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Arduino Announces IoT Cloud Beta
Arduino announced a new IoT Cloud in beta as part of what the company calls its continuing pursuit to democratize Internet of Things development.
The company is well known for its single-board microcontrollers and kits used to build digital devices and interactive objects. While such kits are popular among hobbyists and tinkerers, the company also courts enterprises and professional developers with various software and hardware offerings.
And, with its focus on sensors and controlling interactive devices, the company's wares are especially suited for the growing IoT space, where its new cloud offering will reportedly "connect the cloud to the world around you" and providing functionality to "log, graph and analyze sensor data, trigger events, and automate your home or business."
Using the free cloud service requires developers to have an Arduino MKR board, which now includes WiFi connectivity, with NB-IoT, LTE Cat-M, Ethernet or LoRa on tap.
Basic components required to use the IoT Cloud include:
- Devices to collect data or control something
- Software to define the behavior of the hardware (for example, Arduino Sketch)
- A cloud application to store data or remotely control the equipment
The service uses X.509 certificate-based authentication, includes Arduino IoT Cloud APIs for creating custom apps and is based on open hardware and IoT standards, the company said.
Using the cloud to work with Arduino boards provides some unique advantages, the company said in a blog post yesterday (Feb. 6).
"Convenience and flexibility are key considerations for the Arduino IoT Cloud," the post said. "Arduino boards usually require you to program them by entering code by way of a sketch -- now the Arduino IoT Cloud can do this for you. It will quickly and automatically generate a sketch when setting up a new thing, thus enabling a developer to go from unboxing their board to a working device within five minutes.
"The Arduino IoT Cloud also provides other methods of interaction, including HTTP REST API, MQTT, command-line tools, JavaScript and WebSockets."
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer for Converge360.