IoT devices are hardware devices, such as sensors, gadgets, appliances and other machines that collect and exchange data over the Internet. They are programmed for certain applications and can be embedded into other IoT devices. For example, an IoT device in your car can identify the traffic ahead and send out a message automatically to the person you are about to meet of your impending delay.
As IoT grows exponentially year on year, companies are leveraging the tremendous business values it can offer. Here are some of the most important benefits of IoT:
new business models and revenue streams
business decisions through data-driven insights
productivity and efficiency of business operations
customer experience
The networking, communication and connectivity protocols depend largely on the specific IoT application deployed. Just as there are many different IoT devices, there are many types of IoT applications based on their usage. Here are some of the most common ones:
Primarily for everyday use. (home appliances, voice assistance, and light fixtures)
Primarily used in the healthcare and transport industries. (smart pacemakers and monitoring systems)
Primarily used with industrial applications, such as in the manufacturing and energy sectors. (Digital control systems, smart agriculture and industrial big data)
Primarily used for connectivity in smart cities. (infrastructure sensors and management systems)
Different IoT devices have different functions, but they all have similarities in terms of how they work. Firstly, IoT devices are physical objects that sense things going on in the physical world. They contain an integrated CPU, network adapter and firmware, and are usually connected to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server. It also requires an IP address to function over the network.
Most IoT devices are configured and managed through a software application. For example, an app on your smartphone to control the lights in your home. Some devices also have integrated web servers, which eliminates the need for external applications. For example, the lights switch on immediately when you enter a room.
Your life and your house went from one computer to an Internet of things. From tablets to lightbulbs, from sensors to media boxes, everybody gets their own Internet. Today, you have to fight your things. They don’t talk to each other, the apps don’t work, it’s a tower of babel. Our solution — the Thing System — is open source. We’ll talk to anything, you can hack the system, it has an open API.
BERG Cloud is an easy way to prototype and produce connected products. It’s perfectly suited for a one-off prototype, Kickstarter project, or as the platform to power your product when you go to market. BERG Cloud is low bandwidth and has low power requirements, and benefits from plug-and-play configuration.
BERG Cloud is best suited for products which communicate directly with the web. For personal smartphone peripherals, we recommend Bluetooth 4, and for streaming media, we recommend wifi.
All BERG Cloud products are associated with one or more user accounts. By taking advantage of the same sharing, control and configuration user experience that we created for Little Printer, product managers can streamline the processes for their users.
iOTOS helps “things” stay connected to our ThingServer™ using either the existing wireless connection or by integrating our bridging device, NiO™. After registering the serial number and setting it up to connect to your WiFi network, you can interact with “things” using our public API by sending and receiving JSON packages.
