Context-awareness for Dependable Low-Power IoT

Abstract

Dependability is the ability to consistently deliver trusted and uninterrupted service in the face of operational uncertainties. Ensuring dependable operation in large-scale, energy-constrained Internet of Things (IoT) deployments is as crucial as challenging, and calls for context-aware protocols where context refers to situational or state information. In this paper, we identify four critical context dimensions for IoT networks, namely energy status, information freshness, task relevance, and physical/medium conditions, and show how each one underpins core dependability attributes. Building on these insights, we propose a two-step protocol design framework that incorporates operation-specific context fields. Through three representative use cases, we demonstrate how context awareness can significantly enhance system dependability while imposing only minimal control-plane overhead.