Project

Developing IoT Devices from Your Local Computer

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Developing a typical software application locally often involves an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) or even a simple text editor (even Notepad), some sort of build system in the case of compiled languages (like C#) or an interpreter in the case of interpreted languages (like JavaScript). The process often looks like this: Write some code, compile it, run it, see what’s changed. If you are really cool, you can just run some unit tests as you develop to find out if what you have is working rather than running the whole application just to test one thing.

When you are developing for an IoT device, it can get more complicated. Sometimes there are emulators available that can simulate the physical device, other times it makes more sense to actually deploy code to the physical device. If there’s a physical device in the mix, you can deploy code over the wire, like through a USB cable that connects your device to your computer, or over WiFi, or in certain setups even through the internet.  For my Raspberry Pi 3, running Windows 10 IoT Core, I can develop locally using Visual Studio and deploy over my local WiFi new code to my RPi directly from within Visual Studio. For most devices, there are a few ways to develop and deploy to it and it’s highly dependent on the platform of choice.

Whatever the process, reducing the time it takes from changing something to finding out if it works is very important.   The first line of defense I have for being able to iterate quickly is unit tests. Unit tests can run very quickly, and can run against most of the code base all at the same time. Although they can be a pain to set up, the long-term efficiencies gained from knowing that most of your code works every step of the way is a huge time-saver.

This is true of regular development. When IoT is thrown into the mix, with the additional time it can take to deploy code to an emulator or a physical device, the efficiencies gained can be even greater than from application development. The next tactic is to use emulators when you can (as it’s typically faster than deploying to a device), and then when you do have to deploy to a device, make it as repeatable and quick as possible.

 

Smart Bronco: How to Choose IoT Prototyping Hardware

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Choosing hardware to prototype with in the realm of IoT can be overwhelming. There are so many choices! And, there’s so many constraints when it comes to putting a piece of hardware into production:

  • Power requirements vs. availability
  • Internet connectivity options
  • Processing requirements
  • Preferred programming language support
  • Security
  • Manufacturer’s support
  • Availability
  • Longevity

My advice is simple: Don’t worry too much about those constraints when you are just getting started. To make a prototype, focus on what’s going to allow you to fail early and often. In my experience, the prototype will only serve as a reference for the real thing. So, use the hardware that will allow you to get up and running quickly and worry about the constraints later.

For example, if you know JavaScript really well (or your team does), and your aren’t sure what processing power you’ll need, go with a microcomputer with some decent computing power that supports a mainstream operating system like a flavor of Linux or Windows. While options like Raspberry Pis with Windows 10 IoT Core or Raspbian works, don’t be afraid to spec out an Intel NUC or something similar if you want the full power of a desktop processor. This is a proof of concept, after all.

For me, I know the .NET platform pretty well, I’m familiar with C#, and I’ve used the Raspberry Pi with Windows 10 IoT Core before. I think I’ll stick with this tried-and-true formula (at least at first) as I validate that I can get information from a sensor reading the coolant temperature on the Bronco and send it up to Azure using IoT Hub.

Once the concept is proven, assuming that the concept is something like “Can we take this outdated protocol from an old machine and run it through an IoT edge device and get it to the cloud?”, the next step is to take those constraints into consideration and move the code to the hardware that will support those constraints. I’ll cover that another day!

Smart Bronco Project Announcement

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Over the course of the next few months, I am planning on taking my 1988 Ford Bronco II and making it a little more smart and a little more connected, thanks to the power of the Internet of Things. I plan on using this cruddy old truck to experiment and learn about IoT being applied in the real world. Of course, because I work at Nebbia Technology, I will be applying DevOps practices and using the Azure cloud. I’m really looking forward to creating, learning, and sharing about how to apply IoT best practices to not only crusty Ford Broncos, but to new IoT projects and products as well. Stay tuned!