Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging trend that connects internet with day-to-day objects and enables them to communicate with users and with other objects. From temperature monitoring to heartbeat monitoring, IoT is bringing more objects into the digital fold and making lives easier and better.

At the core of every IoT solution, there is an IoT platform such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Dragonboard and Beaglebone Black. All these are reference platforms are based on either microcontrollers or microprocessors, providing a bridge between device sensors and data network to relay information. To deploy IoT applications, these platforms provide great assistance.

Arduino is an open-source electronic prototyping platform that allows the creation of objects that can interact through signals in IoT environment. It has a microcontroller that integrates with wireless modules, motor drivers etc to create a successful IoT solution.

Earlier, Arduino was mostly used by hobbyist developers but now many professionals are opting for it, due to its cost effectiveness. As these professionals required a compact, well supported and open source platform, Arduino has extended its support to Linux which makes it more powerful and enhances its acceptability for large-scale deployments.

Now, developers can use the power of Linux with Arduino to make IoT projects. The first Arduino board that ran Linux was Arduino Yun which arrived four years ago. Several more followed after that such as Arduino Yun Mini, Arduino Industrial 101 and Arduino TIAN.

In this article, we will explore specifically how Linux compatible Arduino board can be an excellent choice for building IoT projects.

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Few examples of IoT projects based on Arduino and Linux

Plant Monitoring system

People who are going for vacation might worry about their plants at home. There is a great IoT project based on Arduino Yun and Linux that can track temperature and soil moisture of plant. The important components of this project are Arduino Yun (Linux supported), temperature and light sensor, moisture sensor, LED and resistor.

The first step of this project monitors the temperature, light value and soil moisture value using dweet.io or Amazon IoT service to log the data to AWS -Dynamo DB. The project uses AWS-SNS notification, to send out an email so that users may inform their neighbor or friends quickly to water the plant.

Traffic light information system

Rising traffic congestion is an inescapable condition where our society operates. People are often frustrated when they wait for the green light. But, what if we get a traffic light information system that can inform driver at which speed he needs to drive at a junction in order to pass the green light without exceeding the vehicle’s speed? Also, what if the driver could get a notification when the red light is about to turn green while waiting at a red light signal?

A traffic light sends data to an online database on how long it will remain green. An app or GPS on a smartphone can retrieve that data from the database and calculate the desired speed to pass the green light.

Air pollution monitoring system

Air pollution has detrimental effect on human body. In order to monitor air quality, this IoT based project is quite a good option. It can monitor the air quality over a webserver using Internet and when the air quality goes down below threshold limit, it will trigger a alarm. This alarming sound shows that there are sufficient amount of harmful gases are present in the air like CO2, NH3, smoke,benzene and alcohol. It will show the result in PPM on LCD and also on webpage. The important component used in this project are Arduino uno, buzzer and gas sensor.

Smartwatches

Smartwatches are becoming very popular among tech-savvy individuals. These watches provided with great features mostly available in high prices, that make them unaffordable for all. So, to make them cost effective, an Arduino based smart watch has been made. It can be synced with smart phone and can show notifications such as emails and messages. Phone’s system info also can be shown like batter & wi-fi statues. The important component in this smartwatch are Arduino Pro Mini, HC-06 bluetooth module and Lithium polymer battery.

 

How to enhance IoT projects capability with MDM

Arduino is a viable option for businesses/individuals looking to run IoT projects. But, what if these projects could get MDM capabilities too? Like the ability to manage and control the sensor devices and gateway applications? Though not all the arduino based projects can get MDM capabilities due to OS used in it. 42Gears offers support to remotely manage only Linux platform-based devices which allows platforms like Arduino, running Linux flavors to be remotely managed.

Following are few of the benefits to implement MDM in IoT projects:

• Software patches for applications, which are responsible for collecting sensor data and pushing to the cloud, can be rolled remotely.
• Since MDM communication is two ways, sensors connected through Arduino can be configured and calibrated remotely.
• The Health of Arduino board and the sensor devices connected through it can be monitored remotely.
• Since Arduino runs Linux flavors, MDM can push and execute generic Linux scripts, empowering admins with powerful toolset to manage vast IoT deployments.
• Communication of data exchange between Arduino and cloud can be secured by enforcing secure communication policies from MDM.

 

Conclusion

As more physical objects are coming into the IoT ecosystem, analysts predict that it will turn into a multi-trillion-dollar market in future. And as IoT technology advances, more IoT platforms such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi will be required to support its functions. Though Arduino is not as powerful as Raspberry Pi, it’s simplicity, robustness, reduced power consumption and competitive price point are making it a popular choice for IoT projects. Arduino is considered as one of the important objects in IoT ecosystem, especially for electronic projects.

Today, over 7,00,000 Arduino boards have been commercially produced and are being used in IoT projects due to its affordability. Moreover, Linux supported Arduino that can be managed using MDM solutions, makes for a complete package to build an IoT solution.