A Survey on Facilities for Experimental Internet of Things Research

The initial vision of the Internet of Things was of a world in which all physical objects are tagged and uniquely identified by RFID transponders. However, the concept has grown into multiple dimensions, encompassing sensor networks able to provide real-world intelligence and goal-oriented collaboration of distributed smart objects via local networks or global interconnections such as the Internet. Despite significant technological advances, difficulties associated with the evaluation of IoT solutions under realistic conditions in real-world experimental deployments still hamper their maturation and significant rollout. In this article we identify requirements for the next generation of IoT experimental facilities. While providing a taxonomy, we also survey currently available research testbeds, identify existing gaps, and suggest new directions based on experience from recent efforts in this field.