Simplifying development in the Internet of Things
The development of increasingly affordable technologies has been a major driving factor in making the Internet of Things (IoT) possible. For example, the cost of sensors has come down by a factor of two over the past decade, and even more significantly the costs for connectivity and computing have come down by factors of 40 and 60, respectively.
Essentially, the Internet of Things is the next evolution of computing – it is moving to the ‘cloud plus edge’ paradigm. The ability to connect end-to-end – from the device to the cloud, often via a gateway – and extract information in real time via data analytics in the cloud will transform businesses and enable them to achieve greater productivity and efficiency, reduce operating expenses and also contribute to the top line with new services and products.
According to a report from McKinsey Global Institute, published in 2013, the number of connected machines has increased by about 300 percent in the past five years. New devices are being added every day with approximately half a billion ‘non-personal’ devices added in 2013, and around 50 billion devices or more are currently predicted to be connected by 2020.
So, while the opportunity is vast, a huge issue for IoT development is the high level of fragmentation. The development of hardware and software technologies that are suitable for a diverse range of industries and markets can mean a significantly slower pace of adoption.
And the challenges and technical issues are many when considering how to connect devices at the edge up into the cloud. In industrial applications, for example, much support will be required for the integration of legacy infrastructure and protocols and perhaps previously unconnected devices and equipment.
Also, the myriad of different devices will create different data types, so normalization of data will be important. In addition, this multitude of devices will need to be provisioned and managed. And in terms of connectivity and interoperability, there are no dominant standards currently existing for the IoT.
However, there are now industry bodies – such as the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) and the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) – which have been set up to drive the adoption of open-platform-based specifications and standards for the IoT. And finally there is security, which needs to be fundamental to any IoT solution.
All of which brings us to a new platform that addresses key challenges that companies are facing when implementing IoT solutions, including interoperability, security, connectivity and scalability. The new Intel IoT Platform is an end-to-end reference model that is designed to unify and simplify connectivity and security in the IoT.
To support the platform, Intel is also delivering a roadmap of integrated hardware and software products, as well as developing a wide ecosystem of system integrators and developers that can scale solutions and help move the IoT from infancy to mass deployment. The Intel IoT roadmap spans from edge devices up into the cloud and includes API management and service creation software, edge-to-cloud connectivity and analytics, intelligent gateways, and a full line of scalable Intel Architecture (IA) processors.
Combining the vast array of technologies being developed at Intel, the IoT Platform also integrates technologies from Wind River and McAfee. The Intel Wind River Edge Management System is cloud-based middleware that runs from the embedded device up through the cloud, enabling devices to securely connect to a centralized console.
This pre-integrated technology stack enables customers to quickly build industry-specific IoT solutions and integrate disparate enterprise IT systems using API management. And McAfee Enhanced Security is now included in the Intel IoT Gateway as a pre-validated solution that adds advanced security management for gateway devices. In addition, we have developed advanced Enhanced Privacy Identity (EPID) technology, which delivers anonymity properties as well as hardware-enforced integrity.
One further and very important element in the bright and shiny future of the IoT is the embryonic and fast growing wearables market – or the ‘Personal Internet of Things’. There are expected to be approximately 400 million wearable devices by 2020, which is a small proportion of the overall IoT market perhaps, but still a highly significant one.
This is a marketplace that will see disruption from traditionally non-technology companies that will come from the fashion world for example. Wearables devices will provide an interesting way for people to interact with the world via wrist- or head-worn devices.
We fully expect that biometric authentication for example will be a key technology deployed in wearable products for identification purposes, not only in consumer, but more importantly perhaps in healthcare and industrial sectors. And here too, Intel’s low-power IoT processors and software solutions will have a role to play.
In summary, Intel is putting all the hardware and software technologies in place with this reference model that unifies gateway, connectivity and security components to make it significantly easier for customers to develop, tailor and implement their own edge-to-cloud solutions that are secure, interoperable and scalable. In a nutshell, the Intel IoT platform has the capability to simplify the landscape for developers, not only enabling connected devices to securely talk to each other, and derive insightful data from analytics, but also to connect the previously unconnected.
About the author
By Rob Sheppard, IOT Product and Solutions Marketing Manager, Intel EMEA.
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