journal article·2026-02-03Open access

Flexible Multi-Domain IoT Architecture for Smart Cities

Maria Crespo-Aguado, Lucía Martínez-Palomo, Nuria Molner, Arturo-José Torrealba-Ferrer, Jose-Miguel Higón-Sorribes, Carlos Blasco, Carlos Ravelo, David Gomez-Barquero

Applied Sciences· Volume 16· Issue 3

Abstract

Smart city infrastructures are evolving from centralized cloud systems to distributed Cyber-Physical Systems of Systems (CPSoS), requiring integration across heterogeneous administrative domains. This work presents a flexible, modular, multi-domain architecture for automated orchestration and management of IoT services across heterogeneous environments. It relies on a recursive federation model, where autonomous local domains manage their own resources while higher-level components coordinate cross-domain operations. Interoperability is achieved through standardized interfaces using TM Forum Open APIs and ETSI NGSI-LD, while a Secure Integration Fabric enables secure, policy-based coordination across public and private domains. The architecture is validated in a real-world Smart Waste Management pilot, demonstrating support for flexible workflows, cross-platform collaboration, real-time decision-making, and avoidance of vendor lock-in. Experimental results show that dynamic, context-driven service orchestration improves scalability, interoperability, and resource efficiency compared to static deployments.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: IoT and Edge/Fog Computing · Smart Grid Security and Resilience · Smart Cities and Technologies

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM), Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV), 46022 Valencia, Spain

Telefónica Innovación Digital, Edificio Oeste 1, 28050 Madrid, Spain

Fundación Valenciaport, Muelle del Turia S/N, 46024 Valencia, Spain

Nespra S.L., La Marina de Valencia, Edificio Lanzadera, Muelle de la Aduana S/N, 46024 Valencia, Spain

5G Communications for Future Industry Verticals S.L. (Fivecomm), Camino de Vera S/N, Building 6D, 4th Floor, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Funding

European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme

References (29)

Show source-provided references
1. Ivanov, A., Kruglik, S., and Lakontsev, D. (2018, January 3–6). Cloud MIMO for Smart Parking System. Proceedings of the 2018 IEEE 87th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), Porto, Portugal.10.1109/VTCSpring.2018.8417758 ↗
2. Bali, V., Mathur, S., Sharma, V., and Gaur, D. (2020, January 18–19). Smart Traffic Management System using IoT Enabled Technology. Proceedings of the 2020 2nd International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communication Control and Networking (ICACCCN), Greater Noida, India.10.1109/ICACCCN51052.2020.9362753 ↗
3. Brazauskas, J., Verma, R., Safronov, V., Danish, M., Lewis, I., and Mortier, R. (2021, January 17–18). Real-time data visualisation on the adaptive city platform. Proceedings of the BuildSys ’21: The 8th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, Coimbra, Portugal.10.1145/3486611.3492225 ↗
4. Alnanih, R., Elrefaei, L., and Al-Ahwal, A. (2025). Advancing Sustainability Through an IoT-Driven Smart Waste Management System with Software Engineering Integration. Sustainability, 17.10.3390/su17219803 ↗
5. Smart Cities—A Structured Literature Review10.3390/smartcities6040080 ↗
6. Sathupadi, K., Achar, S., Bhaskaran, S.V., Faruqui, N., Abdullah-Al-Wadud, M., and Uddin, J. (2024). Edge-Cloud Synergy for AI-Enhanced Sensor Network Data: A Real-Time Predictive Maintenance Framework. Sensors, 24.10.3390/s24247918 ↗
7. Crespo-Aguado, M., Lozano, R., Hernandez-Gobertti, F., Molner, N., and Gomez-Barquero, D. (2024). Flexible Hyper-Distributed IoT-Edge-Cloud Platform for Real-Time Digital Twin Applications on 6G-Intended Testbeds for Logistics and Industry. Future Internet, 16.10.3390/fi16110431 ↗
8. (2025, December 15). SDG Cities. Available online: https://unhabitat.org/programme/sdg-cities.
9. European Parliament, and Council of the European Union (2022). Decision
10. (EU) 2022/2481 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 establishing the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030. Off. J. Eur. Union, L 323, 4-26.
11. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The 17 Goals|Sustainable Development, United Nations. Available online: https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
12. Trigka, M., and Dritsas, E. (2025). Edge and Cloud Computing in Smart Cities. Future Internet, 17.10.3390/fi17030118 ↗
13. Visvizi, A., and Pérez del Hoyo, R. (2021). Chapter 4—Technology and SDGs in smart cities context. Smart Cities and the UN SDGs, Elsevier.
14. Mirani, A.A., Velasco-Hernandez, G., Awasthi, A., and Walsh, J. (2022). Key Challenges and Emerging Technologies in Industrial IoT Architectures: A Review. Sensors, 22.10.20944/preprints202207.0022.v1 ↗
15. Salama, R., Al-Turjman, F., Aeri, M., and Yadav, S.P. (2023, January 20–21). Internet of Intelligent Things (IoT)—An Overview. Proceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Computational Intelligence, Communication Technology and Networking (CICTN), Ghaziabad, India.10.1109/CICTN57981.2023.10141157 ↗
16. (2023, February 24). 5G IA. 5G IA’s Position Paper on a European Partnership on Smart Networks and Services Under Horizon Europe. Available online: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2020-07/ec_rtd_he-partnership_smart-networks-services.pdf.
17. AIOTI (2023, February 24). Advancing EU IoT Research and Innovation—AIOTI’s Position on Horizon Europe and Digital Europe. Available online: https://aioti.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AIOTI_Position_Paper_HEU_2018_for_publishing.pdf.
18. (2023, February 24). 5G IA—AIOTI. Smart Networks and IoT—Common Topics for Research and Innovation in Horizon Europe. Available online: https://aioti.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/5G-IA-AIOTI-Common-Topics-190930-Web.pdf.
19. AIOTI WG Standardisation (2025, December 15). High Level Architecture (HLA) Release 7.0. Available online: https://aioti.eu/wp-content/uploads/AIOTI-HLA-Report-R7-Final.pdf.
20. Sofia, R.C., Khelifi, M., Jakobson, E., Presser, M., Soldatos, J., Kolovou, L., and Calisti, M. (2025, December 15). A Perspective on Next Generation IoT Impact, Success Stories, and Business Modelling Aspects. EU-IoT Project Deliverable D5.7 Brochure. Available online: https://ngiot.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/EU-IoT_D5.7_Brochure.pdf.
21. From cloud and fog computing to federated-fog computing: A comparative analysis of computational resources in real-time IoT applications based on semantic interoperability10.1016/j.future.2024.05.001 ↗
22. Distributed intelligence for IoT-based smart cities: A survey10.1007/s00521-024-10136-y ↗
23. (2023). Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC); Framework and Reference Architecture (Standard No. ETSI GS MEC 003 V4.1.1).
24. (2022). Information Technology—Smart City Digital Platform Reference Architecture—Data and Service. Standard No. ISO/IEC 24039:2022.
25. Szilagyi, P., Contreras-Murillo, L.M., Menéndez, D.R., Giardina, P., and De la Oliva, A. (2024, January 21–24). 6G Architecture for Enabling Predictable, Reliable and Deterministic Networks: The PREDICT6G Case. Proceedings of the 2024 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), Dubai, United Arab Emirates.10.1109/WCNC57260.2024.10571097 ↗
26. Hlophe, M.C., and Maharaj, B.T. (2023). From Cyber–Physical Convergence to Digital Twins: A Review on Edge Computing Use Case Designs. Appl. Sci., 13.10.3390/app132413262 ↗
27. Benchmarking Open Source NFV MANO Systems: OSM and ONAP10.1016/j.comcom.2020.07.013 ↗
28. NGSI-LD Community (2025, December 15). Official Website for NGSI-LD. Available online: https://ngsi-ld.org/.
29. TM Forum (2021). TMF633 Service Catalog API User Guide v4.0.0; Specification, TM Forum.