Deep learning applications in the Internet of Things: a review, tools, and future directions

The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled the proliferation of interconnected devices and sensors, generating vast amounts of often complex and unstructured data. Deep learning (DL), a subfield of machine learning (ML), has shown great promise in addressing the challenges of processing and analyzing such data. Considering the increasing importance of DL and data analysis, we decided to review the articles of the last few years in this field to pave the way for researchers. In this article, we used the systematic literature review (SLR) method, and in line with that, we selected and analyzed 56 articles published from 2019 to April 2024. We first discuss the DL models used in the IoT field and clarify their specific use cases. Secondly, we outline an analysis of research areas in DL-based IoT. In addition, our research extends to the tools and simulators used to evaluate studies in the DL-based IoT domain. We also examine the DL-based IoT research datasets. Finally, our review identifies future directions and open issues in DL-based IoT. We aim to contribute to an accurate understanding of the current state, challenges, and potential breakthroughs at the intersection of DL and the IoT.