Updated June 14, 2023
What is the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things (IoT) is proliferating because of the increasing use of the Internet, technological advancement, and the low connection cost. The Internet of Things is an environment where objects, animals, and people are given unique identities, and the data is transferred over a network without the help of human and computer interaction. It helps to connect any device to the Internet with an On and Off switch. The Internet of Things IoT tutorial is the collection of everyday objects related to the Internet.
IoT enables the exchange of data more securely. Now it has become easier for enterprises to create their own IoT applications and use them fully. There are a lot of ready-to-use Internet of Things platforms that will help you to develop applications more efficiently. Internet of Things IoT tutorial is growing bigger every day.
How does it work?
The Internet of Things (IoT) requires a vast database that catalogs and tracks objects using a few technologies. The objects can communicate information to other entities or nodes using these wireless recognition systems and traceability.
Technologies of IoT
The primary technologies used are listed below.
- RFID
- Wifi
- Barcode e QR code
- ZigBee
- Sensors and smartphones
Areas of Application of IoT
The Internet of Things will have its effect on every home and business on the earth in the next 15 years. As per research in 2008, the number of things connected to the Internet was more significant than the number of people living on the planet. In 2020 it is expected to be about 50 billion. IoT applications use technology to improve our comfort, use less energy to do a task and give us great control over our lives, whether at home or work. There are a few critical application areas of IoT tutorials.
1. Building and Home automation
IoT training offers various applications to monitor and control buildings and homes. A few internets of things examples are:
- Access Control
- Light and temperature control
- Connected appliances
- Energy minimization
2. Smart Cities
IoT training offers a lot of applications to reduce the cost and save the resource to develop smart cities. It includes applications for:
- Residential E meters
- Traffic control system
- Smart street lights
- Surveillance cameras
3. Manufacturing Industry
IoT applications in the manufacturing field will help to ease the process and make time for your next Internet of Things manufacturing process. Applications are used for:
- Flow Optimization
- Real-Time Inventory
- Asset Tracking
- Employee Safety
4. Wearables
Wearable field monitor, record, and give feedback on you and your environment. It is mainly divided into two sections – Fitness and Environment, Health. Smartwatches and location tracking also come under wearables. These IoT applications save energy and cost.
5. Health Care
IoT applications in healthcare help improve quality and accessibility, creating a new revolution in the field. Technologies are used in:
- Remote Monitoring
- Ambulance Telemetry
- Access Control
- Predictive Maintenance
6. Automotive
IoT offers a wide range of innovative technologies for modern automobiles. It includes:
- Wireless connectivity
- Advanced sensor networks
- Machine-to-machine communication
- Infotainment
All these innovations will make them more efficient than before.
7. Smart Supply Chain
The supply chain is becoming more brilliant these days. Internet of Things applications for the supply chain include tracking goods, sharing inventory information, and others.
8. Smart Farming
Smart farming does not fit into other categories like health or industry. But due to its increased importance, the Internet of Things has extended its application to this field. As of now, there are few applications for this field. But shortly, it will gather large-scale attention, and many applications will be developed.
Building Internet of Things IoT Applications
A few critical questions for developers regarding the development of applications in the Internet of Things are
- What is the best way to build an application using the Internet of Things?
- What are the skills needed to develop such applications?
- What is the starting point of such applications?
The below points will give you the answers to these questions.
- The starting point for this Internet of Things application is the things themselves. The Internet of Things devices have one or more communication protocols, a low-power processor, and an embedded operating system. These devices may connect directly to the Internet or an Internet gateway device.
- The next step is the ingestion tier, where the software and Internet of Things infrastructure run in a corporate data center. It receives and organizes the data. It also manages things and updates the firmware frequently.
- The third step is the Analytics tier. In this step, the application transfers the organized data. This is where the user can view the end-user tier application as a web, mobile, or enterprise application.
This Internet of Things platform deals with the enrolment of things, data ingestion, and authentication.
An example of one such Internet of Things platform is given below:
Xively Internet of Things platform has the following elements
- Storage for archived time series
- Messaging and routing protocols
- Trust Engine
- Searchable directory
- User management and device management for administrators and other users
- APIs to allow easy access to data
- Infrastructure and application security
- Business intelligence dashboards
Xively also has a collection of connectors. You can build your application in your language and access your data on the Xively platform.
Examples of Internet of Things applications built with cloud platforms include applications to monitor the stock level in freezers and the water quality from remote sensors. Such Internet of Things applications reduce the manual work and need for the staff to visit the places.
How does the IoT Applications Platform work?
It is so straightforward to create an IoT application. Go to http://dweet.io on any mobile device and click the ‘Try Now’ button. Your device will get a name that consists of two random words. A hyphen will separate these two words. Then go to any browser and type http://dweet.io/follow/(your hyphenated name). After this, you will be directed to a dashboard that shows your mobile location and the angle of your device.
Any application can follow the tweeting device, and it just consumes data. To tweet a machine, you should have a good knowledge of C, C++, or Java according to the operating system, it runs.
Creation of IoT Applications Platform in IBM Bluemix
Here is an example of creating an IoT application for the temperature sensor.
- First, go to the Bluemix site and sign up if you have not already registered.
- After logging in, you will be directed to a screen that appears like the screen in the picture below. Select the Catalog option.
- You will be directed to the Catalog page, and here, you must click on the “Internet of Things Application Foundation Starter.” Clicking on this option will help to collect the data from the sensor.
- You will get a screen, as you see in the picture below. Enter the name of your application here.
- Click on the Create button. You will take to the next screen, where you should click “View Application Overview.”
- Next comes the screen of your application. This screen gives all the details of your application, like how many instances are active, what memory is used, and where it is connected to.
- Make sure that the circle in green, Application Health, shows that the App is running. If the App is running, then you can click on the URL.
- You will be directed to a page where you must click “Go to your Node-Red flow editor.”
- Clicking on this option will take you to the IoT application editor page. There will be a default sample for you. IoT applications have different input nodes.
- These input nodes are the points where the application receives data from different sensors.
- There are also many other features.
- Click on the temperature sensor simulator link to take you to a screen, as shown in the picture below.
- The pink circle is the unique device ID; Bluemix will pass this to the sensor through the device ID.
- You can adjust the temperature using the up and down arrows.
- Copy and paste the device ID to Notepad, convert all capital letters into small letters, and remove colons.
- After doing this, click on Node 3, the IoT Application Foundation.
- Copy the ID from the Notepad and paste it into the Device ID field.
- Click Ok and then Click Deploy.
- If the temperature is less than or equal to 40, you will get the output of the temperature reading combined with Within safe limits in the debug console panel on the right side.
Tips for developing secure IoT applications
Whenever an application is developed using IoT, developers are worried that hackers can exploit it. So it is always important to create secure applications.
Here are a few tips to make the Internet of Things Application development more secure
- Use developers with the right skills.
These vendors need to have technically skilled developers. These developers will need to be better trained in internet-ready coding. This is one of the main reasons for the insecure Internet of Things applications.
- Use reputed IoT application platforms.
There are a vast number of companies offering IoT application platforms. Each platform has different components to produce a secure IoT application. The security framework is an essential factor. Developers should know how to use them properly.
- IoT tutorial device Firmware security
The main difference between mobile or web apps and IoT apps is that they interact with things. There may be security inabilities in the internet-connected hardware device’s firmware. IoT apps should have a function to update the firmware security more often.
- Safe from Physical attacks
It interacts with many things, so they are difficult to secure physically. Therefore, the stored Internet of Things data should be encrypted and made hard to remove.
- Secure hardware components
Hardware vendors will also help to improve the security of the Internet of Things applications. Because of the secured hardware components, information will not be shared unless its authentication is proven.
- Best Standard security practices
Before taking any Internet of Things cybersecurity measures, consider the App and see whether it affects the other application members.
Conclusion
The Internet of Things future has started. Internet of Things IoT tutorial is becoming more popular, and it significantly impacts our day-to-day lives. It will have an unpredictable development in the coming years. You should learn and understand the Internet of Things opportunities and threats to the IoT tutorial. Educate yourself about the Internet of Things and see the potential impact on your everyday work and life.
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