FIWARE Orion Context Broker

The Orion Context Broker allows applications to update and access context information through a simple API. This context information is stored and managed in a centralized way, making it easy to query for the state of entities (such as the temperature in a room or the location of a vehicle) and receive updates as these states change.

Scalability: Handles a large amount of data and a high number of requests effectively, suitable for large-scale environments. Real-time Context Management: Provides up-to-date information about the physical world, enabling applications to react to changes as they occur. Interoperability: Supports standardized APIs which facilitate communication between different systems and components, making integration smoother. Customizability: Offers flexibility to be tailored to specific needs of various smart applications across different sectors.

Orion Context Broker communicates primarily through the NGSI (Next Generation Service Interface) API, which is a standard API for managing context information. The communication process includes:

Data Provision: Entities like sensors or user devices push data to the Orion Context Broker. Subscription and Notification: Applications subscribe to changes in context. When changes occur, Orion notifies these applications according to the rules defined in the subscriptions. Querying Context: Applications can query Orion to retrieve the current state of entities, either as a one-off or on an ongoing basis.

Smart Cities: Managing real-time data from various city sensors to monitor traffic, pollution levels, and energy usage, enhancing city management and citizen services. Smart Agriculture: Monitoring soil moisture and weather conditions to optimize irrigation and crop management, reducing water usage and increasing yield. Healthcare: Tracking the location and condition of medical assets and patients within hospital premises to improve services and patient care.