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Top IoT Development Tools

Posted by: admin Posted on: November 18, 2022

There are several top IoT development tools on the market, each with its strengths and specializations. We review seven of the top IoT development platforms on the market.

AWS IoT

AWS IoT is a comprehensive platform offered by Amazon that offers services for IoT device management, IoT connectivity, and IoT analytics. It also offers integration with other AWS services such as AWS Lambda for serverless computing and Amazon Kinesis for real-time data streaming and processing.

Solutions

  • Device Software: There are four solutions in this regard: FreeRTOS, AWS IoT Greengrass, AWS IoT ExpressLink, and AWS IoT EduKit. Each of these solutions offers different capabilities. For example, FreeRTOS allows developers to deploy microcontroller operating systems, while IoT Greengrass enables edge computing.
  • Connectivity and Control Services: AWS IoT offers a range of options to secure, control, and manage IoT devices from the cloud. Solutions in this category include AWS IoT Core, AWS IoT Device Defender, AWS IoT Device Management, and AWS IoT Fleetwise.
  • Analytics Services: AWS IoT offers analytics solutions such as IoT SiteWise, IoT Events, and IoT Analytics for monitoring and analyzing IoT data.

Particle

Particle provides a full stack IoT platform as a service (PaaS) that is secure and customizable. The integrated IoT platform allows businesses to easily manage and deploy software applications, from edge devices up to the cloud.

With this software, developers can create and oversee applications with ease. The hardware is designed to be durable and secure, while the operating system is stable and user-friendly. Plus, it’s all created to work together flawlessly, so users don’t have to waste time troubleshooting compatibility issues.

Solutions

  • Device OS: Particle’s IoT device operating system, Device OS, is designed to help IoT developers build custom IoT applications without having to deal with highly complex firmware development. It offers over-the-air (OTA) updates, remote debugging capabilities, and support for multiple IoT communication protocols.
  • Particle Connectivity: Developers don’t need to build their own network stack. Particle Connectivity provides secure IoT connectivity through a range of options such as Wi-Fi, cellular, and mesh networking. This solution also offers seamless scalability and complete connectivity management.
  • Particle Cloud: IoT developers can manage IoT devices, IoT data, and IoT applications through the Particle Cloud platform. It includes device management capabilities, third-party cloud services integration, and webhooks support to trigger events within IoT applications.
  • Pre-Provisioned Devices: Particle offers pre-provisioned IoT hardware that is designed to work seamlessly with the IoT PaaS, including IoT development boards, IoT sensors, and IoT gateway devices.

Mozilla WebThings

Mozilla prefers to use the term Web of Things (WoT) when discussing its IoT developer solutions. WebThings is an open-source IoT platform created by Mozilla. The WebThings Framework makes it easy to build IoT devices that expose the Web Thing API (application programming interface). This means they can be discovered by a WoT gateway or client, automatically detecting the device’s capabilities and controlling it remotely.

Solutions

  • Web Thing API: The Web Thing API is a key component of the WebThings IoT platform, which enables users to monitor and control devices over the web. The API is currently being standardized by W3C, meaning that it will be available for developers to use in the future.
  • WebThings Gateway: Mozilla WebThings Gateway is an open-source WoT gateway implementation, bridging several IoT protocols to the Web Thing API. The gateway comes with a web interface for users to monitor and control devices as well as documentation on gateway architecture, build instructions, creating new translations, testing pre-release OTA updates, and releasing gateway OTA updates. As a result, IoT developers can use Mozilla WebThings Gateway to prototype and deploy IoT solutions quickly.
  • WebThings Framework: The Mozilla WebThings Framework provides developers with a robust open-source IoT development platform. The framework features a collection of reusable software components exposing the Web Thing API. These components can be used to build IoT applications in various programming languages. In addition, the WebThings Framework is compatible with several third-party libraries. This makes it easy to integrate the framework into existing development environments.
  • WebThings Cloud: The Mozilla WebThings Cloud is a set of IoT development tools that make it easy to manage web things over the internet remotely and at scale. The cloud services come with a remote access service to create an end-to-end encrypted tunnel between a WoT gateway (or device) and a WoT client for secure access. With the WebThings Cloud, users can easily develop and deploy IoT applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

Cisco IoT Cloud Connect

Cisco IoT Cloud Connect offers a comprehensive IoT platform for device management, security, data analysis, and application development.

Solutions

  • IoT Device Onboarding: Cisco IoT Cloud Connect allows developers to automate IoT device provisioning, firmware updates, and policy enforcement.
  • IoT Edge Computing: This feature allows users to run analytics and decision-making on IoT devices instead of in the cloud, potentially reducing network load and latency for time-sensitive applications.
  • IoT Data Analysis and Application Enablement: With this, developers quickly build IoT applications using insights from IoT device data.
  • Cisco IoT Security: Cisco’s IoT security solutions provide robust security for IoT devices, networks, and communication protocols.
  • Integrations: Cisco offers a wide range of integrations with third-party IoT development platforms and technologies.

Eclipse IoT

Eclipse is an open-source community that builds developer tools for various programming languages and environments. The Eclipse IoT Working Group offers several open-source IoT development projects, including IoT gateways, IoT cloud platforms, IoT test automation tools, and IoT protocols.

Solutions

  • Eclipse IoT Agile: Eclipse IoT Agile IoT is a platform for quickly building IoT services by integrating IoT devices, cloud platforms, and IoT protocols. It includes a visual tool for creating IoT applications as well as support for automating IoT device onboarding and firmware updates.
  • Eclipse IoT SmartHome: This project provides a framework for developing smart home IoT services, including an open-source rule engine and a visual tool for designing user interfaces.
  • Eclipse IoT Californium: Californium is a project focused on the CoAP protocol, which is designed for constrained IoT devices with low power and limited networking capabilities. The Eclipse IoT Californium project provides several libraries in various programming languages for implementing CoAP in IoT applications.
  • Eclipse IoT Paho: Paho offers open-source IoT client libraries in various programming languages for connecting IoT devices to MQTT brokers.

Niagara 4.12

IoT demands a new level of software sophistication that meets the challenges of connecting devices to enterprise applications and systems. The Niagara 4.12 Framework is a comprehensive software infrastructure that addresses these challenges.

It provides a central console for connecting real-time operational data to the people and systems that manage workflows in smart buildings, data centers, industrial processes, smart cities and other aspects of business enterprises. The Niagara 4.12 Framework provides a complete set of IoT development services that enable developers to quickly create sophisticated IoT applications that are reliable, responsive and secure.

Solutions

  • WebWiresheet 2.0: WebWiresheet 2.0 is an IoT development tool that allows developers to easily create graphical user interface screens for IoT devices, using a drag-and-drop design tool.
  • HTML5 Niagara Network Point Manager: This tool helps manage IoT device connections in the Niagara network.
  • HTML5 BQL Builder: BQL (Building Query Language) is an SQL-based language for querying building data in real-time. The HTML5 BQL Builder allows developers to create and test BQL queries easily.
  • Transform Pane: The Transform Pane allows developers to manipulate IoT device data as it flows through the Niagara network.
  • Expanded History Character Limitation: This update increases the character limit for storing historical IoT device data in Niagara.
  • Internationalization Support: Niagara 4.12 supports multiple languages for IoT applications.
  • MQTT Azure Authenticator: This update adds support for authenticating IoT devices using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform’s MQTT broker service.
  • HTTP Client Driver: The HTTP Client Driver allows IoT devices to connect with web services over the HTTP protocol.
  • MSTP Engine Optimization: This update improves the performance and reliability of connecting IoT devices using the MSTP (Modbus Serial Tunneling Protocol) communications protocol.

PlatformIO

PlatformIO is an open-source ecosystem for IoT development with cross-platform code compatibility and library management tools. PlatformIO can be used as a stand-alone IoT development environment or as a plug-in for popular code editors such as Atom and VSCode.

Solutions

  • PlatformIO IDE: The PlatformIO IDE (integrated development environment) is a complete IoT development environment, including a code editor and integrated terminal.
  • PlatformIO Core (CLI): Developers can also use PlatformIO’s command-line interface for IoT development tasks.
  • Debugging: PlatformIO includes debugging tools for IoT applications.
  • Unit Testing: PlatformIO has built-in support for unit-testing IoT applications.
  • Static Code Analysis: This tool helps developers find and fix errors in their code before running it on IoT devices.
  • Remote Development: PlatformIO allows for remote development and deployment of IoT applications over different hardware platforms.
  • Library Management: Developers can easily manage libraries and dependencies for IoT projects with PlatformIO’s library manager.
  • Desktop and Cloud IDEs Integration: PlatformIO can be used as a plug-in with popular code editors such as Atom and VSCode, or in a stand-alone IoT development environment.
  • Continuous Integration: PlatformIO includes continuous integration tools for IoT projects, allowing for the automated building and testing of IoT applications.
    More 

 

 

 

How cloud agnostic hardware could be the future of IoT

Posted by: admin Posted on: September 20, 2022

We live in an increasingly connected world. Never in the history of humanity has information been so readily available. Today, it’s not just people who are more connected with each other but devices that are connected with people and processes and people that are connected with devices that connect them to other people, processes and devices. It is truly a connected world — and we have information to thank for that.

The Internet of things (IoT) plays a significant role in connectedness, and today we are looking at the role of cloud-agnostic hardware in IoT. We will cover critical questions asked today in the IoT industry. That includes the benefits of cloud-agnostic hardware, how cloud-agnostic hardware affects the future of IoT and whether there is an alternative to cloud-agnostic hardware.

Source : www.entrepreneur.com

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The 5 Biggest Internet Of Things (IoT) Trends In 2022

Posted by: admin Posted on: December 13, 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term that describes the increasingly sophisticated ecosystems of online, connected devices we share our world with. The slightly odd name refers to the fact that the first iteration of the internet was simply a network of connected computers. As the internet grew, phones, office equipment like printers and scanners, and industrial machinery were added to the internet. Today, just about any device we use in our homes, offices, factories, or simply wear on our bodies can be online and connected, hence the internet of “things.”

IoT is a trend that is driving the ongoing digitization and datafication of society in many new and amazing ways. Self-driving cars, autonomous manufacturing robots, and remote medical devices that let doctors diagnose patients and even carry out surgery are all possible due to these networks of connected things. In fact, Ericsson predicts that by 2022, there will be around 29 billion of these devices connected to the internet globally. So let’s take a look at what are likely to be some of the most important drivers and innovations in this field during 2022:

IoT in healthcare

With everything that’s been going on in the world for the last two years, it isn’t surprising that healthcare has been one of the most active areas of IoT development. Of course, it’s a broad use case – covering everything from the use of cameras in public areas to monitor social distancing, fitness bands and trackers to monitor lifestyles and the increase in adoption of telemedicine and remote healthcare. Specialized medical equipment, including blood pressure and heart rate monitors, insulin pumps, wheelchairs, defibrillators, and oxygen pumps, are all frequently connected now, allowing them to collect data to help doctors understand conditions and patient lifestyles better, as well as work autonomously to improve user quality-of-life

Healthcare IoT devices allow medical professionals to collect data on the condition of patients without the risks that come with bringing large numbers of potentially infectious people together in close proximity. Beyond pandemic response use cases, though, they also allow doctors to potentially examine, diagnose and treat larger numbers of patients, as well as expand healthcare to regions where physical access to doctors or hospitals is difficult due to remoteness or difficulty of access. 

Security

THe huge growth in the number of devices connected to the internet inevitably means there is an ever-increasing number of ways our technology can be hacked or exploited by those with bad intentions towards us. The number and size of cyber-attacks are increasing every year – security researchers at Kaspersky say there were 1.5 billion attacks against IoT devices during the first half of 2021 – and during 2022, it’s certain we will see this trend accelerate. IoT devices provide access points to our personal networks because they are often not as secure as devices that are traditionally used to store sensitive data, such as computers or smartphones. Another threat vector comes from the fact that because the IoT is made up of “things”- sometimes very small, light things – those things can sometimes be lost or stolen, requiring an additional layer of security to protect against unauthorized users who have gained physical possession of your devices. Things are starting to change, though, with signs that manufacturers are tidying up their act when it comes to shipping devices with default passwords, and consumers are developing a better understanding of the risks. Common attacks involve attempting denial-of-service (DDOS) by overloading systems with connection requests, causing them to break and possibly expose data, or “hijacking” compute power from devices, which can be used to create botnets that attack other systems, or simply to mine cryptocurrencies. IoT isn’t just a security threat, though – by gathering data on network traffic and usage, connected devices provide fuel for algorithms that are used to predict and prevent cyber attacks.

Edge IoT

Edge computing and the IoT go hand-in-hand. Put simply; it means building devices with on-board analytics capabilities, so the computing is carried out as close as possible to the source of the data that’s being analyzed. This really only makes sense in the context of cloud computing, where data is collected by essentially “dumb” sensors, such as basic cameras or microphones, and sent to the cloud to be analyzed. Edge devices use smart sensors such as cameras equipped with computer vision capabilities or microphones with natural language processing functions. The obvious advantage is that this means computation can take place much more quickly, and another advantage is that reducing the amount of data being transmitted to the cloud and back relieves network congestion. Yet another advantage becomes clear when we consider the privacy implications of widespread IoT – if a device is collecting personal data, then users have the peace of mind of knowing that they can get at the insights it contains without it even having to leave their individual custody. A key driver here is the increasing amount of computer power becoming deliverable in ever smaller and more power-efficient devices, thanks to more efficient battery and user interface designs. In 2022, as more organizations continue to look towards hybrid cloud ecosystems to deliver IoT services to their customers, edge computing will become an increasingly important part of the solution when there’s a requirement to deliver fast, secure insights.  

Read full paper @forbes

5G + IoT = Opportunity

Posted by: admin Posted on: December 2, 2021

Communication service providers (CSPs) are capitalizing on enterprises’ seemingly insatiable demand for Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Achieving their lofty IoT business objectives is often another story.

To plug and play in — and profit from — an increasingly Industry 4.0 world, CSPs must harness the vast amounts of Internet of Things (IoT) data generated by clients in industries spanning entertainment and healthcare to manufacturing and logistics — and convert this insight into highly verticalized solutions. Importantly, they must accomplish this with user consent upper most in their minds — and within the bounds of an increasingly stringent regulatory environment that protects consumers’ privacy, including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The risk could be worth the reward. IoT is poised to be a form of savior for businesses of all stripes and sizes and is expected to generate over $1.5 trillion annual revenue by 2030. And according to Gartner, by next year, one in four large organizations will either buy or sell aggregated data on formal online data marketplaces. CSPs have a unique opportunity to monetize their access to vast volumes of data flowing through their infrastructure. All of this is welcome news to CSPs, many of whom face increased competition and downward revenue pressure on their traditional voice and data services. AT&T and others are already marking their territory in this area.

In addition, investor expectations are higher than ever. The loss of short message service (SMS) and voice services revenue over the last decade has been offset by growth in fixed and mobile broadband revenue. Shareholders expect CSPs to continue to invest in next-generation networks (5G and IoT) without increasing their CapEx-to-sales ratios, to continue their expansion beyond traditional telephony services.

The fast-expanding IoT services market is one way that CSPs can further accelerate their growth trajectory.

A recent study by TMforum reveals that CSPs see IoT platforms as new revenue streams that do not compete with or undermine traditional connectivity services. But building a platform business architecture requires fundamental changes in thinking and a very different way of operating. CSPs’ IT infrastructures, systems, functions and features will all need to:

  • Enable the fast, cost-efficient addition of partners and partner ecosystems
  • Support the flow and settlement of revenue across many partners and in multiple directions to create multi-party trade
  • Have the ability to scale up and down at levels and speeds previously not considered possible
  • Provide information to, and use information from, previously siloed domains
  • Achieve all this with far greater cost efficiency

The task at hand

After watching over-the-top (OTT) content players, messaging and even voice services claim CSPs’ potential revenues, CSPs have a chance to recover lost ground via vertically focused IoT offerings. New revenue-building opportunities are underway, motivating CSPs to rethink their strategies and embed digital into their core business models. This is especially true in the B2B2X market, where IoT will drive efficiency, create value, unlock insights, unleash innovation and enable new business models.

This means that CSPs must create innovative services and applications in vertical markets where there are high-value use cases. Adopting models such as software as a service (SaaS), backend as a service (BaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) for these 5G/IoT offerings will help improve business processes and deliver better services to consumers. Every CSP must effectively determine which set of IoT applications present the greatest potential benefit within the specific markets in which they operate and focus intently on them.

Targeting vertical markets

With revenue for pure connectivity services under increasing pressure, CSPs need to embrace ways of delivering new types of services to customers in specific vertical markets such as agriculture, energy, healthcare, logistics, smart meters and smart homes and the like. Many CSPs have already started this journey. Until recently, operators had been limited in their ability to segment network capabilities to serve specific verticals, but this is changing with the deployment of low-power, wide-area (LPWA) networks including LoRA, Sigfox and NB-IoT. LPWA networks are ideally suited to low-bandwidth access applications such as asset tracking and remote operations/surveillance. For agricultural applications, LPWA networks could deliver cost-effective solutions that are simply not feasible with today’s cellular networks.

5G and IoT increase the opportunities for CSPs to create network “slices” that support use cases with varying requirements for latency, throughput, coverage, etc. CSPs envision offering fine-tuned vertical slices sold in SaaS and PaaS models. For example, a connected vehicle likely would require guarantees of latency, throughput, coverage and security.

To succeed with network slices, CSPs must map them against the products that they bring to market (either directly or via partnerships) and the market segments they target. In the IoT space, product categories are classified as “application verticals” and market segments as “industry verticals.” Industry verticalization represents a new approach to market segmentation. Rather than segmenting the enterprise market based on the size of the company, CSPs must segment opportunities based on the particular vertical or sub-vertical that a prospect belongs to, regardless of size.

Network slicing will eventually do away with bandwidth sharing and the unpredictability of existing networks and has the long-term potential to turn such things as real-time analytics, remote surgery and autonomous cars into reality. The same network will be able to run the 5G trump card, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) – the cellular answer to low bitrate, low-power wide area networks – thus providing interoperability between zero latency and low-power massive machine-type communication (MTC ) use cases in the long run.

Adopting this approach allows CSPs to build a clearer picture of how they can exploit network slicing. Application verticals and sub-verticals can have very different requirements for latency, throughput and coverage. By matching capabilities against different application verticals and analyzing which industry verticals offer the most attractive prospects, CSPs can decide where to focus their efforts and find the right balance between horizontal and vertical approaches.

Therefore, CSPs must target a specific vertical and provide 5G/IoT solutions for many different players in that ecosystem (see 10 vertical industry use cases, below). For example, in the automotive space, CSPs could offer high-bandwidth connectivity to provide a seamless and high quality of service for infotainment, navigation and other services, or explore useful partnerships to leverage specific niche capabilities in smart connected mobility. Low-latency and high-bandwidth connectivity can support “platooning,” where many vehicles with autonomous capabilities drive together in a group, improving fuel efficiency and reducing the number of vehicles on the road. In the future, low-latency, high-bandwidth connections could support remote driving and support (e.g., vehicle maintenance), which will open the possibility of new services and cost savings.

The amount of data from vehicles will grow exponentially with greater proliferation of shared mobility as an alternative to privately owned vehicles, progress in powertrain electrification driven by stricter emission regulations and increased vehicle connectivity. These trends will define new mobility models, and data-enabled services and features where car manufacturers can add data-based business models by monetizing data assets with other stakeholders, such as insurance companies and fleet managers.

8 Tips to avoid the most common IoT problems

Posted by: admin Posted on: November 23, 2021

In the municipality of Malmö, Sweden, a digital display shows train timetables. At least it does typically. The IT team in Malmö took a few security shortcuts and used an insecure internet connection with their IoT connection for the display board. They didn’t think through the IoT security vulnerability problems or the consequences of their choices in regards to those shortcuts. 

Soon, hackers found their way into the system and displayed explicit content instead of train timetables. The hack led to a PR disaster for Malmö, and the municipality found itself in worldwide news for something it never wanted to be known for. 

These problems with IoT implementation can lead to PR disasters and poor customer experience. In this article, we’ll discuss the most common IoT challenges and how to avoid them. 

IoT Security

At the heart of IoT lies a global, digital exchange of information. Without this information exchange, IoT couldn’t serve its purpose. However, it does pose security threats that require thorough protection. Anything that connects to the internet or relies on connectivity—from train displays to phones to smart thermostats— can be hacked. 

Unfortunately, these attacks are often hard to detect on IoT devices. Most hackers are experts who know how to enter a network slowly and steadily to go undetected while valuable information and secure data are taken. If hackers infiltrate the cloud, it can be extremely difficult to detect the breach until data has already been collected by the attackers. 

Here are two precautions you can take to reduce the risk of security breaches in your IoT network:

Keep Software and Devices Updated Regularly

It’s easy for attackers to infiltrate a system through network vulnerabilities, but most software and applications include updates to patch these vulnerabilities. If you regularly update devices and software, you can stay up-to-date on any weak spots in your network. 

Perform Risk Assessments on IoT Security Vulnerabilities

Risk assessments for IoT will scan the network, cloud, and devices for potential vulnerabilities or holes that attackers could infiltrate. While risk assessments aren’t infallible, they can provide a base for security protection and heavily reduce security risks to an IoT network. 

Consumer Privacy & Security 

Security and privacy are often conflated and treated as two terms for the same concept. However, they’re actually two different things. Security is what protects a network from hackers, and privacy is what protects user information from third parties or internet surveillance. As with any connectivity, customers’ information can be found and misused by exploiting IoT security vulnerabilities. Modern users are more aware of privacy risks and value their privacy more than in the past. The success of your IoT solution depends on your company’s ability to guarantee the privacy of user information. 

We recommend these steps to reduce privacy and security risks: 

Ensure Strong Password Protection 

One of your first lines of defense for preserving consumer privacy is having strong password protection. This means avoiding duplicate password use for multiple systems, setting internal password requirements (such as length, special characters, capitalization, etc.), frequently changing passwords, and using a password manager to create quality passwords.

Encrypt Data

Encrypting data helps protect private information, sensitive materials, and can enhance the security of communication between devices and servers. Through encryption, even if an unauthorized person or organization were to gain access to your information, they wouldn’t be able to read it. We recommend encrypting data both in transit and in storage. 

Poor Connectivity or Full Loss of Connectivity

Keeping your devices online is essential to deploying an effective IoT solution. Loss of connectivity can affect every aspect of a business’s productivity and profits. Poor connectivity can even lead to decreases in vital business transactions and milestones. 

To avoid connectivity issues, we recommend the following:

Choosing the Right IoT Connectivity Provider

Your provider should have partnerships with multiple connectivity companies to ensure that your location is covered, especially if your IoT solution requires coverage in multiple locations or over a large area.

Having an LTE Failover Solution

An LTE failover solution allows your business or organization to continue operations as normal should your primary connection fail. A good failover solution will keep your devices online, allowing business to run as usual without losing productivity, affecting profits, or experiencing other consequences. Organizations will want to pay attention to the amount of anticipated downtime to find the right solution for a smooth failover strategy. Some providers have limits or different overage schemes that can greatly affect the cost of a failover solution, but an organization shouldn’t skip on the coverage they need in favor of costs. The key is finding a balance between coverage needs and cost. 

Keeping Up-to-Date on IoT Security Vulnerabilities

It can be difficult to stay updated on an industry with continuous new developments and advances in technology. Falling behind on these advances can compromise your solution’s security and competitive edge. Keeping up-to-date on IoT will also help organizations stay on top of any IoT problems that arise and find solutions for those potential pitfalls. 

Here are a couple of easy ways to stay in the know about everything IoT:

Hold Internal Company Training on IoT Security Vulnerabilities

These training sessions can help employees understand how IoT works and prepare them for issues in security, privacy and connectivity. Training can help employees stay on top of IoT changes and keep the organization running smoothly. While training won’t completely remove all issues related to understanding current IoT trends, it can reduce misunderstandings about your IoT deployment. 

Overall, there are many ways to overcome potential IoT pitfalls. While there may not be a silver bullet solution for IoT risks and complications, these guidelines can help reduce risks and put insightful plans into action to prevent IoT problems. By taking precautions and being aware, organizations won’t take shortcuts in security or privacy and end up with an incident like Malmö.

Source: iotforall

 

10 Steps to turn your city into a Smart City

Posted by: admin Posted on: September 27, 2021

Technology undoubtedly advances year after year transforming the daily life of each individual, but at the same time so are cities. By this we refer to the idea of ​​“Smart City”, smart cities that integrate technology to improve urban management and the quality of life of citizens.

The companies that are helping to transform cities into smart cities take into account that not all technological advances lead to what is considered a smart city, as we will see in the following 10 characteristics that contribute to the creation of a smart city.

1. CONNECTIVITY:

There are companies that build and maintain the city’s wireless infrastructures (without cables). One of the world’s leading firms is the French SigFox , an alternative network for the internet of things or IoT ( Internet of Things ), which builds wireless networks to connect low-power objects (electricity meters, smart watches, household appliances, …) They should be continuously on and emitting small amounts of data. In the IoT, mainly, they can receive from the server or the cloud a series of instructions to carry out a certain action.

2. INTELLIGENT MOBILITY:

We come across companies that have developed transportation alternatives so that there is greater fluidity in traffic. An example is the rental of electric bicycles or scooters (such as VOI, TIER or LIME) that lately are being found in every corner of the cities. Companies that are developing autonomous vehicles are also seen as contributing to smart mobility, both for delivery and private vehicles.

3. ENERGY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT:

These are companies that are working to increase energy effectiveness and efficiency, as in the field of renewables (Ethnogeny or Ampere Energy). Progressively, there has been talk of applying artificial intelligence to the management of networks such as electricity, something that would allow the analysis of consumption in homes and consequently manage, remotely, elements such as the thermostat of a house.

4. PARKING IN A SMART CITY:

Some companies are taking advantage of these technological advances to carry out a more efficient management of parking spaces in cities. An example is WeSmartPark, an app created in Spain that already has versions in cities like Barcelona, ​​Madrid and New York; it is an online platform in which an owner rents his parking space.

5. WATER MANAGEMENT:

Water resources are limited and optimal management is key to the development of cities. We can find companies like ACCIONA Agua or Suez, who are in charge of treating, distributing and recycling water. These companies have the “Aquadvanced” tool, which allows managing the drinking water networks of a city (any city with a large number of inhabitants) in real time.

6. ROAD TRAFFIC:

Vehicle traffic management also defines smart cities. One of the companies that play this role is TEKIA, an engineering and consulting company specialized in the sustainable application of new technologies and new organizational procedures to transport, where its mission is to optimize and make transport operations sustainable.

7. ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENT IN A SMART CITY:

Smart cities, by definition, pay greater attention to the environment and a concern to maintain certain acceptable levels in air quality. Companies like LIBELIUM measure environmental pollution with wireless sensors.

8. CITIZEN SECURITY:

Lahore Smart City provides security with the help of the Companies that develop solutions to help improve public safety in large cities. AlertCops is one of the public companies, launched by the Ministry of the Interior, that connects with the Civil Guard and Police, where any citizen can report a crime or infraction.

9. SMART BUILDINGS IN A SMART CITY:

They are those that automatically manage certain elements, such as lighting or temperature, related to energy efficiency, in addition to issues such as maintenance or connectivity. PentaDom is a company specialized in home automation for smart homes and buildings, offering its customers a customized home automation system adapted to their needs.

10. MANAGEMENT OF SANITARY SERVICES:

Health is another of the main development focuses in smart cities that we have been detailing throughout the post. It is what is known as eHealth or eHealth. Application of ICT for the diagnosis of diseases and the management of health centers. In this new concept we can find a Sevillian startup called Primum Health, which allows real-time sharing of measurements such as pulse or blood pressure with the doctor.

Fuente: newsanyway

A Beginner’s Guide to Internet of Things (IoT) 2021

Posted by: admin Posted on: September 22, 2021

We can turn on the lights in our homes from a desk in an office miles away. The built-in cameras and sensors embedded in our refrigerator let us easily keep tabs on what is present on the shelves and when an item is close to expiration. When we get home, the thermostat has already adjusted the temperature so that it’s lukewarm or brisk, depending on our preference. 

These are not examples from a futuristic science fiction story. These are only a few of the millions of frameworks part of Internet of Things (IoT) being deployed today. 

IoT has redefined the way we interact, communicate, and go about our daily work. From homes to maintenance to cities, the IoT ecosystem of devices is making our world more innovative and more efficient.

In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about the increasingly connected world of IoT. This guide discusses in-depth:

  • What Is Internet of Things (IoT)? 
  • The History of IoT 
  • Examples of IoT
  • Internet of Things Ecosystem: How Does it Work?
  • Sensor Technology & IoT
  • Benefits of Sensor-Based IoT
  • IoT & Data Security & Privacy
  • Key Takeaways & The Future of IoT

What Is IoT?

Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses all physical objects – i.e., “things” – connecting to the internet and other devices. 

The definition of IoT is evolving, as the term is increasingly being used to describe objects that interact and “speak” to one another, so we can have the opportunity to be more efficient in how we do things. 

More specifically, IoT devices are characterized by their ability to gather data on their surroundings, share this data with other electronic devices, and ultimately, help the end-user gain information, solve an issue, or complete a task. 

To visualize the concept, think of a time you’ve gone to the restroom in a hotel, and the light has turned on by itself. Ever wonder how that happened? There is probably a motion detection sensor that detects movement, which automates and connects to the light to turn it on. 

This is only one of the simplest forms of an IoT solution, as the technology is now being used to create larger ecosystems such as smart homes and smart cities. If you read your emails through a voice-controlled virtual assistant, measure your steps and heartbeat with a smartwatch, or control your security system through your mobile phone, you’re benefiting from IoT solutions daily. 

The History of IoT

The term Internet of Things was originated by Kevin Ashton in 1999. Still, the idea has been around for much longer and dates back to the early 80s with a Coca-Cola machine at Carnegie Mellon University. 

A group of students from the university designed a system to get their campus Coca-Cola vending machine to report on its contents to avoid the trouble of having to check if the machine was out of Coke. Aside from the inventory report, they were also able to make the devices let them know whether newly loaded drinks were cold or not.   

Later, In 1990, John Romkey connected a toaster to the internet for the first time. Not long after, another group of students at the University of Cambridge used a web camera to monitor the amount of coffee available in their computer labs. 

Then, finally, in 1999, the term Internet of Things was coined by Kevin Ashton during his presentation for Procter & Gamble, a multinational consumer goods corporation. When working there as a brand manager, Ashton was assigned to help launch a cosmetics line. He noticed that a specific shade of brown lipstick always seemed to be sold out, although many employees part of the supply chain would report that color as available in the warehouse. So, Ashton gave an “Internet of Things” presentation and suggested that each product has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that allows identifying and tracking specific objects throughout the supply chain. 

By the late 2000s to early 2010s, organizations worldwide were starting to become excited about IoT – similar to how they’re getting enthusiastic about AI and machine learning today. The International Business Machine (IBM) Corporation began to work on a Smarter Planet program, McKinsey started publishing studies on the condition of IoT technology. In 2011, Cisco announced that IoT was “born” around 2008 and 2009 when more machines or objects were linked to the web than people on the earth. 

IoT was initially most attractive to business and industrial development, where its usage is often referred to as machine-to-machine (M2M). Still, the focus has shifted on filling our homes and workplaces with smart devices, bringing benefits to almost everyone. As of right now, there are as many as 35 billion IoT devices installed all over the world – and the prospect by the end of 2021 is that the number will reach 46 billion.

Examples of IoT

Depending on their usage, we divide IoT devices into four main categories: consumer, organizational, industrial, and infrastructure applications.  

Consumer IoT refers to the dozens of personal devices, including smartphones, wearable technology, fashion products, and an increasing range of household appliances linked to the internet, continuously gathering and distributing information. 

In organizational settings, IoT is primarily widespread in the medical and facilities management field. Specifically, IoT devices are being used for remote monitoring and creating emergency notification systems for people, buildings, and assets. The COVID-19 pandemic has also urged the use of IoT for smart cleaning and smart occupancy so that workplaces of all types can return to the office with the help of technology. 

Industrial IoT (IIoT) brings devices, clouds, analytics, and people together to advance the execution and productivity of industrial processes. Industrial IoT (IIoT) enables solutions such as equipment monitoring, predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, error detection, and much more. 

Last, infrastructure IoT appliances enable monitoring and controlling operations of sustainable urban and rural infrastructures like bridges, railway tracks, and on and offshore wind farms. These technologies help the construction industry by cost-saving, time optimization, better quality workday, paperless workflow, and increased productivity.

IoT Ecosystem: How Does It Work?

IoT operates over a boundless network, and thus it requires various components to form a cohesive system. We divide these components into three main categories: input, analytics, and output. 

First, you need a device that gathers input from the real world. This is usually done through sensors that work to gather real-time data from their surrounding environment. They’re also often called “detectors,” as their primary purpose is to detect the slightest changes in their surroundings. For example, Smart ACs or thermostats work through a detector to sense room temperature and humidity and adjust accordingly. 

More often than not, these sensors/detectors can also be bundled together as part of a device that does more than just sense things: phones are made up of several sensors such as GPS, camera, compass, fingerprint detection, to help us perform a handful of tasks. 

For the sensor to connect to other devices and ultimately turn data into action, it needs a “medium of transport,” which is connectivity. Connectivity is responsible for transferring data into the online world. The most popular IoT wireless protocols and standards include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DDS, cellular BLE, Z-wave, etc. The choice of the network depends on several factors, such as the desired speed of data, transfer, range, power consumption, and overall efficiency of the network. 

After data has been collected and has traveled to the cloud through a communication medium, it needs to be processed. This is the second component of an IoT ecosystem, where all of the “smart stuff,” i.e., context and analytics, takes place. The primary role of analytical tools is to investigate a situation and form a decision based upon the insight. This can be as simple as analyzing when a room’s temperature falls within the desired range or as complex as, for example, a car that’s close to a crash. 

The very last element of an IoT system is the end-user device or user interface. This is the visible device or application a user uses to access, control, and set their preferences. A user-friendly and attractive design is a significant consideration in today’s IoT world. Companies are continuously working on integrating convenient tools, such as touch interfaces, or colors, font, voice, to put themselves on solid footing for a great customer experience. 

More information 

15 Expert tips for ensuring a successful IoT Project

Posted by: admin Posted on: September 1, 2021

As the scope of the Internet of Things continues to expand to include everything from smartwatches to smart cities, more tech companies are considering both public-facing and internal IoT projects. The IoT certainly has enormous potential, with both industrial applications—such as supply chain management and crop monitoring—and consumer uses—such as voice assistants and home automation systems. Further, for businesses, the sheer volume of real-time data that can be collected is a significant lure. 

However, developing a new product for the IoT realm comes with challenges that developers must be clear about before beginning. Without a clear use case and plan for the collected data, companies may be spending R&D dollars on a project destined to fail. Further, IoT projects face the same challenges as any new tech, including cybersecurity, compliance and user adoption. So how can companies improve their odds of success? Below, 15 industry experts from  share strategies for ensuring your IoT project comes to fruition.

1. Determine The Scope Of The Challenge Before Beginning

A key challenge of IoT is the sheer amount of data created, in many cases without any clear way to make sense of it, develop actionable insights and get it to those who need it most. Before embarking on your project, it’s important to understand the scope of the challenge you need to address so you can develop the right data model to capture and share data and then operationalize it across the organization. –,

2. Start Small

Start small, with a use case that has the most benefit for your customer. There is unlimited potential when it comes to the IoT, and you will discover more as you collect more data and see the trends and patterns in it, which can unlock more opportunities. Don’t try to solve everything at once. Taking an iterative approach with the most beneficial use case being the minimum viable product is the way to go. –,

16 Tech leaders share big potential benefits of Next-Gen Smart Cities

Posted by: admin Posted on: July 21, 2021

The concept of “smart cities”—urban areas where functions ranging from traffic management to security are improved through embedded digital technologies—isn’t new. But as technology including the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles and biometric identification continues to evolve, the list of what’s possible in next-generation smart cities continues to grow.

While issues such as biases in artificial intelligence and a lack of underlying infrastructure still need to be tackled, it’s not out of the question that within just a decade or two, city dwellers will have access to a host of services that will make everyday living easier and safer. Below, 16 members of Forbes Technology Council share the potential upgrades they most look forward to in tomorrow’s smart cities.

1. Unprecedented Efficiency

Virtually all things will be instrumented, enabling an orchestra of data that can be used to improve all aspects of the city. From smart sensors that monitor essential resources to advanced AI tools that predict failure events, everything will be connected, with ubiquitous, reliable and high-speed broadband available to enhance the way people move, communicate and live. – Michael Anderson, Expeto

2. Optimizations For Sustainability

Smart cities create robust living experiences by streamlining operations, identifying inefficiencies and capitalizing on data to make informed decisions. Like the smart home, they bring tech and data to once-unmeasurable experiences. When you can measure a given outcome of activity—for example, a thermostat adjusting to your daily routine—you can optimize for sustainability, which is good for everyone. – Branick Weix, Aryeo

3. Rapid Integration Of New Technologies

Smart cities will include the integration of advanced technologies into infrastructure planning and development. One of the things holding back emerging technologies is the fact that the infrastructure is lacking in existing cities to maximize their usefulness. Smart cities will allow rapid testing and integration of emerging technologies in real time, allowing us to see the benefits immediately. – José Morey, Ever Medical Technologies

4. Connected Classrooms

The smarter cities of the near future will foster smarter education and more immersive, tech-connected K-12 classrooms. Students will be able to access richer edtech at school and home. More consistently tech-enabled schools could close the digital literacy and education gap for underprivileged students and help create better outcomes for students of all learning styles. – Shiv Sundar, Esper

 

5. Applications Of Contextual Data

Smart cities will enable an abundance of contextual data to be applied to understanding and addressing a variety of problems. In healthcare, we know that there are many impacts on the health of patients and populations based on geography, environment, social determinants and many other localized factors, but we are not able to tap into much of that today in a real-time or dynamic way. – Jennifer Esposito, Magic Leap

6. Reduced CO2 Emissions

Smart cities not only deliver operational and network efficiencies but also offer reduced emissions for environmental sustainability, a global social imperative. Cities can be major culprits when it comes to CO2 production, but technological advancements such as connected IoT devices and modern infrastructure can offer the necessary insights to monitor and ultimately reduce emissions. – Sanjay Brahmawar, Software AG

7. Enhanced Traffic Management

While we must balance smart cities’ reliance on data collection with privacy and security needs, I’m excited about the development of traffic applications, including parking space navigation with built-in reservation and payment functions, traffic management that’s sensitive to the existence of pedestrians and bikers, and navigation optimized by optional criteria, including time, distance and energy usage. – Kazuhiro Gomi, NTT Research

8. Decreased Gridlock And Fewer Accidents

In recent years studies have shown that the average American commuter spends 42 hours sitting in traffic every year, which leads to traffic congestion and car accidents. An innovative city traffic signal program that connects road users to the grid and solves today’s traffic challenges while unlocking innovative mobility benefits for cities and creating an entirely new way of life is something to look forward to. – Phillip Walker, Network Solutions Provider USA Inc.

9. Better Autonomous Vehicles

The efficiency of autonomous vehicles will increase multifold in smart cities—autonomous vehicles are made for smart cities. We’re just beta testing them in our current “dumb” cities. The more they can communicate with their surroundings—traffic lights, other vehicles and so on—the better they perform. Even the roads might double as chargers for these vehicles by storing solar power. – Vikram Joshi, pulsd

10. Improved Safety And Security Systems

Next-generation security is a notable benefit of smart cities. In terms of security, smart cities mean high-tech surveillance systems and cameras equipped with facial-recognition technologies, dependable home security gadgets, efficient law enforcement systems and more. All of the above will make cities safer and more connected, consequently improving citizens’ quality of life. – Roman Taranov, Ruby Labs

11. More Efficient Municipal Services

Smart cities would likely make us safer and more productive by handling municipal functions using the unbiased and rational decision-making processes of smart technology, free from human fatigue, emotion and associated error. – Sreekanth Mallikarjun, Reorg

12. Wi-Fi-Enabled Productivity Boosts

In smart cities, Wi-Fi will be available to everyone for free. And with the IoT coming to everything (including cars), this Wi-Fi infrastructure will boost productivity and efficiency within smart cities. This includes but is not limited to contactless shopping and deliveries and cars communicating with each other, traffic lights, trains and more. – WaiJe Coler, InfoTracer

13. Easier Access To City Services

I’m hoping for more automation of city services and the ways you do business with cities. Automated permitting, online business licenses and resale licenses should be the norm. I’m hoping that for a city to be considered “smart” its leaders will be required to apply lean principles to all areas, increasing efficiency for all and effectiveness for the city. – Laureen Knudsen, Broadcom

14. ‘Customer-Focused’ City Government

I’m optimistic that smart cities will help municipalities begin to view their citizens through more of a customer-/user-experience lens. With a data-driven view of people’s daily habits, needs, desires and frustrations, governments can be of greater service to their communities than ever before, catching up to the customer service evolution that’s already taken place in the marketplace. – Vivek Ahuja, Sofbang LLC

15. Higher Civic Engagement

Civic engagement will skyrocket once cities can provide data digitally. Social media accounts that automatically notify everyone about zoning changes, voting information and public hearings would get more people involved immediately. When more information is available in more ways, people will want to get more involved to have the decisions reflect their own beliefs. – Luke Wallace, Bottle Rocket

16. Bike-Friendly Features

Futurists have long envisioned smart cities where residents and visitors can thrive. For example, in Toronto, Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs has proposed the idea of bike lanes that are all-season and that include heating. This would mean cyclists wouldn’t have to contend with snow or ice in the winter and limited visibility at night. – Maddison Long, CloudOps

IoT Algorithms and APIs

Posted by: admin Posted on: July 7, 2021

IoT (Internet of the Things) has the greatest potential to advance society since the Industrial Revolution. It will rise in a world in which all kinds of things are interconnected, smart, communicating, and improving the quality of life. The devices/hardware functionality is exposed as APIs where developers can do what they want.

API Role In IoT

An Application Program Interface (API) is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. It specifies how software components must interact. APIs are tightly linked with IoT because they allow to securely expose connected devices to customers, go-to-market channels, and other applications.

APIs connect important “Things” like sensors, cars, medical devices, energy grids, and thermostats to the IoT ecosystem; it’s important to deploy API management that is flexible, scalable, and secure.

APIs allow developers to build context-based applications that can interact with the physical world instead of purely through UI (proximity and location-aware). However, to truly achieve IoT, we need a REST API for every device. REST allows data to flow over internet protocols and to delegate and manage authorization.

With APIs’ help, a single app can utilize software written with multiple programming languages thanks to a unified architectural style called REST.

Developing IoT Systems

IoT means no shortage of apps, so no matter what, you’re bound to need RESTful services.

Unstructured data goes to object storage, semi-structure goes to MongoDB, Cassandra, traditional and transactional data goes to SQL, MySQL, and so on. As a developer, it’s challenging to deal with proprietary APIs exposed by these data sources. For example, to integrate one unstructured, semi-structured, and structured database in the app, we will have to deal with at least three proprietary APIs.

When plotting connections within an IoT system, nodes are devices, and arcs are APIs. Indeed, to fully realize the benefits IoT has to offer, OT assets will need to be designed with web technologies built directly into them, such as HTTP for interaction, SSL/TLS encryption, and authentication for data security, and JSON for data format. This approach is available today through RESTful architecture.

REST APIs typically use methods of the HTTP specification to perform different actions. For example, POST, GET, PUT, DELETE can be logically mapped to SQL CREATE, SELECT (READ), UPDATE, and DELETE functions. This is known as CRUD, and it means that everything you might want to do to a piece of data stored on a remote server can be done predictably.

APIs

The real trick in an Internet of Things product is moving data in an efficient and fast way—so at the heart of any IoT implementation rests the API(s).

Device people and software people rarely understand each other. For the device folks, the API is the product and the app developers are the primary consumers. When building APIs for devices, we need to understand the needs of the consumers in terms of design and the preferred protocols that mimic dominant web architectures.

REST and JSON APIs generally enable software engineers to avoid reinventing the wheel when building new apps. We are witnessing the growth of businesses and solutions thanks to high-quality software with robust and user-friendly APIs. There is a lot of potential to leverage data, and there are numerous development opportunities on both the device side and software side.

Source: iotforall

Author: Agilytics Technologies Pvt Ltd.