Introduction to Emerging Technologies (EmTe 1012)

Objective of the session

To Identify IoT devices, networks, and platforms

IoT devices
Consists of:
A. sensors,
B. actuators,
C. gadgets,
D. appliances, or
E. machines.
IoT devices are pieces of hardware, such as sensors, actuators, gadgets,
appliances, or machines, that are programmed for certain applications and
can transmit data over the internet or other networks. They can be
embedded into other mobile devices, industrial equipment, environmental
sensors, medical devices, and more.
Examples of IoT devices
IoT devices can be categorized into three main groups:
A. consumer,
B. enterprise and
C. industrial.
Connected devices are part of an ecosystem in which every device talks to
other related devices in an environment to automate home and industry
tasks. They can communicate usable sensor data to users, businesses and
other intended parties. The devices can be categorized into three main
groups: consumer, enterprise and industrial.

Consumer connected devices include smart TVs, smart speakers, toys,

wearables and smart appliances.
In a smart home, for example, devices are designed to sense and respond
to a person's presence. When a person arrives home, their car
communicates with the garage to open the door. Once inside, the
thermostat is already adjusted to their preferred temperature, and the
lighting is set to a lower intensity and color, as their smart watch data
indicates it has been a stressful day. Other smart home devices include
sprinklers that adjust the amount of water given to the lawn based on the
weather forecast and robotic vacuum cleaners that learn which areas of the
home must be cleaned most often.
Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices are designed to be used in factories or other
industrial environments. Most IIoT devices are sensors used to monitor an
assembly line or other manufacturing process. Data from various types of
sensors is transmitted to monitoring applications that ensure key processes
are running optimally. These same sensors can also prevent unexpected
downtime by predicting when parts will need to be replaced.

If a problem occurs, the system might be able to send a notification to a

service technician informing them what is wrong and what parts they will
need to fix the problem. This can save the technician from coming on site
to diagnose the problem and then having to travel to a warehouse to get
the part needed to fix the problem.

IoT device management

 Device registration and activation
 Device authentication/authorization
 Device configuration
 Device provisioning
 Device monitoring and diagnostics
 Device troubleshooting
 Device firmware updates
Several challenges can hinder the successful deployment of an IoT system
and its connected devices, including security, interoperability,
power/processing capabilities, scalability and availability. Many of these
can be addressed with IoT device management either by adopting standard
protocols or using services offered by a vendor.

Device management helps companies integrate, organize, monitor and

remotely manage internet-enabled devices at scale, offering features
critical to maintaining the health, connectivity and security of the IoT
devices along their entire lifecycles. Such features include:

 Device registration and activation

  Device authentication/authorization
 Device configuration
 Device provisioning
 Device monitoring and diagnostics
 Device troubleshooting
 Device firmware updates
IoT device management services and software are also available from
vendors, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM, GE and many others.

IoT networks
 Communication protocols CoAP, DTLS, MQTT, DDS and AMQP.
 Wireless protocols  IPv6, LPWAN, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy,
Z-Wave, RFID and NFC.
 Cellular, satellite, Wi-Fi and Ethernet
The networking, communication and connectivity protocols used with
internet-enabled devices largely depend on the specific IoT application
deployed. Just as there are many different IoT applications, there are many
different connectivity and communication options.

Communication protocols include CoAP, DTLS, MQTT, DDS and AMQP.

Wireless protocols include IPv6, LPWAN, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy,
Z-Wave, RFID and NFC. Cellular, satellite, Wi-Fi and Ethernet can also be
used.
Each option has its tradeoffs in terms of power consumption, range and
bandwidth, all of which must be considered when choosing connected
devices and protocols for a particular IoT application.

In most cases, IoT devices connect to an IoT gateway or another edge

device where data can either be analyzed locally or sent to the cloud for
analysis. Some devices have integrated data processing capabilities that
minimized the amount of data that must be sent to the cloud or to the data
center. This type of processing often uses machine learning capabilities
that are integrated into the device, and is becoming increasingly popular as
IoT devices create more and more data.

IoT development tools

1. Tessel 2
It is used to build basic IoT prototypes and applications. It helps through its
numerous modules and sensors. Using Tessel 2 board, a developer can
avail Ethernet connectivity, Wi-Fi connectivity, two USB ports, a micro USB
port, 32MB of Flash, 64MB of RAM. Additional modules can also be
integrated like cameras, accelerometers, RFID, GPS, etc.

Tessel 2 can support Node.JS and can use the libraries of Node.JS. It
contains two processors, its hardware uses 48MHz Atmel SAMD21 and
580.
2. Eclipse IoT
This tool or instrument allows the user to develop, adopt and promote open
source IoT technologies. It is best suited to build IoT devices, Cloud
platforms, and gateways. Eclipse supports various projects related to IoT.
These projects include open-source implementations of IoT protocols,
application frameworks and services, and tools for using Lua programming
language which is promoted as the best-suited programming language for
IoT.

3. Arduino
Arduino is an Italy based IT company that builds interactive objects and
microcontroller boards. It is an open-source prototyping platform that offers
both IoT hardware and software. Hardware specifications can be applied to
interactive electronics and software includes Integrated Development
Environment (IDE). It is the most preferable IDEs in all IoT development
tools. This platform is easy and simple to use.

4. Platform IoT
It is a cross-platform IoT IDE. It comes with the integrated debugger. It is
the best for mobile app development and developers can use a friendly IoT
environment for development. A developer can port the IDE on Atom editor
or it can install it as a plugin. It is compatible with more than 400 embedded
boards and has more than 20 development frameworks and platforms. It
offers a remarkable interface and is easy to use.
5. M2M Labs Mainspring
It is an IoT platform and an open source application framework. It is used to
build a machine to machine applications (M2M) which can be used in fields
of remote monitoring and fleet management. It supports much functionality
like validation and normalization of data, device configuration, data retrieval
processes and flexible modeling of devices. It is based on Apache,
Cassandra, NoSQL database and Java.

6. Kinoma
It is a Marvell semiconductor hardware prototyping platform. It enables
three different projects. To support these projects two products are
available Kinoma Create and Element Board. Kinoma Create is a hardware
kit for prototyping electronic and IoT enabled devices. Kit contains
supporting essentials like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), integrated Wi-Fi,
speaker, microphone and touch screen. Element Board is the smallest
JavaScript-powered IoT product platform.

7. Device- Hive
It is based on Data Art’s AllJoyn. It is a free open source M2M i.e. machine
to machine communication framework. It was launched in 2012 and
considered the most preferable IoT app development platform. It has cloud-
based API which can be controlled remotely irrespective of network
configuration. Its libraries, protocols, and management portal are controlled
in a similar manner. It is best suited for applications related to smart home
tech, security, automation, and sensors.

8. Kaax
It provides end to end support for IoT devices connected across the cloud.
Due to its multi-purpose middleware, it allows users to build connected
applications, IoT applications, and many smart products. Open source kit is
described as ‘hardware agnostic’ by Kaax i.e. it can interface with any
hardware like sensors, gateways, and other devices. It helps developers to
distribute firmware updates remotely, and to enable cross-platform
interoperability.

9. Home Assistant
It is an open source tool mostly used for functions based on the Python
coding system and home automation. Desktop and mobile browsers help to
control their IoT system. It is easy to set up and is famous for its smooth
operations, privacy standards, and security. It can support systems running
on Python 3.

10. Net
It is an integrated solution for developers of IoT. It offers services like cloud
integration and business intelligence to provide both web technologies and
hardware. Its development kit is delivered as a platform as a service i.e.
PaaS which allows the developers to efficiently utilize its power for
development purpose.

11. Raspbian
This IDE is created for Raspberry Pi board. It has more than 35000
packages and with the help of precompiled software, it allows rapid
installation. It was not created by the parent organization but by the IoT
tech enthusiasts. For working with Raspberry Pi, this is the most suitable
IDE available.

IoT platforms
 Google Cloud Platform
 OpenRemote
 Blynk IoT
 Particle
 ThingWorx
 IBM Watson IoT
 Amazon AWS IoT Core
 Microsoft Azure IoT Suite
 Oracle IoT
 Cisco IoT Cloud Connect
 Altair SmartWorks
 Salesforce IoT Cloud
An IoT platform bridges the gap between device sensors and data
networks. It provides an insight into the data used in the backend
application. An IoT platform is a set of components that allows developers
to spread out the applications, remotely collect data, secure connectivity,
and execute sensor management.

An IoT platform manages the connectivity of the devices and allows

developers to build new mobile software applications. It facilitates the
collection of data from devices and enables business transformation. It
connects different components, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of
communication between the devices.

The IoT platform helps in understanding the customers’ needs better and
facilitate the creation of products that fulfill their requirements. It provides
organizations with greater intelligence and visibility into operations, which
enables better decision-making.

Additional resources
Introduction to emerging technologies module
https://www.techtarget.com/iotagenda/definition/IoT-device
https://www.arm.com/glossary/iot-
devices#:~:text=IoT%20devices%20are%20pieces%20of,the%20internet%
20or%20other%20networks.
https://www.sam-solutions.com/blog/iot-development/
https://www.iotforall.com/top-iot-tools-and-platforms-for-iot-development-
and-developers
https://blog.eduonix.com/internet-of-things/top-10-popular-iot-development-
tools/