How to Develop an App for the Internet Of Things

These days, the internet of things(IoT) is a technology that has been talked about a lot as they have revolutionary potential in the IT industry and beyond. In this article, one can know what such technology is and how to successfully develop, deploy and operate such technology. Enterprise partners and the like can be expected to be helped by this article.

What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

The internet of things(IoT) technology includes any device that can be connected to the internet and can be controlled remotely via applications. This technology in turn makes such devices “intelligent” as they can then transfer critical data about them or their surroundings remotely.

IoT application development concerns itself with integrating suitable sensor data processing and security with a comfortable user interface with the intended hardware. It is one of the highly sought after technologies in the modern world, and it creates the ability to optimize processes and add useful features to relevant hardware of choice.

Main Components of IoT

Following are the main components of IoT technology.

• Sensors and devices

Hardware forms one of the end points of IoT technology. Many types of hardware devices can be connected via IoT devices. Data is collected from the sensors of the device and sent to the app. The sensors can be multiple in number. For example, a smartphone has GPS, accelerometer, network data and many other sensors that may be attached to it.

• Cloud connectivity and Networks

This is the second major component in IoT technology. The networks used can vary, from everyday Wifi signals, cellular networks to specialized transmission on reserved satellite frequency. Each network has its own advantages and disadvantages and must be suitably chosen. It is also important to ensure a high degree of network security.

• Apps with enhanced data processing capabilities

This is the part of IoT technology that makes sense of the data transmitted by the sensors. For example, a smart heater transmits room temperature to the app which can determine if the temperature is too hot or cold. Depending on the setting, the app can automatically make decisions. However the data is also reflected on the UI where the user can control the hardware.

• attractive user interface

This is the user end of the app. Every critical data point is reflected in an attractive and easy to use manner here, and the user can gain control of the hardware remotely from this point. Good web application development technologies are used by developers to create a good user interface.

Major avenues that ensure a Successful Internet of Things

Following are some of the major avenues that can make your IoT based technology successful.

Android Ubidots

The android platform has a specific avenue for the purpose of IoT. the account developers create on the android platform can be connected to ubidots, which will push the IoT apps on various smartphones.

Thingworx

Thingworx has a reputation among developers of IoT technology in providing various marketing tools that an app development company may need. Industrialists often go for gartner magic quadrant when they need assistance on market trends. Thingworx is highly publicized for the following reasons

• Clean Segregation of product and service deals
• Business optimization strategies are provided
• It helps pinpoint revenue channels, and also helps create new ones.
• It helps with enhanced user experience of the app.

Another major platform for viable IoT strategies is Forrester Wave Report. Thingworkx is owned by an American software firm called PTC incorporated.

Xively

This is another major platform that people look up to when it comes to providing top IoT practices for app developers to follow. If developers effectively use Xively, their apps are less likely to fail due to security or other reasons. It is also owned by Google, which also owns the Android platform.

Where IoT applications are used

• 

• Smart homes

Smart homes are only possible through the use of IoT technologies. Hardware inside the home is connected to the IoT app through the cloud and it is smart in the sense that it can save energy, sense when something is wrong, and can also help in remotely controlling various aspects of the home. Thus additional features can be added to a home with efficiency.

• Gaming

Gaming is going to benefit big time from the use of IoT applications. The gaming industry is already a trillion dollar industry,and IoT is expected to bridge the gaps between players. It can also integrate technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality technologies. The real life experiences are studied and replicated inside cloud gaming that is enabled with IoT technology.

• Medical healthcare

IoT technology has critically increased the capability of health workers to monitor their patients remotely. This has been done through the use of wearables that monitor the vitals of the patients. However, this is far from what IoT can achieve in the medical institutions. Data transmission can be synchronized to various requirements, and it is more secure and fast when IoT technology is involved.

• Transportation

Transportation is one of the most important areas in which IoT can benefit. Things like Electric Vehicle Monitoring Software can be possible due to IoT technology. As you can imagine, such technology is vital for electric vehicles, and can benefit a lot to both vehicle health and the environment. With IoT, logistics firms can also be helped in terms of fleet management.

Factors to Consider During IoT Application Development

Following are some very important things to consider during IoT application development. All of these are very important steps in the development process, and lacking in any one of them will cause your application to fail in the market for technical or otherwise.

• Identify and take care of security loopholes

This is one of the biggest things developers need to take care of when developing an IoT app. IoT technology is of a particular interest to malicious hackers as there is an abundance of ways they can get into the technology. Security must be ensured on hardware, software and the network end. Communication layer security is achieved by the use of TLS and DTLS into their apps. Blockchain technologies are used to encrypt the data.

• Integrate AI technology

There is too much data when it comes to IoT enabled hardware and managing such data can only be done through the integration of capable artificial intelligence. An AI machine learning algorithm can be built to gain insights from the data stream, which can be used to improve workflow. Such AI algorithms are efficiently used in the field of retail software development that uses IoT technology.

• Create a good user experience

Now on the user end of the technology, you need to make sure the customers feel that your app is both easy to use and attractive. The IoT technology uses what is known as continuous user experience(CUE) that gathers data from anyone that uses the app to then improve upon the UI. Additional features can be added efficiently in this manner.

IoT in web and mobile app development

Compared to other devices, smartphones have lots of sensors and can be great for IoT apps. However , many people may prefer to go the enterprise application or web application route for their service. You should consider the following advantages of smartphones before you do that.

• Smartphones come with both WiFi and Bluetooth, and are as we said, loaded with many types of sensors.
• Mobile phones are more user friendly, and can provide better remote access.

Additionally, the figure of the number of smartphone owners worldwide can be a particular interest for anyone interested in making a good sale for their technology. It has already reached 3.6 billion by 2022 and is expected to amount to 4.3 billion by 2023. 

How to create an IoT application?

Following is a brief technical overview of how to create an IoT application, once you have your hardware(third party or otherwise) ready. The hardware characteristics should meet your project requirements.

IoT app protocols

The following are the protocols used in IoT app development. They are carefully chosen based on connection speed, distance between centers and power consumption rate.

• MQTT, CoAP, websocket and HTTP are popular Iot data protocols, used to connect data from the hardware to the user end.
• LPWAN, WAN, satellite, Wifi, cellular and satellite protocols are used as popular network protocols.

Tech stack

Following are the recommended tech to create a good IoT app.

• Database

SQL based databases include MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server. Databases that are NoSQL like MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, AWS DynamoDB can also be used.

• Back end

Popular languages for developing IoT applications are JavaScript, Python, Go, Java, Ruby and others. Frameworks like Spring, Django, Flask, Ruby on Rails, Play, Quarkus and others are used in tandem.

• Front End

Popular front end languages in mobile application development include Java and Kotlin on Android. Swift is used on iOS devices. Web applications can use javascript, typescript or elm for creating things like a transportation management system. Angular, React, Vue.js, Meteor and other frameworks are used when it comes to web applications.

Platforms used in IoT applications include Google cloud IoT core, AWS IoT core and AZure IoT central, each with their own advantages.

How Much Does IoT App Development Cost?

Depending on the complexity and scope of the app, the cost of the IoT app can range from $80,000 and $250,000. Following are the things that cost depends on.

• App usage specifics
• complexity of the app
• Operating systems
• Scalability planned for the app
• Staff costs
• Design decisions.

Our experience of internet of things app development

Nextbrain has a reputation of building many successful IoT based applications for different clients each with their own requirements. Our IoT apps include a custom healthcare software development project called iSabel which helps maintain employee mental health, SaaS-based delivery management system called Deliforce that helps optimize delivery times to a great extent. We also have inhouse UI developers that help create the best user interfaces.

FAQs

What is IoT technology?

It’s the integration of internet enabled control to hardware devices through software applications. It enables your hardware to have features previously impossible.

Why choose Nextbrain for the development of your IoT app?

We have expertise on both mobile application development and web application development and have previously worked with various clients who have come up with IoT app development requests.

What is the cost of development for an IoT app?

If you want a cost tailored to your request, please contact us with a detailed list of requirements. We will get you a reliable estimate as soon as possible.

Do you work with legal requirements like NDAs?

Yes. We have worked with non-disclosure agreements before with many of our other clients. 

Will you provide us with regular updates about our project?

Real-time communication is a key policy in nextbrain and hence we do provide regular updates of your project.