The big talk now in the Industrial Internet of Things centers on how to get all the devices to talk the same language.
There is much work going on in the area of interoperability–using a set of a few standards to allow disparate devices and applications to talk.
Here is a company announcing this week at the Embedded Systems Conference in Germany a caveat–since there is no standard, just use our proprietary system.
It “has all the building blocks” to construct a system. Note that this company is not expressly industrial manufacturing. We do have some interoperability standards now, but it is true that getting information from sensor to application can be trying.
At any rate, check out the Connect One system.
Connect One has introduced iChipNet, an Internet of Things (IoT) end-to-end platform that helps customers get their IoT products to market faster.
Connect One’s iChipNet includes all the building blocks – hardware, software, and connectivity – required for IoT product design. Since industry IoT standards are not yet in place, end-to-end solutions from a single vendor can ensure interoperability among IoT functions so that components seamlessly “talk” to each other. Such interoperability enables reliability and maintainability of products once they’re being used in consumers’ homes, building control, or medical devices, and beyond.
Connect One’s iChipNet platform incorporates the following building blocks:
- Embedded technology—Internet Controller chips, Ethernet modules, Wi-Fi modules for embedding inside IoT products
- Gateway/Hub—an optional gateway or hub to connect IoT products to the local network and to the Internet with a zero-configuration feature
- Cloud solution—Server software or service to manage deployed IoT products
- Smartphone app—An app library and example that make it easy for customers to provide a smartphone app with their IoT product
It’s All About Interoperability
The IoT comprises smart devices connected to the network and services that, for example, manage energy usage, provide doctors with real-time medical information, or monitor a baby or child remotely. Such services require a complete IoT platform that can efficiently manage data and ensure fast and reliable delivery to the consumer.
When developing such solutions, customers need an IoT technology vendor that can provide all the building blocks, and confidence that these building blocks work seamlessly together. Over time, by using a single vendor, customers protect themselves from software updates or upgrades that apply to a single part, rather than the whole system, and cause unnecessary system failures.
“In the absence of IoT standards, Connect One is making it easy for anyone to design an IoT device and service and get them to market quickly,” noted Erez Lev, General Manager for Connect One. “By providing all the building blocks needed, we assure customers of ongoing interoperability of our technology as their product evolves in the market. We believe IoT products should be simple and we have designed our technology to provide this.”
Connect One’s IoT Platform: Already Proven in Other Markets
Connect One has provided IoT chips and modules to market segments like home automation, medical, security, point-of-sale, asset management, smart energy, and more since long before the market was called IoT. Building on its M2M expertise, Connect One is tailoring these market-proven chips and modules for the IoT era and consumer space.
Connect One’s new IoT building blocks include everything product designers need to develop, deploy, and manage their IoT products securely and reliably. iChipNet embedded technology, available in many form factors and configurations, recognize the gateway/hub and seamlessly connect to it without end-user intervention.
The cloud solution keeps in touch with the iChipNet-based products, enabling a simple and robust management solution for products in the field. The IoT module connects to the iChipNet cloud solution automatically and its I/O ports can be controlled and managed via the cloud interface. The module has an embedded web server that enables the developer to configure and name the I/O ports according to function in a simple and intuitive manner. Finally, the smartphone app libraries and examples make it easy to build and promote a smartphone app as part of the solution or service provided by the customer.