Build IoT Applications using Open Source software tools
The IoT or the Internet of Things is the in thing today. IoT apps are expected to prepare billions of daily objects with intelligence and connectivity. Already, it’s being extensively organized, in different domains. These days, in any custom software development, one of the most critical things to take into account is the Internet of Things.
When talking about IoT apps, the first thing that comes to mind probably would be smart homes. The interconnected things could control homes and do basic tasks, like controlling room temperature, turning lights on and off, opening doors, playing music, and a whole lot more. The IoT is becoming something of a vague concept as more devices enjoy connected status and it’s become harder to draw the line between what and what doesn’t constitute an Internet of Things device.
Building an IoT app is an in-demand service for any custom software development company. To create an app, bear in mind that the project would take money, time, and skills. It’s pretty challenging and time-consuming, thus you should be well-prepared for the endeavor.
Furthermore, there are also open-source software tools that service providers could use to build apps for the Internet of Things.
Creating IoT Applications with these Open Source Tool
DeviceHive Open-Source Tool
DeviceHive was built and launched by DataArt, a boutique software development and outsourcing company based in New York as an open-source M2M framework. The open-source, free machine to machine communication framework continues as one of the leading IoT apps leading development platforms. The cloud-based API could be remotely controlled whatever the network configuration is.
Smart home technology, automation, security, and remote sensors are some of the potential applications. The website of the tool is a vibrant community with blog posts coming from enthusiasts, which means you will always get support. You got everything that you need, including components on their website.
Home Assistant
An open-source and free home automation software, which is designed to be the core control system in a smart house or home. Python-written, the main focus is on privacy and local-control. It has a great array of device support, and as of May this year it features support for more than 1600 modular add-ons or plug-ins with system integration to various IoT systems, technologies, and services.
As the name suggests, it’s geared predominantly towards home automation, and could be controlled with desktop and mobile browsers. Being open-source, it’s relatively easy to set up and noted for its privacy and security capabilities. Supporting almost 2560 smart devices currently, it’s regularly updated every couple of weeks.
Kaa
Backed by Cybervision, it aims to provide end-to-end connected devices support across a big cloud. The multipurpose middleware enables custom software developers to build IoT solutions, connected apps, as well as smart products of all sorts. One of its main benefits is that it’s easy to set up, offering a lot of features that could be plugged into the platform easily.
The open-source kit is described as ‘hardware agnostic’, which means that it could interface with just about any hardware you want including sensors, gateways, and devices. It could be used as well to set up cross-device interoperability, analyze user behavior, and distribute over the air firmware updates to deliver the notifications targeted. It’s an excellent all-around tech piece for anyone considering IoT development.
Devicehub.net
An integrated solution for any IoT development project. It combines cloud integration and business intelligence to synthesize web and hardware technologies. Small and medium businesses have enjoyed considerable success with the tool, which enabled fast fleet management systems development, wearable technologies, and smart vending machines.
Its friendliness with organizational parties is one of its biggest bonuses. Custom application development programs could be rebranded, thoroughly white-labeled, and installed on-premise, or on a virtual private cloud for deploying enterprise-grade apps.
Arduino
An open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use software and hardware, it’s one of the better-known platforms. With the development kit, users get to code in the language of the tool, with an integrated development environment or IDE. The cloud system currently is composed of an MQTT broker, which allows developers to send messages from board to board.
Projects created using the tool include a method for taking pictures, a location tracking device for pets, and have them uploaded automatically to Tumblr, a popular blogging website. Companies could make a print issue receipt onto paper from GitHub. The cloud platform would be adding new features later and are looking for comments and feedback on its present setup.
Riot
It powers the IoT in the same way that Linux powers the web. It’s open-source and free and developed by a grassroots community gathering academia, hobbyists, and companies distributed all over the world. It supports the most low-power Internet of Things devices, as well as microcontroller architectures. It aims to implement all-important open standards supporting IoT that’s secure, durable, connected, and privacy-friendly.
Functioning as a Linux alternative, RIOT is a microkernel OS that supports numerous chip architectures, which supports IPv6, RPL, UPD, and 6LoWPAN. With very minimal processing, memory usage, and power, the tool is best for low-power microcontrollers and small sensors networks.
Kinoma
A hardware prototyping development suite that consists of three various projects, namely, Kinoma Studio, Kinoma Create, and Kinoma Platform Runtime. Kinoma Studio is a development environment uniting the Kinoma Platform Runtime, and the Kinoma Create tool for designing internet-connected smart device apps.
Create a JavaScript-powered construction tool that has everything that you need for designing and prototyping all kinds of small-scale IoT apps and tools. Its range of apps encompasses temperature sensors, light connectors, actuators, and so on. The Kinoma Connect is a free app running on Android and iOS and provides data flows that are easy to set up between tablets and smartphones with devices that are IoT-enabled.
Conclusion
Just as the IoT is an extremely lively and varied environment to build in your business, there aren’t any off-the-shelf solutions to accommodate every smart project. Although the IoT open source tools presented here constitute the possible building blocks for just about any smart system, you should keep in mind that some may work successfully in some scenarios, but others may not.
Still, the IoT open-source tools are a great starting point for your business, and as it grows, you could switch to commercial technologies because open source means that you’re not tied to any particular vendor.
About the Author
Herman Morgan is Business Analyst at Tatvasoft, Australia. TatvaSoft is a CMMi Level 3 & Microsoft Gold partner Software Development Company offering software development services on diverse technology platforms, like Microsoft, Java, PHP, SharePoint, Biztalk, Open Source, Big Data, BI, & Mobile. With rich and varied experience of 18 years in software development and stringent quality standards, we offer utmost qualitative, on-time and cost-effective software solutions.
