As discussed above, such an evolution could have a great
impact on our life. Active Things could improve
dramatically processes operating both in real time and in post
elaboration mode.
The layer of the Internet of Things framework that allows
communication between sensors/actuators is implemented by
two main categories of networking elements:
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID technology enables the design of microchips for
wireless data communication that can identify anything they
are attached to automatically just as an electronic barcode.
[18,19]. The passive RFID tags doesn’t need batteries, it uses
the communication signal of the RFID reader in order to
power up itself. Whereas Active RFID readers have their
own battery supply and can instantiate the communication.
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN)
WSN answer the need of realizing networks made of a
huge number of sensors that monitor physical properties in
specific environments, cooperating and communicating
through the network in order to mutually exchange their data
or provide them or to a main location. The more modern
networks are bi-directional, also enabling control of sensor
activity.