Maybe the Internet of Things is not spreading as fast as predicted by some, but in the long run it will change our world significantly. As more IoT devices enter the market, security will become increasingly important.
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You already know what you want to achieve? Then you are ready for technology decisions. There are loads of concepts and technologies out there. Here we point out the pros and cons for the relevant set of IoT technologies.
Maybe the Internet of Things is not spreading as fast as predicted by some, but in the long run it will change our world significantly. As more IoT devices enter the market, security will become increasingly important.
So far, the world of IoT consists of a very heterogeneous landscape. Multiple computing protocols like ZigBee, Z-Wave, Modbus and BACnet have their individual pros and cons and therefore all a right to exists — depending on their individual use case. But in an Internet of Things world, everything and everybody is connected — from consumers in sensor-rich environments to enterprises harnessing new technologies like robotics and machine learning. Since we lack one common language for the IoT there is no way around a solution capable of connecting all these standards. But still, the intelligence will move to the edge of the networks. Devices will interact directly. The cloud remains for analysis.
Let’s face it: Explaining the Internet of Things and the advantages of direct communication between devices can be a dry and theoretical topic. So we decided to literally spice the whole story up and add a little bit of gamification to the issue: In future events we’re going to demonstrate our technology with a smart game of dice that communicates its result to a vending machine, releasing a pack of Lemonbeat branded snack chips in case players sucessfully rolled the dice.
If you’re into producing goods and want to convince your customers about the quality, there is no better way than an independent seal of approval. Amnong the numerous existing seals, the VDE certification stands out as a special quality feature in Germany and Europe. As an independent organization, the VDE tests your products thoroughly and confirms perfect function in terms of electrical, mechanical and toxic aspects. We at Lemonbeat help our customers with all the necessary preparation.
Asked if it’s better to go for a cloud- or rather an edge-based IoT solution, the answer is, as so often in life: It depends. But lets take a step back first and define what we mean when talking about cloud, edge or fog computing.
In the long run, the Internet of Things will only be successful if we manage to connect all the different devices in a very uncomplicated manner. Currently, the lack of interoperability is hindering widespread usage. A common language could be a solution and the devices itself have to become more intelligent. A biological organism carries in each cell the complete genotype with individual “working instructions”. This could be a paradigm for the Internet of Things.
With the Lemonbeat Device Development Kit (DDK) we offer companies a tool for an easy entry into the Internet of Things. The actual fourth revision of our DDK offers prevalent functions to easily connect own products in an intelligent way via the Lemonbeat smart Device Language (LsDL).
One big challenge in the world of IoT will be to ensure devices from a range of different vendors to collaborate smoothly. One solution, and one that has proven the most popular up until now, is to connect each single device with a cloud service, collect the data and let a remote computer decide what to do next. But this is not always a very elegant way of doing things. First of all, you may need to tie in a number of gateways to collect data from the different devices which may all use different protocols. Secondly, by sending everything into the cloud first, you run the risk of higher latency. Thirdly, if the cloud server stops working or a glitch with the internet connection, the whole system may grind to a halt.
Whenever you attend IoT events these days, there’s one question that is always debated intensively. Do we really need a common standard for the Internet of Things, or are we fine with what we have? While some say we have already got what we need and the rest can be done with gateways, others passionately advocate for horizontal standardization. At the annual M2M Summit of the German based M2M Alliance in Düsseldorf, the discussion continued.
The Internet of Things, with all its players in the market, faces the same problem that the Internet faced before the days of the World Wide Web: A wide range of platforms with non-interoperable networking technologies, data silos and therefore limited interoperability, and thus, market potential. Perhaps if parallels can be drawn, maybe learnings can be too?
