4 Challenges to Consider Before Creating an Iot Device

The Internet of Things is the buzzword of the tech industry. But it's also an undeniable reality. The IoT has already triggered the fourth industrial revolution and will inevitably become part of our lives whether we like it or not. IoT has already found its way into a huge number of industries, and more and more companies are focused on grabbing a piece of the IoT pie.

The problem is, many companies delve into the IoT development without assessing or knowing about the key challenges that lie in their path. Many of these companies don’t even have a background in IT and software development, and are for the most part focused on delivering an internet-connected device that will keep them in line with the competition. Even those who do have experience in software and hardware design tend to view IoT in the same light as traditional computing and make terrible mistakes in their development.

As has been proven time and again, such an approach is a recipe for disaster and will only turn out to become a self-defeating goal that will lay waste to the manufacturer’s efforts and undermine IoT as a whole.

Here are four challenges every manufacturer and developer should consider when deciding to enter the IoT business.

Connectivity

The first thing to consider is how your device will connect to the internet and your cloud platform. This will depend largely on the environment in which the device will be used, and the kind of communication infrastructure that will be available to it.

For instance, if you’re creating a smart home device (such as a connected toaster) you’ll probably have access to a Wi-Fi home router or a ZigBee/Z-Wave IoT router, so your device will have to be able to support one or more of those transport mediums. However, in some settings --- such as agricultural IoT or smart cars --- there’s no access to Wi-Fi networks, and cellular networks might be your only possible connection.

You have to weigh your options and make design decisions based on the possibilities and tradeoffs that each provide. For instance, since transferring data to the cloud over cellular networks can be costly, you might decide to opt for more functionality on the edge or the use of the blockchain model in order to create IoT ecosystems that are less dependent on the cloud.

You also need to consider that IoT is a technology that's still in its early stages and is undergoing a lot of changes and transformation. There are too many moving parts and competing trends. Many of the technologies that are being used today might become obsolete in the future.

Meanwhile, as opposed to computers and smartphones, which are replaced every few years, IoT devices are meant to have long lifespans. For instance, a smart-fridge must at least work for 5–10 years. Therefore, you must have a plan to make sure your devices will keep their connectivity as the future of IoT takes shape and new technologies replace old ones. I’ve discussed this issue in detail here.

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by Ben Dickson via SitePoint