Embedded Computing
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    • Which Platform?
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    • Using Integers Instead of Reals
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  • IoT
    • IoT Platforms: Which Hardware? >
      • Matter with Silicon Labs MG24
    • IoT Services: Which Solution? >
      • Recommended IoT Solutions
      • Platform-Specific IoT Solutions
      • Other IoT Solutions
      • Not tested IoT Solutions
      • Notification Solutions
    • Get Date and Time from Internet with NTP
    • Fast and Easy WiFi Connection with QR-Code
  • Tools
    • How to Start?
    • Reference >
      • Asking for Help
      • Boards Pins Maps
      • Ruler
      • Boards and Plugs
      • I²C Logic Level Converter
      • Standards for Connectors
    • Training >
      • Texas Instruments Workshops
      • Embedded Systems: Shape The World — MOOC edX UTAustinX UT.6.02x
      • Embedded Systems - Shape The World: Microcontroller Input/Output — MOOC edX UTAustinX UT.6.10x
      • Embedded Systems - Shape The World: Multi-Threaded Interfacing — MOOC edX UTAustinX UT.6.20x
      • Real-Time Bluetooth Networks: Shape the World — MOOC edX UTAustinX UT.RTBN.12.01x
      • Systems Thinking with Texas Instruments Robotics System Learning Kit
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      • Saleae Logic Analyser
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  • Projects
    • Libraries >
      • Master I²C Software Library
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    • smartDevices >
      • I²C smartColours Smart Sensor
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      • I²C smartNode Smart Device
    • IoT Projects >
      • Remote E-Paper Weather and Message Board
      • Typie-Walkie with LoRa and E-Paper Screen
      • Typie-Walkie with E-Paper Screen
      • Remote e-Paper Pictures Panel
      • Remote e-Paper Messages Panel
      • Industrial IoT Project
      • Remote Contactless Temperature Monitor
      • Using Node-RED for IIoT
      • Low Power Home Network Weather Monitoring
      • Updated Low Power Home Network Weather Monitoring
      • Weather and Security Station with Blynk
      • SensorTag to Blynk Using Node-RED
      • Pervasive Reporting
    • AI Projects >
      • Colour Recognition with Neural Network
    • Other Projects >
      • Air Quality Monitoring
      • Driving a Large E-Paper Display with a Compact Xiao RP2040
      • Low-Power E-Paper Weather Station
      • Portable Particulate​ Matter Monitor
      • FRAM-based E-Paper Screen Controller
      • General Purpose 3.5" Screen
      • Colour Recognition with Neural Network
      • A Low Power Weather Station
      • Digital Volt-Amp-Watt Meter
      • Mobile Measurement with LCD Display
      • Screen with SRAM for GUI
      • Volt-Amp-Watt-Meter for Grove
      • Multi-Touch Project with CapTIvate

IoT Services: Which Solution?

Since the initial release on September 2017, almost all the services recommended have evolved. The market has consolidated and only a limited set of offers are available now.

The idea of this series is to explore the different services available for IoT. What are their features? How easy to implement and use them? 

I'll try and keep the same project along all the offers, a weather station, and run it for one day. The weather station measures temperature, humidity, pressure and light, and reports data every 30 minutes. 

Local Server Mandatory

On October 21, 2106, a DDoS against one Domain Name System provider (namely, Dyn) resulted in many world-class websites being unreachable. Apart from services like Twitter and GitHub, development was impacted for some online IDEs and IoT clouds.

​For most of the use cases, data is produced, processed and dispatched on the same area, within the same LAN, so the cloud isn't required. 
  • Sadly, Blynk 2.0 no longer offers the local server option. 
  • The only remaining solution is Node-RED hosted and running on a BeagleBone, a Raspberry Pi or even an Android tablet. Node-RED excels in dealing with heterogeneous hardware and software environments.

Even for cases where cloud offers advanced algorithms, having a degraded mode with a local server ensures the continuity of operation.
  • Node-RED

Server-Less Solutions

If there is no need to store data, a server-less solution could be even better.
  • The strongly solution runs on WiFi with Node-RED. A local server or even an Android table receives the MQTT messages and manages the dashboard. 
  • Node-RED
​

Recommended IoT Solutions

Those recommendations focus on the ease of installation and use. 

​Blynk is a complete solution with a nice iOS or Android application. It runs on the cloud but also on a local server. The dweet and freeboard combination offers instant plug-and-play. Zapier connects to a wide range of cloud services. SMTP2GO allows to send mails with attachments. Node-RED runs on a local server and provides a graphic interface to manage heterogeneous hardware and software environments.
  • Blynk 2.0
  • Plug-and-Play IoT with dweet and freeboard
  • IoT with Sparkfun Data and analog.io
  • IoT Hub with Zapier
  • Send Mail with SMTP2GO​
  • IoT with Node-Red
  • Command and control remote with Node-RED and WiFi

Platform-Specific IoT Solutions

Those solutions rely on specific platforms. 

​Particle and Arduino offer cloud services through WiFi.
  • IoT with Particle​
  • IoT with Arduino Cloud

Other IoT Solutions

The other solutions provide more advanced feature for specific needs.
 
Losant brings a whole workflow environment for customised actions. Temboo connects to almost any service available at the expense of complexity. PubNub is a reference. Cayenne MQTT relies on another string reference, MQTT. Atmosphere IoT offers a consistent development of the node, smartphone app and cloud process. ​ThinkSpeak provides advanced data processing with MATLAB.
  • IoT with Project Things by Mozilla
  • IoT with Sub-1 GHz Sensor Network
  • ​IoT with Atmosphere IoT
  • IoT with Losant
  • IoT with Exosite 
  • Data and Action IoT with Xively and Zapier
  • IoT with PubNub and freeboard
  • IoT Hub with Temboo
  • ​IoT with Cayenne MQTT
  • Advanced IoT Data Processing with ThinkSpeak​

Not tested IoT Solutions

Some solutions haven't been tested, because the trial period is too short, the trial or free accounts have been discontinued, the required configuration is too specific and limited.
  • IoT with MQTT and 2lemetry 
  • IoT with IBM BlueMix 
  • IoT with Parse 

Notification Solutions

How to allow ​​IoT projects to send alerts, for example to smartphones? Here come the notification solutions.
  • Notification Solutions
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