Capability Type

Description

Transducer Capabilities:

Provide the ability for computing devices to interact directly with physical entities of interest. Every IoT device has at least one transducer capability. The two types of transducer capabilities are given below:

Sensing:

The ability to provide an observation of an aspect of the physical world in the form of measurement data. E.g. temperature measurement, radiographic imaging, optical sensing, and audio sensing.

Actuating:

The ability to change something in the physical world. E.g. heating coils, cardiac electric shock delivery, electronic door locks, servo motors, and robotic arms.

Interface capabilities:

Enable device interactions (e.g., device-to-device communications, human-to-device communications). Examples are:

Application interface:

The ability for other computing devices to communicate with an IoT device through an IoT device application. E.g. an application programming interface (API).

Human user interface:

The ability for an IoT device and people to communicate directly with each other. E.g. touch screens, haptic devices, microphones, cameras, and speakers.

Network interface:

The ability to interface with a communication network for the purpose of communicating data, i.e. to use a communication network. Includes both hardware and software (e.g., a network interface card or chip and the software implementation of the networking). E.g. Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), and ZigBee.

Supporting capabilities:

Provide functionality that supports the other IoT capabilities. Examples are:

Device management

Cybersecurity

Privacy capabilities