iot

IoT Epoch Time Disaster? Only Time Will Tell

by Roman Staszewski
July 3, 2016July 27, 2016

Ever heard of the “epoch time”? I’m not talking here about history periods or geology. Epoch time is simply a standardized time and date reference used in UNIX and many other computers. It defines time, measured in seconds, starting from January 1, 1970 epoch. This is based on an arbitrary, somewhat historical epoch, but, what matters is that it is a commonly followed standard.Read More »IoT Epoch Time Disaster? Only Time Will Tell

What is the anatomy of IoT sensor devices?

by Roman Staszewski
May 23, 2016December 11, 2020

Executive Summary:

IoT Sensors include three fundamental functions: sensing, communication, and power supply, as well as additional functions: processing/system management and user interface
IoT application is determined by the types of sensors, cloud connectivity, power sources, and (optionally) user interface used in an IoT sensor device
It is possible to realize a variety of IoT applications with a single IoT sensor hardware platform by employing appropriate functional modularity and interface abstractions
An application processor and well defined interfaces help abstract functions for versatility and ease of use

Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 6 – Cost effectiveness

by Roman Staszewski
May 19, 2016December 11, 2020

Executive Summary:

Cost-effectiveness is very important for sensor devices
In IoT, cost effectiveness is a system-level, not a component-level, optimization
Full-custom versus semi-custom versus off-the-shelf hardware is an complex application-specific tradeoff to be made

Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 5 – Industrial deployment readiness

by Roman Staszewski
May 16, 2016December 11, 2020

Executive Summary:

Hardware prototypes are far from deployment-ready
IoT sensor productization is an often overlooked, complex, specialized task that drastically impacts time-to-market and cost
“Hardware is hard” is not a cliché, especially for highly reliable industrial applications

Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 4 – Security

by Roman Staszewski
May 12, 2016December 11, 2020

Executive Summary:

Security is critical for IoT
End application defines security policy requirements
Security is weak if device crypto key are not well protected in IoT devices
Best-in-class security policies for IoT sensors are achieved with tamper-proof hardware crypto key management

Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 3 – Ease of use

by Roman Staszewski
May 11, 2016December 11, 2020

Executive Summary:

Easy to use or die
Using off-the-shelf components/boards is mighty hard
Ease of use needs to be matched to a user’s desire for flexibility
Ease of use can be provided for by a system based on best proven, popular software frameworks

Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 2 – Power consumption efficiency

by Roman Staszewski
May 9, 2016December 11, 2020

Executive Summary:

Battery replacement impacts the bottom line
Power efficiency reduces operating expenses
Energy harvesting eliminates battery replacement
Power efficiency enables new energy sources, miniaturizes size, and slashes cost
Power optimizations is an expert domain

Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 1-Versatility

by Roman Staszewski
May 6, 2016July 28, 2016

With my two decades of experience designing complex electronic systems as well as recent two years focused on building IoT systems and solving System Integrators’ pain points, several key characteristics became evident to me that define the best-in-class industrial IoT sensor devices:

Versatility
Power consumption efficiency
Ease of use
Security
Industrial deployment readiness
Cost effectiveness

Now, I will cover each consideration in more detail.Read More »Key considerations for IoT sensor devices: 1-Versatility

What are IoT sensor devices?

by Roman Staszewski
May 4, 2016July 27, 2016

The previous article – “What Are IoT Sensors?” – gave a high level overview of IoT system, now let’s drill down to what are IoT sensor devices.

Executive Summary:

IoT sensors are necessary components of any IoT application
Consist of sensors combined with communication capabilities
Many different types of sensors exist
Wireless communication is key to new applications
Multiple wireless standards exist since no one size fits all
Need a way to abstract application from sensing and communication methods

Read More »What are IoT sensor devices?

What are IoT Sensors?

by Roman Staszewski
May 2, 2016July 28, 2016

Internet of Things (IoT) is such an overloaded term that it can mean many things to many people or nothing at all. The purpose of this series of articles is to explain what some of these popular terms mean in the context of the latest technologies. Then, I will segue into something much more valuable to learn about – the anatomy of (IoT) “things”, how they fit into the larger Industrial IoT landscape, and what are the key considerations for connected sensors (“things”), especially as they relate to industrial applications.Read More »What are IoT Sensors?