# A Review on Internet of Things for Defense and Public Safety
## 2 Compelling COTS IoT Applications  
The introduction of the Network-Centric Warfare (NCW) paradigm [39; 40] transformed traditional military approaches by reversing the policy of expanded communication gateways, and by connecting battlefield assets back to headquarters. Through sharing data between both legacy assets and new deployments, this military vision creates advantages through force projection and secure timely exchanges of information between users. The NCW paradigm integrates three domains: the physical domain, generating data where events happen and operations are conducted; the information domain, in which data are transmitted and stored; and the cognitive domain, in which data are processed and analyzed supporting decision-making. The three domains of NCW translate directly into the foundations of today's commercial IoT. Consequently, this driving paradigm has led to the adoption of IoT-related technologies in key areas. Today, military and homeland security are struggling to equip its workforce with the basic functions provided by COTS technologies, i.e., commercial smart phones or Radio-frequency identification (RFID). Indeed, defense continues to drive innovation regarding advanced sensors, surveillance and reconnaissance drones, satellite communication systems, and control systems, and has invested significantly in mobile technologies, including tactical mobility for warfighters. Nevertheless, the vast majority of current IoT applications are driven by the private sector, with the military severely lagging behind in everyday operations. Defense has today an opportunity to seize benefits from IoT by partnering with the private sector and adopting IoT-enabled business practices that consider the technological particularities of tactical systems. Figure 2 shows a comparison between the private sector and the defense and public safety technology stack. This section provides an overview of COTS IoT applications that might be relevant and enlightening to defense and public safety environments. We have to remark the distinction between ad-hoc IoT military deployments and already established civil deployments that have to be protected. Examples of IoT deployment are numerous [34], but the following cases are illustrative of areas  
Figure 2: Private sector vs defense and public safety technology stack. where the civil deployment has achieved significant benefits that can be leveraged by the military. They include transportation, energy efficiency, inventory managements, or mining. * Transportation: Telogis [41], which builds engine-monitoring systems for General Motors (GM) vehicles, estimates that its smart engine reduces fuel consumption by 25%, around 30% in idle time, increases fleet use by 25%, and workforce productivity by 15%. * Energy efficiency: IoT-based energy management systems can reduce energy use in office by 20% [3]. Smart thermostats and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) save consumers as much as 10%-15% on heating and cooling. Additionally, smart appliances for home automation systems [42] are now being researched [43]. IoT-based use cases for smart cities have been also identified, like traffic monitoring [44], surveillance [45] and pollution monitoring [46]. Within this scenario, the content of the samples acquired may expose critical information. For example, in the case of noise pollution monitoring applications, the noise may also contain private conversations. * Inventory management: USTRANSCOM's Global Transportation Network (GTN) [47] and DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) developed a common information platform that enables the military to improve end-to-end supply visibility, service and logistics processes. The platform includes a single repository and universal access to logistics data so that any user or developer can easily access or manage supply chain information. Also, such a platform facilitates the development of new applications that run on the same backbone.