The Internet of Things (IoT) will be a key component of the future Internet. In September, APNIC held its first IoT Birds of a Feather (BoF) session at APNIC 58 in Wellington, New Zealand. The goal of this session was to bring together those interested in IoT to exchange experience and ideas and discuss the role of IPv6 addresses in IoT services.
The IoT BoF began with experts sharing their experiences, success stories, and ideas about IoT services and the use of IPv6 in IoT. Discussions then focused on how IPv6 can support IoT by providing the vast number of IP addresses needed for the IoT industry’s growth. APNIC’s role in fostering IoT development in the Asia Pacific region was also explored during the session. Five speakers presented at the event.
Kriv Naicker introduced the New Zealand IoT Alliance (NZ IoT Alliance), which aims to accelerate IoT adoption for the economy by fostering collaboration between industry and government.
Kriv discussed how the NZ IoT Alliance published ‘The Internet of Things – Accelerating a Connected New Zealand‘, an industry report that analysed the impact of IoT on the New Zealand economy. It found that while the economic opportunities from IoT adoption are enormous and that New Zealand could take advantage of the opportunities, actual uptake in New Zealand is low. Kriv then discussed key initiatives that could drive adoption beginning with forming key working groups to further advance IoT initiatives
Next, Guoliang Yang detailed the ongoing work in the IPv6 city — Xiong’an China. In Xiong’an, they are now advancing IoT deployment for home appliances, smart charging stations, and utility meters. Due to the lack of IPv6-enabled products, they worked with manufacturers to develop solutions, restructure architecture, and unify interfaces.
Guoliang detailed many projects including a 2,500-household IoT demonstration, large-scale trials of IPv6 charging stations, and the upgrade of 50,000 households with IPv6 remote meter management, highlighting IPv6’s potential to transform connectivity across industries.
Wei Wang then discussed a novel approach to using IPv6 addresses for non-electronic items. He highlighted existing challenges for identifying non-electronic items including accessibility and identifier compatibility and how, by using Resource Tagged Attestation (RTA) and Cryptographically Generated Address (CGA) technologies, IPv6 addresses could be mapped to physical products for identification, verification, and tracing purposes.
Wei explained that enterprise users are looking for globally accessible, self-verifiable, and random identifiers that seamlessly integrate with their existing systems. To achieve this, efforts would focus on ensuring compatibility with IETF standards and utilizing security technologies to enhance security and trust. This presentation generated substantial discussion.
Ching-Heng Ku, provided an overview of IoT architecture for smart healthcare in Taiwan, outlining three key components — the machine-to-machine area network, core network, and application. He described the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) as a network of connected devices that transmit health data, enabling remote monitoring and management.
Ching-Heng described the benefits of better patient outcomes, increased efficiency, cost savings, and associated challenges such as data security, privacy, interoperability, and device reliability.
Maile Halatuituia, Cyber Security Engineer at Tonga Communications Corporation, shared how IPv6 is being used on the utility network in Tonga to manage smart meters in the island nation. Maile’s portion of the video below has been removed at his own request.
Following APNIC 58, the speakers expressed their enthusiasm to continue collaborating on IoT projects, share information, and discuss potential future initiatives. They also encouraged wider participation in future meetings.
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