When it comes to IoT devices, there are few concepts that are important to grasp:

 

• IoT device functionality: many functions may be combined in an IoT device, such as measurement, data logging, control. This functionality is implemented by the device (embedded) software, which is also called firmware. The AnyBridge builds firmware with its IoT Device Framework.

 

• IoT device connectivity: IoT devices somehow need a network to communicate with a central system (e.g. a database or an application platform), and the way they connect is called connectivity. There are many forms of connectivity, e.g. M2M or LoRaWAN.

 

• IoT device management: the IoT device during its lifetime will require management, which may simply modifying its behavior (e.g. setting how often a value is measured), or updating the embedded software (firmware) of the IoT device.

 

• IoT device server: the IoT devices submit their information to a central device server, which also takes care of the device management. A server typically consists of a communication front-end that the devices talk with, and a database for storage of data and management information.

 

• IoT data integration: the information generated by the IoT devices may just be collected in a database, or presented in a webportal, but in some cases the data needs to be integrated with other systems (e.g. a service planning application). Generally, such an integration is done with the device server.

 

AnyBridge has standardized its IoT device technology with frameworks that support these basic concepts, to create IoT devices rapidly, flexibly, and budget-friendly.