Connecting in-body nano communication with body area networks: Challenges and opportunities of the Internet of Nano Things

Nano-communication is considered to become a major building block for many novel applications in the health care and fitness sector. Given the recent developments in the scope of nano machinery, coordination and control of these devices becomes the critical challenge to be solved. In-Body Nano-Communication based on either molecular, acoustic, or RF radio communication in the terahertz band supports the exchange of messages between these in-body devices. Yet, the control and communication with external units is not yet fully understood. In this paper, we investigate the challenges and opportunities of connecting Body Area Networks and other external gateways with in-body nano-devices, paving the road towards more scalable and efficient Internet of Nano Things (IoNT) systems. We derive a novel network architecture supporting the resulting requirements and, most importantly, investigate options for the simulation based performance evaluation of such novel concepts. Our study is concluded by a first look at the resulting security issues considering the high impact of potential misuse of the communication links. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.