Introduction to the IoT and Arduino

Connecting any device or machinery to the most advanced communication network in the world, the internet, opens endless possibilities for the progress of human beings.

The realization of an interconnected world involves many different technologies and technical aspects, regulations, and even ethical principles.

In this chapter, you will learn about the whole architecture of an end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) application, including the different software layers and the communication channels required between its various components. We’ll also analyze similarities and differences between the IoT and its industrial version, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and we’ll look at the Industry 4.0 concept and what digital transformation for industry implies.

This information is fundamental for understanding the IoT, IIoT, and I4, as well as for evaluating its impact on our daily lives.

Finally, we will cover the principles and benefits behind the open source licensing model adopted by Arduino and some approaches to protecting your intellectual property in the source code of your projects.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to specify the technical requirements of a commercial IoT application that implements new digital business model patterns enabled by the IoT and is built on the Arduino IoT Cloud platform with respect to the Arduino trademarks.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following main topics:

• What is the Internet of Things?
• Benefits for users
• The enablement of different business models
• The architecture of an end-to-end IoT application
• Communication technologies and protocols
• Security aspects and device provisioning
• Open source