Scope
<p dir="ltr">The <strong>Eclipse VOStack</strong> project delivers a multi-layer software framework that virtualizes IoT devices into interoperable Virtual Objects, enabling standardized management, semantic abstraction, service composition, and seamless integration with edge/coud technologies.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>Eclipse VOStack</strong> is aligned with the <strong>W3C Web of Things</strong> Standard.</p><p dir="ltr">A <strong>Virtual Object (VO)</strong> is a virtual counterpart of an IoT device. It provides abstractions for managing any type of IoT device while augmenting the supported functionalities through a multi-layer software stack, called <strong>VO Stack</strong>.</p><p dir="ltr">A <strong>VO</strong> serves several important purposes which help to overcome the limitations described above:</p><ul><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e15d96e5e6ea0c012eb0d236a29bf7a7f"><strong>Semantic abstraction:</strong> Provides a standard representation of a physical device for easier management, monitoring, and discovery of device resources.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="eef1e8f8ecbedc8a75abdfa4978bc07ed"><strong>Interoperability:</strong> Can be used in heterogeneous scenarios to bridge communication between different standards and protocols.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="ee8642dc0a92ab0e0b7032133fcf3cc44"><strong>Data modelling:</strong> Enables the use of different data modellings for different purposes, leveraging physical devices for complex data model transmission.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="efc30bb59f371a69dc7ad2e845a22cf2e"><strong>Service composition: </strong>Composite Virtual Objects (cVOs) can be composed to extend the functionalities offered by one or multiple VOs under different interaction schemes.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e03076d0342345d23e38d5b948b1c1ebe"><strong>Simulation and testing:</strong> In its Digital-Twin (DT) extension, the VOs and cVOs can be used to simulate physical device behavior in a virtual environment before deployment, as well as to support real-time interaction and guidance of the DT.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e757905cac4d83c2183d45ed1ba36f160"><strong>Remote management and accessibility:</strong> The VO enables continuous data access and remote management where physical device access can be limited or impractical.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e4226c073722f4bbaa81d2001dcd37561"><strong>Resource consumption:</strong> It can leverage the physical device.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e66f5fd894c99084c9110b1c5ab419b06"><strong>Orchestration/Management interfaces</strong>: The VO can be managed by edge/cloud orchestration platforms, while also being part of distributed application graphs.</li></ul><p dir="ltr">Eclipse VO Stack supports interaction with both physical IoT devices and edge/cloud computing orchestration platforms. It has three main architectural layers namely: </p><ol><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="ee80dbb904c6bdfe9534721fbbb305fac">Physical Convergence Layer to tackle the major challenges of connecting the IoT devices with the computing continuum infrastructure</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e88014ea03c103b1da9faf0e192ff581f">Edge/Cloud Convergence Layer for bringing the VO closer to the application and orchestration layer.</li><li dir="ltr" data-list-item-id="e084f4161660e9dec46c50d1cd0e77eb8">Backend Logic Layer for augmenting the functionalities and capabilities of IoT devices</li></ol>
