Full Stack IoT Development

The Internet of Things (IoT) is spearheading a major technology disruption today. The implications of interconnecting billions of devices (also referred to as “things” in IoT parlance), are phenomenal. The data exchanged through this connected network can produce new experiences and improve the overall efficiency of the network.

In 2020, organizations have realized the immense potential that an IoT infrastructure holds. IoT can be a critical improvement lever when businesses are tiding over a difficult phase. This is precisely where full stack IoT development marks its presence.

It is interesting to note that IoT has matured multifold over the past few years. Businesses have reached a phase where they are developing transformative business use cases to capitalize on the many advantages offered by IoT.

Here, we explore the complexities involved in the development of a full stack IoT solution and the inherent best practices.

Full Stack IoT Architecture

There are 5 main components in a full stack IoT architecture:

1. Connected Devices
2. Gateways
3. Cloud Platform
4. Communication Network
5. End-User Interfaces/Applications

Let us briefly examine each of these IoT components:

• Connected Devices

A simple device in an IoT infrastructure comprises a microcontroller unit (MCU), firmware and hardware. You may also find complex connected devices, each composed of a Microprocessing Unit (MPU), an operating system and the associated hardware.

• Gateways

IoT devices are connected to the cloud platform through gateways. The gateway is essentially a bridge between the device sensors and the cloud server, and it enables protocol translation. Management of multiple connected devices is also performed by the IoT gateway.

• Cloud Platform

The cloud platform integrates data, analyzes it and interprets data at scale for generating insights and actionable tasks.

• Applications

The insights received from the cloud platform are passed on to the connected applications for execution.

Apart from the aforementioned components, the security layer of the full-stack IoT architecture should be emphasized. Advanced security features of an IoT implementation forms the foundation of the entire solution.

Security Features in an End-to-End IoT Solution

Every component in an IoT architecture should be reinforced with adequate security protocols. This ensures that the entire system is protected from the relentlessly inventive modes of security breaches seen today.

Some of the best practices followed while incorporating security into an IoT architecture are detailed below:

• Identify fundamentals of IoT security in design phase – Implementation of security should be considered in the design phase of the IoT architecture. Incorporating a security development life cycle from an early phase in the project enables the development team to identify and adhere to security compliance requirements later on. There also needs to be elaborate system penetration testing to assess the vulnerabilities of the IoT architecture.
• Do not compromise on security features – In an attempt to reduce time to market, companies may overlook the importance of a robust security shield for the IoT solution. However, this is one aspect that should not be missed.
• Incorporate end-to-end security – Imagine a scenario where the security protocols are in place only at the device level. In this case, perpetrators only need to focus on hacking that particular device in order to gain access to the entire IoT infrastructure. This can lead to the compromise of the network as a whole. Hence, it is imperative that all different layers of an IoT solution are reinforced with security features.

All in all, employing hardware-based security, firewalls/gateways, unique identity keys and regular event monitoring can avoid security breaches to a great extent.

Interoperability Considerations in Full Stack IoT Development

It is crucial to ensure that the IoT system is capable of interoperability with the external environment for the use case. This relies largely on standardization levels and communication protocols.

• Businesses have to consider the connectivity technologies supported, i.e., Bluetooth, WiFi, Ethernet, etc.
• Another aspect to consider is the networking layer and how data will be transmitted to and from the cloud.
• The protocols for application data transfer (MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, etc.) should also be decided beforehand to get a complete understanding of the interoperability parameters.
• Following this, development tasks related to protocol translation and establishing connectivity with different systems are determined.

It is advisable to develop domain/protocol agnostic capabilities in the IoT ecosystem so that it can seamlessly interact with the IoT systems that will connect to it in the future.

Scalability Features in Full Stack IoT Ecosystem

As the IoT architecture becomes more complex, there will be additional challenges related to firmware, security, connectivity issues and data structures. Hence, it is important to design an infrastructure that can withstand large-scale manageability.

• A modular method of building the IoT framework is preferred as this makes the overall solution easily manageable.
• Scalability should be considered when selecting hardware during the design phase.
• Extending the intelligence through edge computing is another way to manage complexity in an IoT infrastructure. This is where the significance of IoT gateways are felt. Device management and data flow management are two primary activities governed by IoT gateways.

Development of an IoT Solution

While designing and developing an IoT solution, there is a lot to consider unlike a simple product development project with front-end, back-end and UI/UX development activities.

So, what does it take to create an IoT solution?

In some cases, the development efforts may be limited to the creation of a mobile application or backend cloud application. An example of this is our project for the development of a portable ECG device for a global medical equipment company.

In other cases, it may entail the development of sensors to collect data from devices and pass it on to a full-fledged IoT architecture.

However, creation of a full stack IoT ecosystem includes the design and development of an end-to-end solution, as described in our home automation project. The various aspects to be considered in such a project are:

• Design and development of hardware components
• Embedded software development for devices
• Integration of cloud platform
• Firmware programming at the IoT gateway (if applicable) and cloud
• Management of the entire network (including FOTA updates)
• Design and development of end-user applications for monitoring/controlling devices
• Data analytics to enhance the overall operations of the IoT ecosystem
• Third-party integrations (if applicable)