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An IoT framework for scalable open source solutions

Today, many development boards are capable of hooking up to various cloud systems in a one-to-one manner. However, on closer inspection many of these systems often lack both dedicated on-board security and a software framework that offers the ability to scale in an inter-operable and cost-effective manner. That is, to work with many devices without the bandwidth costs getting out of control. And what about device management for these systems?

Moving beyond simply sending a few bytes of temperature data or turning on and off a few Christmas tree lights, requires delving deeper into IoT Frameworks and starting to ask questions of both the hardware and software. How does a particular chosen board prevent itself being part of another DoS attack for example? Or how does it bridge multiple wireless standards without suffering co-existence issues. Or what software framework does it comes with that allows the hardware to scale without cloud costs rising rapidly?

An IoT system for business must be scalable, must operate in a secure environment and come complete with an open-source framework that supports device management and interoperability. So where do you find such a off-the-shelf IoT development system?

Meet the Creator IoT-in-a-box - RS Product (125-3307)  development platform. A platform offering hardware and software designed to deliver a complete end-to-end open-source IoT framework for architects and developers to design their systems. The Creator Ci40 IoT-in-a-box development kit is designed to fit the needs of businesses that are looking to integrate IoT solutions rapidly and securely.

The kit and open-source IoT framework offer a platform for developers who are looking to scale. A platform for developers who need to be able to control, monitor and manage many devices 24/7, where terms such as ‘predictive maintenance’ and ‘efficiency’ are bywords of the industry. An open-source IoT framework designed to operate throughout the full product life cycle. 

 

The open-source Creator IoT framework is based on the Open Mobile Alliance LWM2M standard for device management and achieves interoperability with other IoT devices via the IPSO alliance object framework.

The kit is based around an IoT hub which features a dual-core, multi-threaded, MIPS interAptiv CPU clocked at 550MHz. The IoT hub is capable of running Linux. Surrounding the hub are edge devices that are based on Microchip PIC32MX MIPS MCUs clocked at up to 80MHz. These devices communicate with the hub using 6LoWPAN.

The Creator Ci40 IoT-in-a-box offers developers the opportunity to experiment with and implement a secure environment via the use of a dedicated on-board Infineon TPM device.

The Ci40 IoT hub provides multiple radio standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE & Classic and an 802.15.4 radio all soldered directly down onto the board, ie without the need for additional daughter boards. However, if those aren’t enough and you require additional radios those can be added via the MikroBus and RaspberryPi B+ expansion ports, allowing your IoT system to add other standards like Lora or GSM.

Find out more about the Creator Ci40 IoT at http://www.creatordev.io/learn-more.html

 

Paul Evans joined Imagination Technologies in January 2012 and is now a Director of Business Development. Prior to joining Imagination, Paul worked for Altera Corporation for 11 years in marketing. He holds a BEng in digital electronic engineering from the University of Kent at Canterbury in England.
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