Towards the Internet of Robotic Things: Analysis, Architecture, Components and Challenges

TL;DR

The paper surveys the convergence of IoT and robotics under the Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) and proposes a three-layer architectural framework to integrate Smart Space and autonomous robots. It analyzes networking, multi-robot systems, computing paradigms (cloud, edge, fog) and security, and discusses practical IoRT applications in Smart Home, Office, and Nursing environments. The authors identify open challenges in requirements engineering, dynamic reconfiguration, and security, and suggest mitigation approaches such as security analysis, PKI, and robust authentication. The work advances a coherent, technically grounded vision for deploying robot-enabled IoT in real-world smart spaces, with implications for scalable deployment, interoperability, and human-robot interaction.

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics cannot be considered two separate domains these days. Internet of Robotics Things (IoRT) is a concept that has been recently introduced to describe the integration of robotics technologies in IoT scenarios. As a consequence, these two research fields have started interacting, and thus linking research communities. In this paper we intend to make further steps in joining the two communities and broaden the discussion on the development of this interdisciplinary field. The paper provides an overview, analysis and challenges of possible solutions for the Internet of Robotic Things, discussing the issues of the IoRT architecture, the integration of smart spaces and robotic applications.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: The Internet of Robotics Things block-scheme
• Figure 2: The Internet of Robotic Things system reference architecture
• Figure 3: The functional diagram of network interaction between Robots, Sensors and Actuators, Smart Space and Smart Building