Virtual-Thing: Thing Description based Virtualization

Abstract: Integrating different Internet of Things devices from different manufacturers to create a mashup scenario can be a tedious and error-prone task that involves studying non-standard datasheets. A Thing Description (TD) as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) can make such a task less complicated by providing a standardized model for describing the metadata and the interface of a Web of Things (WoT) entity. However, a situation where a mashup developer has access to a Thing's TD before having access to the Thing itself may still arise. A way of simulating devices based only on their TDs is thus helpful during the development process of a mashup. In this work, we present a method of creating a virtual Thing that simulates the behavior of a WoT-enabled entity based only on its Thing Description.