Symmetry in Internet of Things and Distributed Computing Systems: Recent Innovations, Architecture (Design and Modelling), and Case Studies

Dear Colleagues,

Recent Internet of Things (IoT) trends include edge computing, 5G and 6G technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). Although edge and distributed computing differ in their cost, effectiveness, data transfer, security vulnerability level, computing capacity, and data processing location, both approaches aim to improve performance, efficiency, and scalability in system networks. Currently, 5G—and soon 6G—are technologies enabling faster data transfer in communication networks, including IoT-based networks, which feature a set of devices able to communicate with each other and autonomously exchange data. Here, exchanging data between entities in an IoT network could benefit from the symmetry properties of the Internet of Things.

The growing integration of symmetry in the Internet of Things (IoT) and distributed computing systems has revolutionized how modern computing environments work. Symmetry principles in these domains enhance efficiency, scalability, resilience, and fault tolerance, ensuring that the systems remain robust despite increasing complexity.

The increasing complexity of the Internet of Things (IoT) and distributed computing systems has led to new challenges in system design, optimization, and performance. A key aspect influencing these advancements is symmetry, which plays a critical role in the architecture, algorithms, and operational efficiency of IoT networks and distributed computing environments. Symmetry in these systems enhances scalability, fault tolerance, security, and energy efficiency, making it an essential area of study.

This Special Issue aims to explore recent innovations, theoretical models, architectural designs, and real-world case studies that leverage symmetry in the design, modeling, and deployment of IoT and distributed computing systems. We seek original research and review articles that highlight breakthroughs in system symmetry, including its impact on network protocols, edge computing, AI-driven automation, cybersecurity, and blockchain integration in distributed environments.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

1. Medical sector

• Cognitive IoT for elderly care;
• IT-enabled healthcare transformation and delivery;
• IoT cloud integration in medical applications;
• Symmetry in IoT for personalized medicine;
• Big data for IoT in medical applications;
• Longitudinal and in-depth case and pilot studies on the implementation of IT-enabled services and operations and symmetry;
• Body area networks and Symmetry;
• IoT-enabled health care systems;
• Reliability, safety, security, and privacy in IoT-based remote care systems;
• Wellness and in-body sensors;
• IoT and data quality.

2. Financing, Banking, and Business

• IoT and data quality for a better KYC (knowledge of customers);
• Symmetry in IoT-based (big) data collection for core banking operations;
• Symmetry in IoT-based (big) data collection for fraud prevention in the insurance industry;
• Case and pilot studies of IoT-enabled and/or distrusted core banking systems and applications.

3. Agriculture and Food Security

• IoT and symmetry in pest monitoring;
• Distributed computing pest-surveillance systems;
• Crop harvest monitoring systems;
• Smart IoT-based crop production systems;
• Longitudinal and in-depth case and pilot studies of IoT-enabled and distrusted harvest and pest monitoring systems and symmetry.

4. Manufacturing and production

• IoT and big data in manufacturing;
• Advancements.

5. Technology Advancements

• Advancement in distributed computing systems;
• Recent technological evolution in IoT and symmetry;
• Distributed computing systems;
• Next-generation IoT networks.

6. Symmetry in IoT architectures and distributed systems

• Symmetric models and design patterns for IoT and distributed computing;
• Fault tolerance and redundancy strategies using symmetry principles;
• Load balancing, scheduling, and resource allocation in distributed networks.

7. Innovations in IoT and distributed computing

• Edge, fog, and cloud computing with symmetrical design approaches;
• AI and ML-driven optimization in symmetric distributed networks;
• Blockchain and security mechanisms leveraging symmetry.

8. Case studies and real-world implementations

• Symmetric IoT applications in healthcare, smart cities, and Industry 4.0;
• Distributed ledger technologies and symmetry-based consensus mechanisms;
• Performance analysis of symmetric vs. asymmetric architectures.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Thierry Oscar Codjo EDOH
Dr. Giuseppe Palestra
Prof. Dr. Shu-Yen Wan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• internet of things
• distributed core banking systems
• distributed medical systems and applications
• internet of medical things
• smart agriculture systems
• distributed manufacturing systems
• technological advancements
• symmetry in distributed systems
• big data
• data quality