With the rise of connected objects in the industrial world and the growing need for interoperability between IT applications, data acquisition by a software platform such as Topkapi is becoming more complex by going beyond the traditional standards of communication protocols such as Modbus, Bacnet, DNP3, etc. To meet this new challenge, Topkapi has a scriptable communication protocol for customised data acquisition by writing lines of code in JavaScript.

This communication protocol makes it possible to use Webservices (such as the REST API), to acquire data in emails or text files, to use the MQTT transport layer, etc. AREAL enriches Topkapi's data acquisition capabilities as and when needed by proposing new libraries. 

In concrete terms, you can therefore, for example

• Acquire data on SIGFOX network by interfacing with the API⁽¹⁾ (Webservice) proposed by the operator
• Acquire data on the LoRa network operated by interfacing with the APIs⁽¹⁾ (Webservices) offered by the operators Orange (Live Objects) and Bouygues (Objenious)
• Interface with any type of data portal hosted in the cloud or "on premise" with an API⁽¹⁾: French weather forecast, RTE⁽²⁾, connected object manufacturers, etc.
• Use the MQTT transport layer encountered with many connected object manufacturers 

(1) API: Application Programming Interface
(2) RTE: Réseau de transport d'électricité

These new "modes of communication" differ from their predecessors in that they are not standardised: structuring of the data file made freely available, accessibility to the data, communication support, etc. Hence the need for us to offer with Topkapi a "programmable" connector that certainly requires knowledge of the JavaScript language but that allows for customised data acquisition that is also scalable. You therefore retain control of your communication protocols in connection with new information technologies and the need for interoperability between technical solutions.