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Academic year 2015-16

Internet of Things

Degree:	Code:	Type:
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science	22632	Optional subject
Bachelor's Degree in Telematics Engineering	22580	Optional subject
Bachelor's Degree in Audiovisual Systems Engineering	22666	Optional subject

ECTS credits:

Workload:

100 hours

Trimester:

3rd

Department:	Dept. of Information and Communication Technologies
Coordinator:	Rafael Pous
Teaching staff:	Rafael Pous Ausias Vives
Language:	English
Timetable:
Building:	Communication campus - Poblenou

Introduction

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a course about the new paradigm of objects interacting with people, with information systems, and with other objects. The course will focus on creative thinking and on hands-on project development. The students will learn:

IoT concepts
IoT technologies
Creative thinking techniques
Co-creation techniques

This subject does not have the intention of being a comprehensive course about the technologies involved in IoT. The focus will be more on the possibilities offered by the different technologies, and on the creative thinking techniques to find innovative applications of combinations of such technologies in real-life scenarios.

Several sesions will also be scheduled in which people from industry will make presentations about selected topics related to the IoT.

Prerequisites

The students will be required to participate actively in creative thinking exercises. A willingness to be creative and participate in open discussions is a must.

For the lab project the students will have to be able to develop a simple 3-layer web application (web interface, functionality layer, persistence layer) in any computer language (Java, PHP, etc.) with any database (MySQL, etc).

Associated competences

The following competences will be developed during this course:

Critical thinking: by analyzing uses cases, videos, and other materials related to the IoT, the ability to think critically about this materials will be developed.
Creative thinking: some methodologies for creative thinking will be presented and practiced during the class sessions.
Team work: the lab projects will require team work to split the tasks, communicate, and work together towards a common goal.

Assessment

There will be a single evaluation itinerary for this subject based on:

Laboratory (60%): there will be only one lab project. The lab projects will be done in groups of three students, and there will be a single qualification for all group members (only in exceptional circumstances will this principle be changed). The lab assignment may consist of one or more deliverables, some in writing, some in the form of a presentation. All written assignments will be turned in in PDF format and through the Aula Global e-learning platform. No written assignments will be accepted in other formats, through other channels, or delivered after the deadline. An assignment not delivered, delivered not according to the above requirements, or delivered late, will be graded with a 0/10. Attendance to the laboratory sessions is a strict requirement. More than two unjustified missed laboratory sessions will be a cause for a 0/10 laboratory grade. A minimum average laboratory grade of 5/10 is required to pass the course. A laboratory grade lower than 5/10 will mean that the student will have to take the class all over again, since laboratories cannot be passed in the July examination.
Final exam (20%): a final exam, covering the topics taught in the classroom and laboratory sessions will be scheduled during the official exam period of the University. The final exam will cover all the topics of the subject. A minimum grade of 5/10 in the final exam is required to pass the course. A grade lower than 5/10 will mean that the student will have to take the July exam (given that the laboratory grade is 5/10 or higher).
Class participation (20%): a grade given by the course teachers, evaluating the degree of participation and involvement of the student in the the classroom and laboratory sessions. Asking questions, answering the questions posed by the teachers, attending the conferences by invited speakers, making contributions to the brainstorming sessions, being creative, and a general positive attitude will all count towards this evaluation criteria. No minimum grade is required for class participation.

Content blocks

The subject is organized around 6 content blocks, each content block being discussed in one or two 2-hour classroom sessions:

Content block 1.- Introduction – Concepts behind the Internet of Things.

The IoT paradigm
Smart objects
Bits and atoms
Goal orientation - Convergence of technologies

Content block 2. - Technologies behind the Internet of Things.

RFID + NFC
Wireless networks + WSN
RTLS + GPS
Agents + Multiagent systems

Content block 3. - Creative thinking techniques.

Modifications
Combination scenarios
Breaking assumptions
Solving problems

Content block 4. - Internet of things in retail.

A presentation by Ramir De Porrata-Doria, CEO of Keonn Technologies. (To be confirmed)

Content block 5. - NFC applications for the IoT.

Presentation by Pedro Martínez, CEO at NXP m-Knowledge Center. (To be confirmed)

Content block 6. - Livinglab cocreation for the IoT.

A presentation by Heiner Lehr, Partner at Syntesa. (To be confirmed)

Methodology

The Internet of Things course will be based on a hand-on methodology that will keep classroom sessions to a minimum, and will base most of the learning activities on laboratory work, following the “learning by doing” principle.

Classroom sessions

There will be only 8 classroom session, some to introduce the basic concepts of the IoT, some to learn and practice creative thinking techniques applied to the IoT, and some presentations by external speakers. Attendance and active participation by the students are mandatory, and will be evaluated.

Laboratory sessions

The laboratory sessions will be used to complete the laboratory project. Laboratory sessions will be two-hour long. There will be 9 laboratory sessions in which a professor will be present. The laboratory session will be organized in smaller groups, to be able to have a higher degree of interaction between the professor and the students. The students are welcome to use the lab in the sessions for which a different group is scheduled, in an “open lab” mode, during which the professor will give priority to the students of the groups scheduled for that session.

During the laboratory sessions there will be work on using RFID and other technologies to build simple IoT scenarios. The teacher will pose questions to the students. Active participation by the students is expected, and will be evaluated. Attendance is not only expected, but required, and more than two unjustified missed laboratory session will entail failing the course, even in July, and having to take it all over again the following year.

Invited speakers

During the course several speakers, chosen among relevant professionals in the field, will be invited to give a presentation to the class. Attendance and active participation by the students is expected, and will be evaluated.

Office hours

The teachers will publish the office hours during which the students will be able to resolve questions or difficulties encountered during the course.

Resources