You might have noticed that we said the built-in Wifi and Bluetooth capabilities makes the RP3 an excellent choice for IoT, or Internet of Things, projects.  We also said the Windows 10 operating system available for the RP3 is for using the RP3 for IoT prototyping.  So what is this Internet of Things?  In this particular chapter 2e are going to talk about what IoT is, what things are, what IoT can be used for, how the RP3 fits in, and some ideas on how others are using it for the IoT.

What is IoT?

We know that the internet allows computers (and the people behind them) to connect to each other, share information, share tasks, controlling each other, etc.  The Internet of Things goes a step further and allows things to connect to the internet, thus sharing information, sharing tasks, controlling each other, and more.  The Internet of Things is connecting things with at least an on/off switch to the internet. 

Another way of looking at it is like this:  the internet lets people connect to people.  IoT lets people connect to people, people connect to things, and things connect to other things.  The IoT is a massive network of not just computers, but also physical objects that have the right hardware and software to allow them to collect and share data.

What Are Things?

So, what are these things that are connecting to each other and to us?  Things, as we mentioned, are physical objects that can collect and share data.  It could be a car with onboard monitoring systems, biochips for tracking wildlife, or your home thermostat. IoT is the technology behind  smart cars and smart homes, where data and information is shared over a wireless network for the purpose of making control adjustments, tracking behavior, remotely diagnosing problems, and much  more.

One of the first “things” in the Internet of Things was a soft drink machine that was modified in the early 1980s to communicate via the internet the status of its inventory and whether or not the soft drinks it contained were being properly refrigerated.  This information allowed it to be better maintained and stocked.  It collected and shared data on inventory and temperature over a network.

What Can IoT Be Used For?

IoT can be used to do a variety of things, and with the emergence of new technology we can safely say that the list is growing daily.  IoT concepts and technology can be used for automatically tracking inventory, security and surveillance, health monitoring, food safety (like the soft drink machine’s refrigeration), locating things or individuals, and the ability to control and monitor distant objects. 

One of the most common types of DIY projects you’ll see involves home automation, such as setting your thermostat from your mobile device or turning lights on and off remotely.  Communication takes place wirelessly over a network.  You don’t have to physically touch a button or a switch.

How Does the RP3 Fit In?

The RP3 can serve one of three purposes in the Internet of Things:  be used to learn about IoT through an almost endless supply of projects, prototyping IoT devices using Windows 10 IoT Core (which was just released for the RP3), or acting as a hub for a system of connected IoT devices.

One very popular type of educational and prototyping project is to use the RP3 as the brains behind a remote security camera system, where the security images are uploaded to the cloud and can be accessed later.  Another interesting project involves a RP being used as part of a smart doorbell that sends a message to your smart watch whenever someone rings your doorbell.  Again, these are just a few examples of what people are doing.  Your major limit at this point seems to be your imagination.

If you look under Online Resources at the end of the chapter, you can find a link with 10 different vetted projects to use with your RP3 to learn about IoT.  You’ll also find the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s list of IoT projects, too.  Microsoft also has an extensive list of projects that come complete with instructions and parts lists.  One example is their that unlocks itself based on facial recognition – you don’t need a key to get in the door, but merely your face.

Example Project

Here’s one interesting example project from Microsoft that shows how the IoT allows things to share data with each other. 

Watson is the name of IBM’s question answering computer system.  While that might not sound so impressive, it is able to answer those questions when they are posed in a natural language, like humans use, as opposed to a programming language.  It can also collect and assess huge amounts of unstructured data to answer those questions.  It can be accessed online, making it a part of the new IoT. 

One cool project that you can do to learn about IoT is to hook up your RP3 to Watson and see what kind of data Watson can extract about it.  Here is an excellent and thorough link to the details on the project:

Note:

You can purchase a Windows 10 IoT Core Grove Kit from Microsoft that includes the RP3, a breakout board, cables, connectors, sensors, a small LCD screen (think smartphone size), and more.  It should be available in the summer of 2016.  It’s target audience is people with minimal experience in connecting up hardware and software. 

Online Resources:

Raspberry Pi Foundation on the Internet of Things:

RP Projects for Learning IoT:

IoT, Windows, and the RP3:

Microsoft IoT Projects:

What is Watson: