Everything you need to know about developing an app for the iot

Previously, the Internet of Things was a rarity, but now it is literally everywhere: in the house, in the office, on the street, even in the village with my grandmother. Every second has smart devices – from fitness trackers and robotic vacuum cleaners to whole systems with sensors and devices. The demand for such devices is only growing, so IoT mobile app development seems to be a promising niche for a startup. We will tell you what the Internet of Things is, where it is used and how to develop your own IoT system.

What is IoT?

In simple terms, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a network in which people can communicate with things, and things with each other. Previously, only computers and smartphones could connect to the Internet, now even your refrigerator can connect to WiFi and exchange data with electronic scales.

Devices operate without human intervention, but with applications, people can configure and control them. Let’s explain using the example of a robot vacuum cleaner: a person can set the cleaning time – the vacuum cleaner will clean itself, and then return to the charging station.

Also, IoT devices help to collect data and get statistics. The fitness bracelet determines the user’s movement speed, heart rate, and the number of steps taken. More sophisticated models can calculate how many calories you burned and how many hours you slept. 

MVP, otherwise known as A minimum viable product is a concept from Lean Startup that undestands the impact of learning in new product development and so MVP development for startup is an important step in the software development process that allows you to preview and test the product to make necessary changes to test your idea at scale and provide valuable insights.

How it works

Usually, an IoT system consists of devices with sensors and a cloud platform to which they are connected via WiFi, Bluetooth, LAN. Devices collect data and send it to the cloud, and the application processes it. IoT applications allow you to visualize data, track metrics, and manage connected devices.

The Internet of Things works on the ABCDE principle:

• A – Analytics – the data received by devices needs to be analyzed and visualized. It is difficult to do this using traditional analytics tools – there is too much data. There are IoT analytics platforms for this.
• B – BigData is a large amount of raw data that is stored in the cloud. If you analyze this data, you can identify patterns, automate old processes or build new ones. After analysis, commands are sent to the devices.
• C – Connection – for devices to receive and transmit information, you need to set up a connection between them and the cloud.
• D – Devices (sensors) – sensors must be selected for specific tasks and with an appropriate frequency of messages.
• E – Experience – to create a convenient IoT solution, you need to understand the problems and needs of users: study competitors and rely on their experience.

All together, this is an IoT system that can be controlled using an application. Sometimes a person does not even need to send commands to things – they will do everything themselves. Take smart home as an example: what if you forgot to turn off your iron? Catastrophe. But if your home is “smart”, you don’t have to worry about such things – the iron will turn off automatically as soon as you close the door behind you. 

Automation of actions is possible thanks to sensors. But in order to launch scenarios, the sensors need to be controlled and connected to each other; for this, the smart home has a brain – a control hub. The sensors transmit data to the hub, and it analyzes the situation and sends commands to the devices. Immediately after that, the hub transmits information to the owner, sends notifications. 

Summarize

IoT technology provides great opportunities for business development – retail, manufacturing, health and fitness, agriculture and other niches. While some companies believe that IoT is a joke, others are already reaching a new level of development and making a profit. In the end, the rest will have to pull up or leave the market.

If you want to develop an IoT apps interface, choose reliable contractors who have experience working with IoT technologies and successful cases. Remember users: the product must solve the problem. Start with MVP, and when you collect the first feedback, you will understand whether it is worth developing the product and adding new features.