A DEVS-Based Methodology for Simulation and Model-Driven Development of IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a promising technology with diverse applications across industries, including smart homes, healthcare services, and manufacturing. However, despite its potential, IoT presents unique challenges, such as interoperability, system complexity, and the need for efficient development and maintenance. This paper explores a model-driven development (MDD) approach to design IoT applications by employing high-level models to facilitate abstraction and reusability. Specifically, we adopt a methodology based on Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS), a modular and hierarchical formalism for MDD of IoT. In our work, different DEVS models are developed to address distinct functional aspects of the devices, encompassing data retrieval, data serialization/deserialization, and network connectivity. The developed models, along with a DEVS simulator, are then used for both simulation and deployment. To create a comprehensive simulation environment, the paper introduces two additional models for simulating the MQTT protocol, including its Quality of Service (QoS) mechanism.