British computer architecture firm ARM has announced the ARM mbed IoT Starter Kit - Ethernet Edition. So what is this product? Well, it comes in a box if that’s what you mean.
More specifically, this combination of “hardware with specifically engineered and architected firmware intelligence” (my definition, not ARM’s) is capable of channeling data streams from Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices into IBM's Bluemix cloud platform for:
- Cloud storage,
- Application connections (and developer tools),
- Data management,
- Data analytics and,
- … all good things cloud, obviously.
So why bother?
The firms say that this is a combination of a ‘secure sensor environment’ (that’s the ARM bit) with cloud-based analytics, mobile and application resources (that’s the IBM bit) and that this will allow fast prototyping of new smart products and services -- the first products developed using the kit are expected to enter the market in 2015.
“Securely embedding intelligence and connectivity into devices from the outset will create cloud-connected products that are far more capable than today,” said Krisztian Flautner, general manager, IoT business, ARM. “Smart cities, businesses and homes capable of sharing rich information about their surroundings will be critical in unlocking the potential of IoT. The ARM IoT Starter Kit will accelerate the availability of connected devices by making product and service prototyping faster and easier.”
The difficulty in discussing this technology is that it is often classified as that which falls into the so-called Embedded Computing category -- and people have a habit of immediately turning off. But your phone and your tablet are devices and they come with a lot of embedded intelligence. Deeper down, your car has embedded software sitting on circuit boards and so does your microwave and probably your doorbell too pretty soon. Embedded may not always be sexy, but it is what makes the Internet of Things work.
If we can’t perform device instrumentation then we can’t get these devices working securely as... [+]
The IoT Starter Kit consists of an ARM mbed-enabled development board from Freescale, powered by an ARM Cortex-M4 based processor, together with a sensor IO application shield.
“The Internet of Things is about bringing the physical and digital worlds closer together, to allow businesses to better understand and interact with what is happening around them,” said Meg Divitto, vice president for IoT, IBM. “In order to make this work for businesses, it needs to be simple to connect physical devices into the cloud, and to build applications and insights around them. IBM Bluemix and the new ARM mbed starter kit are designed to substantially enhance that effort.”
Edge node - through the network - to the cloud
Prototypes of this technology have been given to early adopters including the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). STFC is engaged in research in areas such as space science, the environment, medicine and computing, so it is using several kits to create a big data demonstrator project.
The STFC’s David Moss says this will provide us a great starting point for projects that require instrumentation of any device -- and this is what it’s all about. If we can’t perform device instrumentation then we can’t get these devices working securely as Internet of Things citizens and we can’t get the data to the cloud -- and then use it.
ARM says it is talking to some leading global electronics distributors to package and market the Starter Kit. If you hear the expression: “from the edge node through the network to the cloud” - now you know what that means.
