)
Figure 4 – Socialization procedures
A user can be a human or a machine. When a user assigns a task to a machine, the machine analyses
the task. Through an analysis of the task, the machine obtains information about the capabilities
needed to achieve the task. If capabilities that are needed are not supported by the machine, the
machine starts to retrieve machines to provide those capabilities. Once the machine finds another
machine to provide the capability, the machine tries to establish a relation with that machine and
achieve the task through that relation. After achieving the task, the relation is released and
socialization is also released.
7 Requirements for machine socialization
This clause describes requirements for machine socialization from an application point of view;
therefore, communication specific requirements are not covered.
7.1 Standardized description of a machine
In a machine socialization, a machine has to find other machines from the perspective of their
capability with which to be associated by a relation. To do this, the machine is required to present
its machine capability(s) in a standardized way. Machine presentation is used to perform service
discovery.
7.2 Service discovery
For a machine to find other machines with the necessary capabilities, service discovery is required.
Through service discovery, a machine can find other machines to be associated with.
7.3 Standardized expression of relation
It is required to express relation information in a standardized form, for example as an extensible
markup language (XML) schema. Relation information encompasses the machines involved, their
association information with other machines and task information which is given to the machines,
etc.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015) 31
7.4 Dynamic update of relation
Once a relation is established among machines under a given task, it is required to update a relation
in runtime. This includes an update of the association status (leaving or joining the association of a
machine) and an update of a given task.
7.5 Multiple ways of establishing a relation
When a task is given to a particular machine, that machine is required to be capable of establishing
relations with other machines in various ways. These may include that a separate object (server)
analyses the task to determine machines with which it should be associated, or these procedures
may be carried out by the machine itself.
7.6 Caching of relation information
A device may have patterns to establish a relation in a specific area such as a home or an office
where neighbouring devices are seldom changed. In this case, it is recommended to maintain or
cache relation information in a device after accomplishing the task for rapid re-establishment of the
relation.
7.7 Fault recovery for a relation
When a fault occurs in a device performing a task in a form of machine socialization, it is
recommended to recover the relation information after fault recovery in the machine.
7.8 Resilience of relation
When a fault occurs in a relation, it is required to isolate the faulty device from a relation to keep a
relation unaffected by the fault. The task performed by the faulty device can be taken over by
another machine if available.
7.9 Negotiation of QoS
In machine socialization, tasks are allocated to each machine in a relation according to capability.
However, this does not mean that a machine can satisfy the full level of quality of service (QoS) for
the given task. Therefore, it is required to be able to negotiate QoS when establishing a relation.
7.10 Verification of ownership of a machine
A relation can be established under both the same ownership of machines and under different
ownerships of machines. For this reason, it is required to verify the ownership of a machine.
8 Reference models of machine socialization
The objective of machine socialization is to enable things to communicate what they do or what
they need, follow one another, discuss with one another, collaborate, create events and do things
together. This clause describes reference models of machine socialization including a service model
and functional model.
8.1 Service model of machine socialization
Feasible services by machine socialization may be varied and numerous from simple services such
as display mirroring to complex services in which different functionalities are utilised by multiple
socialized participants.
However, a service model of machine socialization can be considered as one providing any services
through relations between different machines.

32 Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015)
Figure 5 – Abstract service model
Figure 5 depicts a service model of machine socialization. Machine socialization is a procedure of
establishing relations among different machines to make machines communicate with one another
what they do or what they need, follow one another, discuss with one another and collaborate with
one another.
Characteristics of a relation depend on the characteristics of services to be provided. For example,
display mirroring in a vehicle between a smart phone and display unit of a vehicle is provided by a
simple relation of display capability. In the case of a complex service, relations may be complex
where various capabilities of different machines are associated.
8.2 Functional model of machine socialization
From a functional viewpoint, machine socialization is a process of establishing relations as
explained above.
Figure 6 – Functional model

Rec. ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (11/2015) 33
Figure 6 depicts a functional model of machine socialization. Each machine has internal function
blocks and internal interfaces as well as outgoing interfaces with external entities such as user
profile or other machines.
8.2.1 Machine profile
Machine profile maintains capabilities with a standardized description of a machine as defined in
clause 7.1. Machine profile is used to negotiate QoS as described in clause 7.9.
8.2.2 Neighbourhood repository
A neighbourhood repository stores information of machines with which associations are needed.
Once a relation agent discovers the machines with the necessary capabilities which are needed for
accomplishing the given task, as described in clause 7.2, the information of those machines is stored
in a neighbourhood repository.
8.2.3 Relation repository
When a relation is established, the relation is represented as a standardized expression as described
in clause 7.3. A relation repository maintains standardized expressions of established relations.
Dynamic update of a relation as described in clause 7.4, caching of relation information as
described in clause 7.6, fault recovery and resilience of relation as described in clauses 7.7 and 7.8,
respectively are carried out on this relation repository.
8.2.4 Relation agent
A relation agent performs service discovery as described in clause 7.2, relation establishment and
management are carried out as described in clauses 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8 and 7.9. A relation
agent may perform limited functions in the case where preparation of a relation is carried out by a
separate object (server) as described in clause 7.5.
8.2.5 Ownership repository
An ownership repository maintains the ownership information of a machine. When a relation is
established, the ownership of a machine should be verified as described in clause 7.10. The
ownership repository is involved in verification of ownership. The ownership repository may also
interface with outside user profiles to check permissions for the establishment of a relation with the
different ownerships of machines. In this case, a user profile outside the machine maintains the
user's permission information for a relation.

Y.4002/F.748.3
Machine socialization:
Relation management
models and
descriptions

36 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
Machine socialization: Relation management models and descriptions
Summary
Recommendation ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 specifies the relation management models and descriptions
for machine socialization which enables machines to cooperate to achieve a given task using their
relations with other machines. This Recommendation also includes use cases of relation management
models and presents schemas to describe a relation.
History
Edition Recommendation Approval Study Group Unique ID*
1.0 ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 2015-11-29 16 11.1002/1000/12622
Keywords
Machine socialization, relation management model.
* To access the Recommendation, type the URL http://handle.itu.int/ in the address field of your web
browser, followed by the Recommendation's unique ID. For example,
http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/1000/11830-en.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 37
Table of Contents
Page
1 Scope............................................................................................................................. 39
2 References..................................................................................................................... 39
3 Definitions .................................................................................................................... 39
5 Conventions.................................................................................................................. 40
6 Overview of relation for machine socialization............................................................ 40
7 Relation management models....................................................................................... 41
7.1 Centralized relation management model........................................................ 41
7.2 Distributed relation management model ........................................................ 42
7.3 Nested-centralized relation management model ............................................ 43
8 Relation descriptions .................................................................................................... 44
8.1 Machine profile schema ................................................................................. 44
8.2 Relation profile schema.................................................................................. 45
Appendix I  Use cases of relation management models ........................................................ 48
I.1 Booking of a movie ticket based on a centralized relation management
model.............................................................................................................. 48
I.2 Booking of a movie ticket based on a distributed relation management
model.............................................................................................................. 49
I.3 Booking of a movie ticket based on a nested-centralized relation
management model......................................................................................... 50
Bibliography............................................................................................................................. 51

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 39
Recommendation ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3
Machine socialization: Relation management models and descriptions
1 Scope
This Recommendation specifies the relation management models and descriptions for machine
socialization which enables machines to cooperate to achieve a given task using their relations with
other machines. This Recommendation covers the following:
– relation management models for machine socialization;
– relation descriptions for machine socialization; and
– use cases for relation management models.
2 References
The following ITU-T Recommendations and other references contain provisions which, through
reference in this text, constitute provisions of this Recommendation. At the time of publication, the
editions indicated were valid. All Recommendations and other references are subject to revision;
users of this Recommendation are therefore encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the
most recent edition of the Recommendations and other references listed below. A list of the
currently valid ITU-T Recommendations is regularly published. The reference to a document within
this Recommendation does not give it, as a stand-alone document, the status of a Recommendation.
[ITU-T Y.4001] Recommendation ITU-T Y.4001/F.748.2 (2015), Machine socialization:
Overview and reference model.
3 Definitions
This Recommendation uses the following terms defined elsewhere:
3.1.1 Internet of things (IoT) [b-ITU-T Y.4000]: A global infrastructure for the information
society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on
existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies.
implications.
3.1.2 machine socialization [ITU-T Y.4001]: Enabling things or machines to communicate what
they do or what they need to each other as well as to follow each other, discuss with each other and
collaborate with each other.
3.1.3 relation [ITU-T Y.4001]: An association between or among machines or things enabling
machines or things to share or to provide the capability to achieve a task in collaboration. This
includes scheduling of processes between or among machines or things to perform a task.
This Recommendation defines the following terms.
3.2.1 capability parameter: Information on a capability of a machine to achieve a given task
such as an input parameter, an output parameter, processing time, etc.

40 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
3.2.2 capability set: A set of capabilities that machines can provide to process commands from
users.
3.2.3 machine profile schema: A schema to describe features of a machine.
3.2.4 relation module: A module that acts as a relation server in the distributed relation
management model. A relation module resides in every machine in the distributed relation
management model.
3.2.5 relation profile schema: A schema to describe a relation to achieve a given task. It
contains information on a group of machines, processing schedules, workgroup IDs, work
descriptions and a capability set.
3.2.6 relation server: A server to establish a relation and operate machines according to the
relations.
3.2.7 status parameter: The current status of a machine such as active, standby, expected
termination time of the current operation, current execution task, current execution function and
expected termination time of the current execution function.
XML Extensible Markup Language
5 Conventions
None.
6 Overview of relation for machine socialization
Like the human experience of using social network services to obtain information on the knowledge
and capabilities of other people, unrestricted by barriers of time and place, etc., machines can
communicate what they do or what they need; they can follow each other, discuss, collaborate,
create events and do things together. This involves the socialization of machines to a level
corresponding to that of the social relations of humans [ITU-T Y.4001].
Socialization may have many meanings, but one of the most important features of socialization is
working together. Machine socialization implicates that machines work together to achieve given
tasks. To achieve the task in collaboration, machines have to establish associations with other
machines by sharing and providing capabilities, these associations are called relations in
[ITU-T Y.4001] and in this Recommendation.
In other words, machines should exchange data with other machines and understand the meaning of
the exchanged data to establish a relation.
Humans can exchange their ideas with other people using languages or gestures, however a
machine cannot exchange information with other machines using natural languages. Therefore, a
machine should exchange information and respond to other machines by analysing the information
with other machines that is expressed in a mutually understandable form, such as extensible markup
language (XML).
This Recommendation defines a schema for a mutually understandable form of machine
socialization.
If machines can understand and exchange data with other machines, a relation can be established
through relation management.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 41
Relation management establishes a relation, operates machines using the established relation and
releases the relation as specified by relation management models.
Procedures to establish a relation vary according to relation management models.
7 Relation management models
For machine socialization, it is necessary to manage relations among machines. Relation
management varies depending on the relation models. Relation management models may require
user intervention in cases where the results of tasks are critical to the user.
In this Recommendation, relation management models define creation and release of relations in
three different ways based on the machine socialization framework defined in [ITU-T Y.4001].
7.1 Centralized relation management model
Figure 1 – Centralized relation management model
In the centralized relation management model shown in Figure 1, a relation server manages
relations among machines and executes a task following the steps listed below:
1) Machines register machine profile parameters to the relation server.
2) A machine receives a user's command to execute a task and forwards the task to the relation
server.
3) The relation server analyses the task.
4) The relation server establishes a capability set to execute the task.
5) The relation server establishes a group of useable machines to execute the task based on the
capability set, capability parameters and status parameters of the machines that are already
registered on the server or extractable from the target machines.
6) The relation server establishes a relation for the group based on the capability set, the
capability parameters and the status parameters of the member machines.
7) The relation includes the group of machines and the schedules of the processes necessary to
perform the task.
8) The relation server establishes a relation profile based on the relation.
9) If the results of the processes in the relation profile are critical to the user, the relation
server should request a user intervention and update the relation profile:
a) The relation server requests the user to approve the performance of the task or to select
processes by listing processes executed by the machines.
b) The user can either approve the performance of the task or select the processes to
permit the performance of the task and then notifies the relation server.

42 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
c) The relation server may establish a new group of machines and a new relation based on
the user's decision.
d) The relation server establishes a new relation profile.
10) The relation server commands the machines to execute the processes following the
schedule of processes included in the relation profile.
11) After completion of the task, the relation server releases the machines from the relation.
7.2 Distributed relation management model
Figure 2 – Distributed relation management model
In the distributed relation management model shown in Figure 2, a relation is established by a
relation module that resides in each individual machine. The machine which receives a user's
command to perform a task forwards the task to other machines to create a relation. Each machine
should determine whether to join the relation or not to execute the task. The machine that received
the user's command acts as the coordination machine to create a relation based on the capability
sets, capability parameters and status parameters of the group of machines in the relation.
The relation module creates and manages the relation and executes a task following the steps listed
below:
1) A machine receives a user's command to execute a task from the coordinating machine and
forwards the task to the other machines.
2) The relation module in each individual machine analyses the task and makes its own
capability set to execute the task.
3) Each relation module decides whether to join the group of machines to execute the task,
based on its capability set, capability parameter and status parameter.
4) If a relation module decides to join the group, the relation module shall notify the
coordination machine and send its capability set, capability parameters and status
parameters to the coordinating machine.
5) The coordinating machine's relation module creates a relation based on the received
capability sets, capability parameters and status parameters of the group of machines.
6) The relation includes the group of machines and the schedule of processes necessary to
perform the task.
7) The coordinating relation module creates the relation profile and forwards the relation and
the relation profile to the member machines.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 43
8) If the results of processes in the relation profile are critical to the user, the machine that
received the user's command should request a user intervention and update the relation
profile:
a) The coordinating machine requests the user to approve performance of the task or to
select processes by listing processes executed by the machines.
b) The user can either approve performance of the task or select the processes and then
notifies the coordinating machine.
c) The coordinating machine notifies the user's decision to other machines.
d) The relation modules in individual machines make new decisions to join the relation
and forward necessary information to the coordinating machine.
e) The coordinating relation module creates a new group of machines and a new relation
based on the user's decision.
f) The coordinating relation module establishes a new relation profile.
9) Grouped machines should operate by following the schedule of processes included in the
relation profile.
10) After completion of its own task, each machine releases itself from the relation.
7.3 Nested-centralized relation management model
The nested-centralized relation management model extends the centralized relation management
model.
Figure 3 – Nested-centralized relation management model
Figure 3 shows an example of the nested-centralized relation management model where seven
machines and two relation servers are involved.
The model manages a relation and executes a task following the steps listed below:
1) A machine registers machine profile parameters to either the relation server or to the
sub-relation server.
2) A machine receives a user's command to execute a task and forwards the task to the relation
server.
3) The relation server forwards the task to the sub-relation server.
4) The relation server and the sub-relation server analyse the task.
5) The relation server and the sub-relation server establish a capability set to execute the task.

44 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
6) The relation server and the sub-relation server create a group of useable machines based on
the capability set, capability parameters and status parameters of the member machines that
are already registered on the server or extractable from the target machines.
7) The sub-relation server establishes a relation of a group of machines and forwards it to the
relation server.
8) The relation server establishes a relation using its group of machines and the relation
received from the sub-relation server.
9) The relation includes information of the group of machines and the schedule of processes.
10) The relation server establishes a relation profile according to the relation.
11) If the results of processes in the relation profile are critical to the user, the relation server
should request a user intervention and update the relation profile:
a) The relation server requests the user to approve performance of the task or to select
processes by listing processes executed by the machines.
b) The user can either approve the performance of the task or select the processes and then
notifies the machine.
c) The relation server may establish a new group of machines and a new relation based on
the user's decision.
d) The relation server establishes a new relation profile.
12) The relation server forwards the relation profile to the sub-relation server.
13) The relation server and the sub-relation server command a group of machines to execute
processes following the schedule of processes included in the relation profile.
14) After the completion of the task, the relation server and the sub-relation server release the
machines from the relation.
8 Relation descriptions
The machine profile schema enables the relation server or relation module to mutually understand
the features of machines to establish a relation and the relation profile schema stores the relation
established.
8.1 Machine profile schema
The machine profile schema is a template to describe machines in terms of status, capabilities, IDs,
interfaces, etc., which are given in Table 1. A relation is established by a relation server or a relation
module with the information inscribed using this profile.
Table 1 – Machine profile schema
Machine profile parameter Sub-parameter
Status Active
Standby
Current process
Expected termination time of the current process
Current function
Expected termination time of the current execution function
Capability Name of process
Input parameter

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 45
Table 1 – Machine profile schema
Machine profile parameter Sub-parameter
Output parameter
Processing time (duration)
Processing condition
Function 1
Function 2
…….
Function n
End of capability
Machine ID
User ID
Group ID
Operating system
Machine interface Interface protocol between machines
Interface parameter between machines
Interface protocol between machine and relation server
Interface parameter between machine and relation server
End of machine profile parameter
Machine profile parameters are described below:
– Status: Status of a machine indicating active, standby, the expected termination time of the
current process, the current execution process, the current execution function and the
expected termination time of the current execution function.
– Capability: Capability of a machine indicating the name of the task, input parameter, output
parameter, processing time, processing condition and functions.
– Machine ID: Alphanumeric identifier of a machine which distinguishes a machine from
another machine.
– Group ID: Alphanumeric identifier of a group of machines in a relation.
– Operating system: Operating system running on a machine.
– Machine interface: Communication protocols that a machine can support.
– End of machine profile parameter: Indicator to specify the end of the machine profile.
8.2 Relation profile schema
The relation profile schema shown in Table 2, is a template to describe a relation in terms of
capability set, grouped machines, workgroup ID, task description and task processing schedule, etc.
After a relation is established, relation information is stored in a relation profile. Tasks to be
executed by a relation in machine socialization are expressed in a relation profile and are achieved
according to the schedule of processes defined in the relation.

46 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
Table 2 – Relation profile schema
Relation profile parameter Sub-parameter
Capability set Capability 1
…
Capability n
End of capability set
Grouped machines Machine ID 1
….
Machine ID n
End of machine ID
Workgroup ID
Task description
Task processing schedule Process 1
Process start time
Process start condition
Allotted machine ID
Start time of function 1
Functions 1
….
Start time of function n
Function n
End of functions
Expected time of process termination
Interface parameters
Termination condition
End of process 1
Process 2
Process start time
Allotted machine ID
Functions 1
….
Function n
End of functions
Ending condition
End of process 2
…..

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 47
Table 2 – Relation profile schema
Relation profile parameter Sub-parameter
Process n
Process start time
Allotted machine ID
Functions 1
….
Function n
End of functions
Termination condition
End of process n
End of task processing schedule
End of relation profile parameter
Relation profile parameters are described below:
– Capability set: The set of capabilities needed to complete the user's command to perform a
task
– Grouped machines: The group of machines which support the capability set.
– Workgroup ID: Alphanumeric identifier of the workgroup.
– Task description: Human readable description of the task implying a user's command.
– Task processing schedule: Sequence of processes to complete the task.
– End of relation profile parameter: Indicator to specify the end of relation profile parameter.

48 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
Appendix I
Use cases of relation management models
(This appendix does not form an integral part of this Recommendation.)
Three use cases of relation management models are introduced.
I.1 Booking of a movie ticket based on a centralized relation management model
The use case shown in Figure I.1 illustrates the booking of a movie ticket using a centralized
relation management model of machine socialization.
Figure I.1 – Centralized relation management model
Each machine can perform the following processes:
– M0: M0 manages relations among machines and executes a task.
– M1: M1 searches movies.
– M2: M2 receives the user's command to perform a task, booking a movie ticket. It forwards
the task to the relation server.
– M3: M3 books movie tickets.
– M4: M4 controls the temperature of the house.
A relation is established among M0, M1, M2, M3 and M4 according to the following procedures:
1) M1, M3 and M4 have registered their machine profiles including searching capability,
booking capability and controlling temperature capability to the relation server respectively.
2) M2 receives a user's command to perform a task and forwards the task to M0.
3) M0 analyses the task and determines a capability set which requires searching for a movie,
booking the movie and controlling temperature. Controlling temperature capability will be
used to ensure a comfortable environment for a user after watching a movie.
4) M0 creates a group of M1, M3 and M4 including M2 which forwarded the user's
commands to M0.
5) With the assumption that the results of this task are not critical, M0 establishes a relation
based on the capability set, the capability and the status in machine profiles of M1, M3 and
M4 according to the following schedule.
6) Activation of M0, M1, M2, M3 and M4 by using the relation is as follows:
a) M0 sends a command to M1 to search for the specified movie;

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 49
b) M1 returns the result to M0 and M0 forwards the result to M2;
c) The user selects a movie and the selection is forwarded to M3;
d) M3 books a movie ticket with the confirmation of the user;
e) M0 activates M4 at the time according to the schedule of the process;
f) The relation is released.
I.2 Booking of a movie ticket based on a distributed relation management model
The use case shown in Figure I.2 illustrates the booking of a movie ticket based on a distributed
relation management model for machine socialization.
Figure I.2 – Distributed relation model
– M1: M1 searches for a movie.
– M2: M2 is a coordinating machine and receives the user's command to perform a task,
booking a movie ticket. It forwards the task to the other machines.
A relation is established among M0, M1, M2, M3 and M4 according to the following procedure:
1) M2 receives a user's command to perform a task and forwards the task to the M1, M3 and
M4.
2) The relation modules in the individual machines analyse the task and establish a capability
set to execute the task.
3) The relation modules decide whether to join the group of machines for executing the task
coming from the user based on the capability set and its own machine capability parameter
and machine status parameter.
4) If the relation module decides to join the relation, it notifies M2 and forwards its capability
set, the capability parameters and the status parameters.
5) M2 creates a group of machines, a relation and a relation profile.
6) The relation includes a group of machines and the schedule of processes to perform the
task.
7) With the assumption that the results of this task are not critical, the created relation and the
relation profile are forwarded to M1, M3 and M4.

50 Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015)
Activation of M1, M2, M3 and M4 by using the relation is as follows:
a) M1 searches for the specified movie according to the relation profile;
b) M1 returns the result to M2 and M2 forwards the result to the user;
e) Relation module 4 in M4 activates M4 at the time according to the schedule of processes;
I.3 Booking of a movie ticket based on a nested-centralized relation management model
The use case shown in Figure I.3 illustrates the booking of a movie ticket based on the nested-
centralized relation management model for machine socialization.
Figure I.3 – Nested-centralized relation management model
– M0: M0 manages relations among machines and executes a task.
– M1: M1 searches for movies.
– M2: M2 receives the user's command to perform a task, booking a movie. It forwards the
task to the relation server.
– M5: M5 washes clothes.
– M6: M6 performs vacuum cleaning.
– M7: M7 performs damp cloth cleaning.
– M8: M8 manages relations among submachines and executes a subtask.
A relation is established among M0, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 and M8 according to the
following procedure:
1) M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 and M8 respectively have registered their machine profiles
including searching capability, booking capability and controlling temperature capability to
M0.
2) M2 receives the user's command to perform a task and forwards the task to M0 and M8.

Rec. ITU-T Y.4002/F.748.3 (11/2015) 51
3) M8 server analyses the received task and establishes a relation.
4) M0 analyses the received task and grouping machines which can be used to execute the
command by using machine profiles and the generated capability set.
5) With the assumption that the results of this task are not critical, a new relation is created in
M0 based on the capability set, the capability, the status in other machine profiles and a
relation which is generated by a sub-relation server.
6) M0 forwards the new relation profile to M8 server.
7) Activation of M0, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M8 by using the new relation is as follows:
a) M0 sends a command to M1 to search for the specified movie;
b) M1 returns the result to M0 and M0 forwards the result to M2;
e) M8 activates M5 at the time according to the schedule of the process;
Bibliography
[b-ITU-T Y.4000] Recommendation ITU-T Y.4000/Y.2060 (2012), Overview of the Internet of
Things.

2Deﬁnitions and
terminologies

Y.4050/Y.2069
Terms and definitions
for the Internet of
things

ITU Internet of Things Compendium 2016

ITU Internet of Things Compendium 2016

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