Microcontrollers for IoT

Prototyping
IoT Definitions
• Several Definitions from Gartner, IEEE, EU, IERC, Guillemin & Friess…

“An IoT system is a network of networks where, typically, a massive

number of objects, things, sensors or devices are connected through
communications and information infrastructure to provide value-
added services via intelligent data processing and management for
different applications (e.g. smart cities, smart health, smart grid,
smart home, smart transportation, and smart shopping).”
-- IEEE Internet of Things Journal
How to think about the Internet of Things

Four main components of an IoT system:

1. The Thing itself (the device)
2. The Local Network; this can include a gateway, which translates
proprietary communication protocols to Internet Protocol
3. The Internet
4. Back-End Services; enterprise data systems, or PCs and mobile
devices
IoT – Embedded systems point of view
Idea of the Internet of Things

The idea of the Internet of Things suggests that rather than

having a small number of very powerful computing devices in
your life (laptop, tablet, phone, music player), you might have
a large number of things which are less powerful (umbrella,
bracelet, mirror, fridge, shoes) – all connected to Internet,
and providing value added services.
The Internet of Things: Why Now?
• Internet of Things is the most hyped “emerging technology” today,
and that the term—and the associated technologies—is far from
being new.
• Bob Metcalfe, inventor of the Ethernet : “It's a media phenomenon.
Technologies and standards and products and markets emerge slowly,
but then suddenly, chaotically, the media latches on and BOOM!—It's
the year of IoT.”
• Hal Varian, Chief Economist at Google: “The price of sensors,
processors, and networking has come way down. Since WiFi is now
widely deployed, it is relatively easy to add new networked devices to
the home and office.”
The Internet of Things: Why now?
• Janus Bryzek, known as “the father of sensors” (and a VP at Fairchild
Semiconductor), thinks there are multiple factors “accelerating the
surge” in interest.
• First, there is the new version of the Internet Protocol, IPv6, “enabling
almost unlimited number of devices connected to networks.”
• Another factor is that four major network providers—Cisco, IBM, GE
and Amazon—have decided “to support IoT with network
modification, adding Fog layer and planning to add Swarm layer,
facilitating dramatic simplification and cost reduction for network
connectivity.”
The Internet of Things: Why now?
Mind-blowing estimates
• Gartner estimates that IoT product and service suppliers will generate
incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion in 2020.

• IDC forecasts that the worldwide market for IoT solutions will grow
from $1.9 trillion in 2013 to $7.1 trillion in 2020.

• Acquity Group (Accenture Interactive): More than two thirds of

consumers plan to buy connected technology for their homes by
2019, and nearly half say the same for wearable technology. Smart
thermostats are expected to have 43% adoption in the next five years.
IoT

9
Hype Cycle for the Internet of Things, 2015
IoT

10
Hype Cycle for the Internet of Things, 2016

IoT
platform

11
Mind-blowing estimates
• Cisco predicts we’ll see as many as 50 billion “things” connected to
the Internet by the end of this decade. That’s a four-fold increase in
just six years.

• GE estimates that the Industrial Internet has the potential to add $10
to $15 trillion to global GDP over the next 20 years.

• McKinsey Global Institute predicts the IoT will generate as much as

$6.2 trillion in global economic value over the next ten years. That’s
about ten times as much economic value as will be created by 3D
printing, another transformative trend.
IoT Product development
Step-by-step process
• Develop your product roadmap
• Create the product design
• Prototype
• Test
• Documentation
• Engage suppliers and manufacturers
• Go to market.
Prototyping phase
• When it comes to showcasing finished products, there is a tendency
to stress on product design, features, services that can be provided,
etc…
• Often, the iterative, behind-the-scenes process that leads to the
creation of something new and innovative gets less attention.
• But it’s in this prototyping phase where insights are gained and
challenges can sometimes turn into unexpected opportunities.

• Physical prototypes allows us to quickly move from concept to reality.

Best connected (IoT) device
Sleek hardware or flashy features?
Low prices?

Creating the best experience for end users.

Need to find out what users truly want

Can be achieved through prototyping.
What exactly is rapid prototyping?
It’s a problem solving framework that enables you to quickly solicit and
leverage user feedback.

Using this scientific approach to product design, you can determine

what will and won’t resonate with customers — before full production
begins.

Rapid prototyping helps companies make smart decisions in the IoT

space.
Few tips for prototyping…
Challenge your assumptions.

The riskiest assumption you can make is that your new product will
solve a market need. If it doesn’t, it won’t sell.

What problem am I solving?

Who am I solving it for?
Do they actually need this solution?”

Smart switch startup Lumos

Listen to users
Prototype should be guided by user needs, not your own assumptions
or opinions.
Feedback is the fuel that will propel your prototype onto store shelves
and into users’ homes.
Put the foundation first.
Concentrate on your product’s core functionality first.
Bells and whistles can wait for later iterations.

Prioritization is critical to successful prototyping.

Take stock of your tools
Does your kitchen gadget need a temperature sensor?

Prebuilt components are your friend.

Do whatever you can to make production

simpler, cheaper, and faster.

Just don’t sacrifice core functionality in

the process.
Be ready to scrap it
Don’t get too attached to a prototype.

Henry Ford’s first car ran on ethanol, but it never made it to

production.
Why? Gas prices dropped, forcing Ford to ditch his design.
Iterate and reiterate
Prototypes almost always require multiple iterations before they’re finished.

Small, incremental steps are how the race is won.

listen to users  rapidly prototype a smart solution  roll it out  listen to

users again leverage those learnings to create a powerful second edition.

“Iterate” can’t be reiterated enough.

Give voice to the voiceless.
Product failure hurts even more when an employee’s idea could’ve
saved it.
Seek feedback early and often from the product owner, designers,
developers, strategists, salespeople, marketers, and more.
Go for good, not perfect
Your prototype won’t be bug-free.

Don’t expect it to be. You should, however, expect it to be reliable,

testable, and, hopefully, well received by users.
Feast on feedback.
Actionable user feedback is the secret sauce of rapid prototyping.
Assess the feasibility of a specific functionality and determine whether
users derive value from it.
That requires you to solicit and incorporate user feedback.

Snapchat Spectacles v/s Google Glass

Snap listened to how people wanted to wear Spectacles and baked
their answers into its vision for the final product.
Hardware Prototype
• As with any startup, iterating and improving the prototype is
crucial. However, it’s not as easy or as cheap as for a
software startup.
• In fact, for a long time hardware prototyping has been
prohibitively expensive
• The good news is that all of this is changing very rapidly.
Today we have new technologies and tools you can you use
to build your own first hardware prototype.
New Technologies and Tools
• 3D printing = cheap & rapid prototyping

Unlike injection moulding, 3D printing allows you to quickly

manufacture a single prototype at a very low cost. You will need CAD
(computer-aided design) software to create a digital model, which will
then be printed layer by layer.
New Technologies and Tools
• Use cheap easy-to-program microcontrollers

Arduino, Raspberry pi, TinyDuino….

New Technologies and Tools
• Use Open source
One of the biggest, if not the biggest, advantage for a startup is the
ability to use open source.
looking for code and resources?  https://github.com/