Internet of Things Simulation Using OMNeT++ and Hardware in the Loop

Especially in the upcoming Internet of Things (IoT), an efficient data exchange is mandatory and the analysis of network communication is of high importance. Value must be attached to several different communication protocols, as there is no universally applicable standard for all areas of application. The target of this paper is to provide the basis for an IoT simulation including Hardware in the Loop. The simulation framework OMNeT++ is used to model the network infrastructure which can be extended by sensors, actuators, and even processors to achieve high flexibility. To estimate the behavior of the entire network at early stages of development, the presented approach allows the simulation of components that are not yet available. It acts as a gateway by translating device-specific protocols in a representation that can be handled sufficiently by the underlying network simulation. A case study is presented in example of Z-Wave and EnOcean periphery. It shows versatility and easy extensibility of the presented work.