The Applied Research Center for Cloud of Things capitalizes on the Tandy School of Computer Science’s research and development expertise in web services, cloud computing, sensor networks, information assurance and critical infrastructure protection to articulate and demonstrate novel solutions to industry problems arising from the use of Cloud services in combination with the Internet of Things, referred to as the Cloud of Things.
Manufacturing components may be instrumented with sensors, requiring communication with processes to aggregate business data in meaningful ways and analyze it to improve logistics, reduce costs and control waste. Networks of people and equipment involved in the discovery, refinement and distribution of energy products can also be Internet enabled. For organizations, the Cloud can provide communication, monitoring and control of enormous amounts of information. These complex systems, a Cloud of Things, may be geographically and organizationally dispersed. Those who can create clear representations of the scope of their concerns in this expansive system of systems will enjoy both competitive advantage and be positioned to realize new opportunities as new products, data and technologies are introduced. At the same time, there exist significant research and development challenges in Cloud of Things system configuration, management, analysis and protection from threats.
Cloud of Things research and development can deliver innovative and customized technology solutions for information access and visibility, optimized and secure data gathering and flow control, and accelerated service delivery within stakeholder parameters for using the Internet and Cloud. This technology is particularly important for companies that rely on sensors and sensor networks that may be remote, exist in problematic environments, and must communicate information in a timely manner, so that alerts and actions can be taken to remedy a situation or optimize performance. The center will enable collaborative, member-directed applied research, development, experimentation and training projects that leverage the capabilities of the Tandy School of Computer Science faculty. The initial focus will be on the following technologies, services and algorithms, all of which include addressing a variety of security concerns:
1. Monitoring and analytics embedded in the Cloud for alerts and tracking
2. Communication and integration among components and Cloud services
3. Optimization of industry product and service performance using Cloud data analytics
The director of the Applied Research Center for Cloud of Things is Rose Gamble, gamble@utulsa.edu, Tandy Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. The associate director is John Hale, john-hale@utulsa.edu, Tandy Professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Though the center will officially reside within the Tandy School of Computer Science, faculty across the university whose expertise can contribute to its research and development projects will be invited to participate.