Institute for Communication Systems, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom, CEA- LETI, 17 rue des martyrs, Grenoble, France, CRS4, Technology Park of Sardinia, Building 1, Loc. Piscina Manna, Pula (CA), Sardinia, Italy, Department of Information and Communications Engineering, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain, Digital Catapult, 101 Euston Rd, London, United Kingdom, DunavNet, Antona Cehova 1, Novi Sad, Serbia, Resonance Design, Leo XIIIe straat 90j, Tilburg, Netherlands, Universidad de Cantabria, Edificio de Ingeniería de Telecomunicación, Plaza de la Ciencia s/n, Santander, Spain

This paper presents the development and architecture of the SocIoTal platform. SocIoTal is a European FP7 project which aims to create a socially-aware citizen-centric Internet of Things infrastructure. The aim of the project is to put trust, user-control and transparency at the heart of the system in order to gain the confidence of everyday users and developers. By providing adequate tools and mechanisms that simplify complexity and lower the barriers of entry, it will encourage citizen participation in the Internet of Things. This adds a novel and rich dimension to the emerging IoT ecosystem, providing a wealth of opportunities for the creation of new services and applications. These services and applications will be able to address the needs of society therefore improving the quality of life in cities and communities. In addition to technological innovation, the SocIoTal project sought to innovate the way in which users and developers interact and shape the direction of the project. The project worked on new formats in obtaining data, information and knowledge. The first step consisted of gaining input, feedback and information on IoT as a reality in business. This led to a validated iterative methodology which formed part of the SocIoTal toolkit and a best practices guide for local policy makers and cities. © 2017 IEEE.

Iterative methods, Best practices, Citizen participation, Iterative methodology, Local policies, New services, Quality of life, Services and applications, Technological innovation, Internet of things