FIESTA · Project

Connect Your IoT Devices Across Platforms Without Rebuilding Everything From Scratch

digitalTestedTRL 5

Imagine you have weather sensors in Madrid, traffic cameras in London, and air quality monitors in Seoul — but none of them can talk to each other because they all speak different "languages." FIESTA built a kind of universal translator for IoT devices, so data from any sensor platform can be shared, combined, and tested together through the cloud. They proved it works by linking four real testbeds across Spain, the UK, France, and Korea. The end goal is a certification programme so companies can prove their IoT products actually play nice with others.

By the numbers

Real-world IoT testbeds interconnected (Spain, UK, France, Korea)

Consortium partners across the project

Countries represented in the consortium

Total deliverables produced

EUR 5,135,287

EU contribution to the project

Industry partners in the consortium

SMEs participating in the project

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies deploying IoT solutions across multiple sites or vendors face a costly integration nightmare — every platform uses different data formats, protocols, and APIs, forcing expensive custom bridges that break when anything changes. There is no easy way to run experiments or share data across geographically distributed IoT installations without rebuilding connections from scratch. This fragmentation slows down smart city rollouts, industrial IoT deployments, and cross-border sensor networks.

The solution

What was built

FIESTA built a cloud-based experimental infrastructure with three main components: a portal for submitting and managing IoT experiments across distributed testbeds, tools for managing interoperable datasets across different IoT platforms, and a blueprint for interconnecting IoT facilities using semantic data translation. All components went through two release cycles (V1 and V2) and were tested across 4 international testbeds. The project also designed a market confidence programme for certifying IoT interoperability.

Audience

Who needs this

IoT platform providers needing multi-vendor compatibility for smart city tendersSmart city system integrators managing sensors from different manufacturersLarge manufacturers running multi-site sensor networks with mixed equipmentIoT testing laboratories looking to offer interoperability certification servicesMunicipal governments evaluating vendor-neutral IoT infrastructure standards

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Smart City Solutions

mid-size

Target: IoT platform providers and smart city integrators

If you are an IoT platform provider struggling to make your sensors and devices work with municipal systems from other vendors — FIESTA developed a semantic interoperability layer tested across 4 testbeds in 4 countries that lets different IoT platforms share data without custom integrations. Their tools handle data format translation automatically, so you can bid on city contracts that require multi-vendor compatibility.

Industrial IoT & Manufacturing

enterprise

Target: Factory automation companies managing multi-site sensor networks

If you are a manufacturing company running sensor networks across multiple plants with different equipment suppliers — FIESTA built cloud-based infrastructure for managing interoperable datasets across 15 partner organizations. Their portal lets you submit experiments and manage IoT resources across sites, eliminating the need to maintain separate dashboards for each vendor's system.

IoT Testing & Certification

any

Target: IoT device manufacturers and testing laboratories

If you are an IoT device manufacturer needing to prove your products work with other platforms before going to market — FIESTA designed a global market confidence programme for IoT interoperability certification. With 38 deliverables covering tools, techniques, and best practices, their blueprint lets testing labs verify that IoT products meet openness and interoperability standards.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt FIESTA's interoperability tools?

The project's tools and techniques were developed as open experimental infrastructure with EUR 5,135,287 in EU funding. Based on available project data, the platform was designed for testbed operators and researchers, with open calls inviting third parties to integrate their platforms. Specific licensing fees or commercial pricing are not mentioned in the project data.

Can this work at industrial scale with thousands of devices?

FIESTA validated its infrastructure across 4 testbeds spanning Spain, UK, France, and Korea, with a consortium of 15 partners in 8 countries. The system was designed for large-scale experiments that transcend the boundaries of multiple IoT platforms. However, the project data does not specify maximum device counts or throughput benchmarks.

What is the IP situation — can we use this commercially?

FIESTA was an EU-funded Research and Innovation Action (RIA) involving 15 partners including 5 industry organizations and 3 SMEs. IP ownership typically follows Horizon 2020 rules where each partner owns the results they generate. Contact the coordinator at University of Galway for specific licensing arrangements.

How does this integrate with existing IoT platforms we already use?

FIESTA's core purpose is enabling testbed-agnostic access to IoT data and resources through semantic interoperability. The project built portal infrastructure with development, deployment, and management tools specifically designed to interconnect existing facilities. Their approach uses semantic data translation so platforms keep their native formats while sharing data through a common layer.

Is there a certification or compliance standard we can reference?

FIESTA established a global market confidence programme for IoT interoperability as part of its sustainability strategy. This programme was designed to enable platform providers and solution integrators to certify the openness and interoperability of their products. Based on available project data, the programme's current operational status after the project ended in 2018 would need to be confirmed with the coordinator.

What is the timeline from evaluation to deployment?

The project ran from 2015 to 2018 and produced 38 deliverables including prototype implementations released in two iteration cycles. The tools for managing interoperable datasets and the experiment management portal went through V1 and V2 releases. Since the project closed in 2018, any adoption would build on completed, tested infrastructure rather than ongoing development.

Consortium

Who built it

The FIESTA consortium brings together 15 partners from 8 countries, with a 33% industry ratio — 5 industry partners and 3 SMEs alongside 4 universities and 4 research organizations. The coordinator is University of Galway in Ireland. The inclusion of a Korean partner (self-funded) and collaboration with US experts signals genuine international reach beyond a typical EU project. For a business considering this technology, the mix of academic depth and industry participation suggests the tools were built with practical deployment in mind, though the university-led coordination means commercialization may require additional business development effort.

UNIVERSITY OF GALWAYCoordinator · IE
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE EN INFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUEparticipant · FR
SOCIEDAD PARA EL DESARROLLO REGIONAL DE CANTABRIA SAparticipant · ES
UNPARALLEL INNOVATION LDAparticipant · PT
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION LABORATORY IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIESparticipant · EL
AYUNTAMIENTO DE SANTANDERparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTONparticipant · UK
NEC LABORATORIES EUROPE GMBHparticipant · DE
UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIAparticipant · ES
NEC EUROPE LTDparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITY OF SURREYparticipant · UK
EGMparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

University of Galway, Ireland — reach out to their IoT research group for licensing and collaboration inquiries

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the FIESTA team about their IoT interoperability tools? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction and help assess fit for your use case.

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