IoT for Defense and National Security

Section 4Introduction: Communications and Networking

Keith Gremban

Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Silicon Flatirons Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

Communications and networking is a fundamental enabler for Internet of Things (IoT). Wikipedia defines the Internet of Things as “ … physical objects (or groups of such objects) that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.”¹ Key to this definition is the phrase “… connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.” Without communications and networking, there is no IoT.

In the commercial world, an IoT developer has access to a host of communications technologies. Typically, an IoT deployment will use some wireless technology (4G, 5G, Wi‐Fi, Bluetooth, or others) to connect devices to a local server which is hard‐wired to the Internet. From there, data is sent to a processing center or cloud server for data analysis, and instructions for the end devices are sent back the other way. An IoT developer can usually depend on reliable, high‐bandwidth connectivity. The only disruptions to the deployment are infrequent, such as power outages, excavations that cut a cable, or similar unpredictable and rare events.

In defense and public safety scenarios, reliable communications are the ...