IoT is an abbreviation for “Internet of Things”, and it’s not just the slightly crazy-sounding name of a technology buzzword. IoT is really about bringing together different technologies to create a more encompassing digital environment. It’s about building connected devices that interact with one another and with people via the internet, rather than being hooked up to a central computer network.
With IoT, you can build things that are more efficient and less prone to failure. You can also detect things faster, so you don’t have to deal with related problems in parallel – something that isn’t possible with other digital environments. There are many potential benefits of this development, which is why it’s grown from an almost niche interest area into one of the most important trends of our time.
What is Embedded Development?
Embedded development is the creation of low-cost, easily programmable, and highly flexible devices that are used to build smaller, simpler systems. It’s all about enablement – the ability to enable other technologies to do things that are otherwise beyond their reach. You can think of embedded development as an extension of AI, Blockchain, and Blockchain 2.0. It’s about extending the AI universe with sensors and actuators that are easier to integrate and program.
Why Get Into Embedded Development?
There are three main benefits of getting into embedded development: cost, time, and scalability.
Cost – Once you’ve found out where the low-cost devices currently being used to build devices are lacking, you can start to add functionality to these devices at a very low cost. This means that the total cost of ownership of an IoT system is extremely low compared to more general-purpose digital systems.
Time – Once you have a low-cost device that you can use to build a complete system, you can begin to experiment with different ideas and designs. As each idea is cheap to model, test, and prototype, you can try out many different ideas before you settle on one that works. This means that you can accelerate the development of new ideas much more than with a general-purpose digital system, which may need a lot of planning and consideration for each new idea.
How Does IoT Work?
IoT works by using sensors to collect data about the surrounding environment and distribute that information to a central processing unit (as in the case of the IoT smart home device). This central processing unit transforms the data from the sensors into useful information and relays it to the appropriate recipients via the internet. These recipients could be other networks, websites, or devices that you want to integrate with the system.
Types of IoT Device
Physical IoT devices are the mainstays of the digital environment. These devices consist of sensors and actuators that are similar to those found on consumer electronics devices. These devices are usually connected to the internet. Mental IoT devices are those that are software-based.
You can think of mental IoT devices as being on the same level as physical IoT devices, but having no sensors and only a low-level software interface. Intelligent IoT devices are the bridge between the physical and mental IoT devices. They are the most flexible devices because they can be programmed to do anything you want.
Smartphones and IoT Devices
Smartphones are an ideal platform for the embedded development because they are so versatile. Some of the most popular devices that run on smart phones are IoT devices, because they are so low-cost and easily programmable. Some of the most popular IoT devices running on smart phones are the following:
Home Automation System: This is a low-cost device that you can program to turn on lights when you get home from work, turn off the lights when you leave home, or even set the temperature in the house according to your preferences. These home automation systems are ideal for people who don’t manage their house remotely very well, like people living in apartments, or people who work from home.
Home Security System: You can get home security systems with cameras and other sensors that monitor your property 24/7/365. These devices can help you protect your home from intruders even when you’re not around.
Smart Home Automation System: This is a more high-end system that allows you to manage and control all your electronic devices from one place. It’s ideal for people who want a lot of control over a large number of devices.
Project-Based vs. System-Based IoT
Both project-based and system-based approaches can be used to build an IoT system. Depending on what applications are relevant to your business, you may want to use one approach for your entire system or use a combination of both. Project-based approach: In this approach, the end goal is to build a complete system that consists of your low-cost, easily programmable, and highly flexible devices.
You don’t care about scalability or enabling other technologies to do things that are otherwise beyond their reach. In this case, you’re building a single-minded system that does one thing and does it well. The project-based design allows you to focus on building the system itself, without worrying about scalability or enabling other technologies to do the same thing.
The only thing that matters is that the system works as intended, and the other features are extra features that the system relies on to work properly. System-based approach: In this approach, the system itself – not the devices within the system – is what counts. It’s the system that needs to be scalable, and it should be able to enable other technologies to do the same thing. In this case, the system is the center of your attention. The rest of the features are extra features that the system relies on to work properly. They are more like add-ons that you can remove if you don’t need them.
Connected Home Devices
Hybrid approaches are becoming more and more popular in the embedded development world. This approach blends the best features of both project- and system-based approaches to create the most effective solution. This approach takes a combination of physical and mental IoT devices and uses them to form a complete system.
For example, your physical device could be your front doorbell, and your mental device could be your smart home automation system. You might not want to build a complete system using physical and mental devices, but rather create a gateway device that provides a bridge between the physical and mental systems.
This hybrid approach allows you to use the best aspects of both types of IoT to create an effective solution for your specific needs. You can decide how your gateway device should link the two sides of the system, for example, by using an app on your mobile device.
Conclusion
The Internet of Things has become quite a popular topic over the past few years, and it’s only grown in importance as technology has advanced. With IoT, you can build things that are more efficient and less prone to failure. You can also detect things faster, so you don’t have to deal with related problems in parallel – something that isn’t possible with other digital environments. There are many potential benefits of this development, which is why it’s grown from an almost niche interest area into one of the most important trends of our time.