Multi-criteria Analysis and Decision Methodology for the Selection of Internet-of-Things Hardware Platforms

The Internet-of-Things (IoT) is today a reality, and Smart Systems have taken advantage of this to improve its own sense, act and control capabilities. IoT is a highly heterogeneous environment composed by a vast number of "things" (sensors, smart objects, etc.). These "things" are based on hardware platforms which can differ widely since manufactures are being capable of develop new devices every day to tackle different application domains. Consequently, a problem emerges regarding which will be the suitable, proper hardware solution for an IoT deployment. Make a right decision is probably one of the toughest challenges for science and technology managers. This work proposes a novel methodology to analyze a set of hardware alternatives based on user's multi-criteria requirements, and advice on the more suitable hardware solution for a specific situation. For proof-of-concept it is used different Arduino boards as hardware alternatives, in which user requirements are based on hardware features. This methodology foresees its use during the development of Smart Systems (e.g.: Transportation, Healthcare) to optimize the selection of hardware platforms.