Click the “blue text” above, select “Set as Favorite“
Key information delivered on D1 time!
Mobile applications will become the connection point for many IoT devices, and it is necessary to explore how to build future IoT applications.
In the next decade, the number of IoT devices worldwide will grow from 75 billion in 2020 to over 100 billion. The upgrade from 4G to 5G is a significant driving force for the growth of IoT. Today’s 4G networks can support 5,500 to 6,000 NB-IoT devices on a single communication tower.
The changes brought by IoT technology to industries such as healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing, as well as daily life, are greater than the imaginations of science fiction writers from the last century.
|| Why Develop Custom IoT Applications?
The IoT market is significant, providing more products for many other industries and markets, as IoT devices are widely adopted, from smart cities and farmland management to large factories, smart homes, and autonomous vehicles.
Consumer IoT is the area that most requires mobile applications. In other fields like agriculture and enterprise business, IoT devices may not require a mobile device interface. They can connect directly to cloud platforms or be managed through web applications.
On the other hand, consumer-facing IoT devices typically use applications: people frequently use mobile devices. When consumers think of IoT, the first thing that may come to mind is smart homes.
Not only do smart homes require mobile interfaces to connect devices. Consumers can use IoT for:
• Automobiles
• Healthcare
• Agriculture
• Child and pet care
The growth of the smart home IoT market will undoubtedly be more pronounced. According to a survey by Forbes, two-thirds of consumers indicated they might purchase IoT devices in 2019. 50% of participants stated they might buy wearable devices. By 2025, there will be 76 billion connected devices delivered to customers, generating approximately $490 billion in revenue.
How will smart connected cars develop? According to a study by Machina Research, 90% of cars are connected to smartphones, while only 10% are today.
The types of IoT devices will continue to increase, and they all require software applications to control them. In this still far from saturated market, businesses can develop their own IoT mobile applications.
|| What Can IoT Products Do?
IoT devices have a new set of functions and capabilities, which can be divided into four functions: monitoring, control, optimization, and autonomy. IoT products can encompass all four functions, each with its own benefits.
For instance, the monitoring function is the foundation for product control, optimization, and autonomy. Businesses must choose functions that can provide value to customers and specify their affordable skills.
(1) Monitoring
IoT products can comprehensively control the status, operation, and external environment of products through sensors and external data sources. Using the collected data, these products can alert users or others to changes in the environment or performance.
(2) Control
IoT products can be controlled through remote commands or algorithms built into the device or residing in the product’s cloud platform.
(3) Optimization
IoT products monitor the productive circulation of data, combined with the ability to control product operation, allowing businesses to maximize product performance in various ways, many of which were previously unfeasible. Smart connections can apply algorithms and analytics to real-time or historical information, significantly improving output, utilization, and effectiveness.
(4) Autonomy
The combination of monitoring, control, and optimization functions can enable IoT products to achieve levels of autonomy previously unattainable.
|| What People Should Know About IoT Application Development
How to develop IoT applications? It depends on the product concept of the business. The functions for smart home applications and connected car and truck applications will undoubtedly differ. However, before starting IoT application development, some basics must be understood. First, understand the structure of IoT systems.
Supporting Components of IoT Products
Any IoT system consists of four main components:
(1) Hardware
The hardware used in IoT systems includes devices for remote dashboards, control devices, servers, routers or bridging devices, and sensors. These devices manage basic tasks and functions such as system activation, operational specifications, security, communication, and detection to support specific goals and operations.
The most critical hardware in IoT may be its sensors. These devices include energy modules, power management modules, RF modules, and sensing modules. The RF module manages communication through its signal processing, WiFi, ZigBee, Bluetooth, radio transceivers, duplexers, and BAW.
Different types of sensors include:
• Temperature sensors
• Pressure sensors
• Proximity sensors
• Accelerometers and gyroscope sensors
• Infrared sensors
• Optical sensors
• Gas sensors
• Smoke sensors
(2) Software
The software for IoT systems should be cloud-based applications, whether for web or mobile devices, primarily used to manage and regulate the dashboard for all connected IoT devices. This dashboard should also collect information from sensing units and display it to users.
• Mobile applications
• Web applications
• Custom dashboards
(3) Cloud Platform
Cloud computing is one of the most important innovations for IoT. It can collect and refine information. The biggest advantage of adopting a cloud platform is that businesses do not need to build physical resources to store data.
(4) Network Connectivity
Networks send data in two ways: one is the return transmission from the mobile phone to the sensor device; the other is the network linking all devices within the IoT system. These two adopt different types of network protocols.
• Bluetooth
Bluetooth is one of the most widely used short-range wireless network technologies. Users can quickly access Bluetooth applications that provide wearable technology to pair with smart tools.
• Wi-Fi
Some digital designers say that using Wi-Fi is a popular choice for IoT integration. This is because the framework it carries has a fast information transmission rate and the ability to control large amounts of data.
• ZigBee
ZigBee was developed for industrial use, with less focus on customer development. It typically operates at a frequency of 2.4GHz. This is a perfect choice for industrial sites that usually transmit data between homes or buildings at a small rate.
• Radio Frequency Identification
It uses magnetic fields to ensure object recognition. This short and variable ultra-high frequency identification technology has a wavelength of about 100mm. However, the wavelength for remote ultra-high frequency can reach 200mm.
• Wide Area Network
LoRaWAN or Long Range Wide Area Network is just one of the IoT programs for large positioning networks. The LoRaWAN IoT network protocol is primarily designed to maintain a robust network with millions of low-power devices. This protocol is adopted by smart cities.
|| Challenges in IoT
Before starting the development of IoT applications, it is essential to understand the challenges that the industry has yet to solve.
(1) Security and Privacy
Among the most controversial issues, a significant challenge faced in IoT application development is personal privacy and security. The security discussed here is not only network security but also the security of all components involved in IoT applications. These applications are supported by networks that connect hardware and software elements and contain vast amounts of data, which may lead to personal privacy breaches.
In addition to the challenges of ensuring the security of IoT software development, more critical issues should also be considered when developing IoT applications:
• Data exchange security: It is crucial to recognize that information is transmitted from IoT sensing units and devices to systems or gateways and then stored in the cloud. During the application development process, it is vital to ensure compliance with data file encryption protocols.
• Physical security: IoT devices are often overlooked, making them easy targets for network attackers to tamper with. Therefore, checking whether security components belong to IoT devices is always a challenge.
• Cloud storage security: Although the protection of cloud storage space is considered, programmers often find it challenging to ensure that IoT systems are correctly protected and that data is safeguarded. Additionally, proper access permissions and authorizations should be managed.
• Privacy updates: The data collected by IoT devices must always comply with specific rules and laws. For example, all fitness trackers must adhere to HIPAA regulations when collecting user information. This indicates that the information stored on the cloud platform via IoT devices is certified to meet regulations. Compliance with regulations like HIPAA can ensure the security of private information.
(2) Connectivity Challenges
The significance of IoT application development lies in the real-time transmission of data. However, due to poor connectivity or delays, this ultimately becomes a dilemma. Connected devices providing valuable front-end information are crucial. However, when IoT sensing units are called to monitor, process data, and provide information, poor network connectivity becomes a problem.
This issue can be addressed during the design and application environment phase. For example, essential printing devices can connect via Wi-Fi home routers to laptops and mobile phones. However, the situation is different for smart cars, as they require mobile internet. Therefore, programmers need to understand the functions and features of various devices and make corresponding development decisions.
(3) Cross-Platform Compatibility (Hardware and Devices)
When creating IoT applications, future technological adjustments should also be considered. Therefore, the development of IoT requires a balance of software and hardware capabilities.
For IoT application designers, it is challenging to ensure that devices and IoT platforms deliver optimal efficiency, regardless of operating system, device updates, and bug fixes.
When developing IoT applications, programmers need to ensure that the application can be seamlessly integrated without complicating the IoT ecosystem community (including software and hardware).
(4) Data Collection and Processing
Due to the vast amount of information involved in IoT applications, information collection and processing can be challenging for designers. Along with privacy and security planning, development teams need to ensure they have well-planned methods for collecting, storing, or processing data in the environment.
To achieve this, IoT application development teams must employ information professionals and analytical designers and utilize machine learning resources to gain insights from information stored in the cloud.
|| How to Develop IoT Applications
(1) Choose a Platform
Businesses can use many platforms to develop IoT applications and can choose any of them, but they should pay attention to the innovations they support and the costs involved.
Here are some top platforms for developing IoT applications:
• HomeKit
• Android Things
• ThingWorx
• Xively
• Ubidots
• Azure IoT Suite
• IBM Watson
• Oracle IoT
• Kaa
Many of these development platforms are trying to solve inconsistency issues, allowing IoT developers to connect devices from different vendors into a unified system that can support different programs. For example, Google’s IoT platform, Android Points, now supports devices from multiple manufacturers and can also connect to low-energy sensors.
(2) Choose Hardware
If businesses do not want to manufacture their hardware for IoT projects, they need to purchase devices from other manufacturers. First, their devices need to meet the business’s product requirements. Second, the devices should be reliable, as their link accuracy is crucial for the project’s success. Sensor units produced by trusted device manufacturers can guarantee higher quality.
Undoubtedly, programmers will need to choose from microcontroller-based circuit boards, system-on-chip (SOC) boards, single-board computers (SBC), and dedicated circuit boards for smart Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Here are some well-known products:
• Arduino Uno
• Raspberry Pi
• Intel Edison
• Udoo Neo
• LightBlue Bean
• Adafruit Flora
• Tessel
• Particle Photon
• Mediatek Linkit One
• C.H.I.P
(3) Consider Scalability Early
Consider how quickly the business plans to create application functionalities. Undoubtedly, whether the business’s application remains relevant largely depends on scalability. It must handle large amounts of data, various devices, and programs. Therefore, cloud computing technology is best suited for IoT applications.
(4) Quick Application Overview
IoT applications must run very quickly. When it comes to sharing data and controlling devices from another location, delays are unavoidable. Imagine the consequences if an autonomous vehicle does not respond immediately to human commands. This is why performance and high-speed links must be one of the primary concerns.
(5) Ensure Security
Protecting IoT applications is the primary concern for businesses. Unfortunately, due to the large number of IoT devices residing on a single network, IoT technology faces a certain degree of risk of data breaches.
Additionally, since IoT is most commonly used in homes, automobiles, trucks, and medical devices, these attacks could lead to the exposure of individuals’ sensitive information.
Businesses need to ensure that they build IoT applications using secure tools.
Here are some ideas for ensuring security in IoT applications:
• Choose trusted hardware vendors. Some vendors providing software programs for their devices may overlook potential software vulnerabilities. For the business’s IoT applications, it is essential to ensure that trusted hardware or security experts operate it.
• Use verified IoT platforms. This largely depends on the systems used for IoT applications. Always use reputable platforms, check their tools, and keep them updated.
• Consider not only network attacks but also physical attacks. Any type of data stored on devices not only needs encryption but also should be literally shielded, as getting rid of storage devices is not simple.
• Use protected networks. All information flowing between the business’s applications and devices via web servers or cloud platforms should be secured.
• Apply best practices for application security. Use file encryption, obfuscation, two-factor authentication, and other methods to ensure authorized users securely use the business’s IoT applications and devices.
Copyright Statement:This article is compiled by D1Net, and any reprints must indicate the source as D1Net. If not indicated, D1Net reserves the right to pursue legal responsibility.
(Source: D1Net)
If you work in a certain field of enterprise IT, networking, or communications and wish to share your views, you are welcome to submit articles to D1Net.
Submission Email: [email protected]
Click the blue text
to follow
You can also search for the public account “D1net” to follow the sub-public accounts of D1net in various fields (cloud computing, data centers, big data, CIO, enterprise communication, enterprise application software, network data communication, information security, servers, storage, AI, IoT smart cities, etc.).
