INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT TOOL FOR AN INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) SYSTEM

• US 20170168777A1
• Filed: 12/14/2015
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Afero, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Afero, Inc.
• Inventors: BRITT, JOE
• Granted Patent: US 10,776,080 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/16 Customisation or personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

A system and method are described for an IoT integrated development tool. For example, one embodiment of an apparatus comprises: an Internet of Things (IoT) development application comprising a GUI through which a developer is to specify a configuration for a new IoT device; a development database comprising configuration data related to different IoT device configurations, the IoT development application to utilize the data in the development database based on the configuration specified by the developer for the new IoT device; an IoT device engine to generate an IoT device profile responsive to the development application specifying input/output functions to be performed by the new IoT device; a client app engine to generate a user experience (UX) profile responsive to the development application specifying features of a client app or application related to operation of the new IoT device; and an IoT service engine to generate a cloud application programming interface (API) profile responsive to the development application specifying features of an IoT service related to operation of the new IoT device.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an Internet of Things (IoT) development application comprising a GUI through which a developer is to specify a configuration for a new IoT device;

a development database comprising configuration data related to different IoT device configurations, the IoT development application to utilize the data in the development database based on the configuration specified by the developer for the new IoT device;

an IoT device engine to generate an IoT device profile responsive to the development application specifying input/output functions to be performed by the new IoT device;

a client app engine to generate a user experience (UX) profile responsive to the development application specifying features of a client app or application related to operation of the new IoT device; and

an IoT service engine to generate a cloud application programming interface (API) profile responsive to the development application specifying features of an IoT service related to operation of the new IoT device.

2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the IoT device profile is stored in a non-volatile storage memory of the new IoT device, the IoT device comprising a controller for executing program code to implement the IoT device profile.

3. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the input/output functions comprise at least one analog-to-digital function and/or digital-to-analog function.

4. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the input/output functions comprise at least one on/off input or output function.

5. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the IoT device profile specifies whether the IoT device is to operate in a stand-alone mode in which the input/output functions are performed by a secure communication module or in a microcontroller unit (MCU) mode in which at least some input/output functions are performed by software executed on the MCU.

6. The apparatus as in claim 5 wherein the MCU and the secure communication module are communicatively coupled over a serial communication channel.

7. The apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the serial communication channel comprises a serial peripheral interconnect (SPI) bus.

8. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein specifying input/output functions to be performed by the new IoT device comprises specifying operation of input/output lines of the IoT device.

9. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the UX profile specifies a plurality of graphical I/O elements to be displayed within a GUI of the IoT app or application and configurations to be used for those graphical I/O elements.

10. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the cloud API profile is to specify IoT service-side requirements of the new IoT device.

11. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the IoT service-side requirements comprise a manner in which the IoT service is to exchange commands and data with the new IoT devices and/or notifications to be sent to a client on which the app or application is to be executed.

12. A method comprising:

providing an Internet of Things (IoT) development application comprising a GUI through which a developer is to specify a configuration for a new IoT device;

providing a development database comprising configuration data related to different IoT device configurations, the IoT development application to utilize the data in the development database based on the configuration specified by the developer for the new IoT device;

generating an IoT device profile responsive to the development application specifying input/output functions to be performed by the new IoT device;

generating a user experience (UX) profile responsive to the development application specifying features of a client app or application related to operation of the new IoT device; and

generating a cloud application programming interface (API) profile responsive to the development application specifying features of an IoT service related to operation of the new IoT device.

13. The method as in claim 12 wherein the IoT device profile is stored in a non-volatile storage memory of the new IoT device, the IoT device comprising a controller for executing program code to implement the IoT device profile.

14. The method as in claim 12 wherein the input/output functions comprise at least one analog-to-digital function and/or digital-to-analog function.

15. The method as in claim 12 wherein the input/output functions comprise at least one on/off input or output function.

16. The method as in claim 12 wherein the IoT device profile specifies whether the IoT device is to operate in a stand-alone mode in which the input/output functions are performed by a secure communication module or in a microcontroller unit (MCU) mode in which at least some input/output functions are performed by software executed on the MCU.

17. The method as in claim 16 wherein the MCU and the secure communication module are communicatively coupled over a serial communication channel.

18. The method as in claim 17 wherein the serial communication channel comprises a serial peripheral interconnect (SPI) bus.

19. The method as in claim 12 wherein specifying input/output functions to be performed by the new IoT device comprises specifying operation of input/output lines of the IoT device.

20. The method as in claim 12 wherein the UX profile specifies a plurality of graphical I/O elements to be displayed within a GUI of the IoT app or application and configurations to be used for those graphical I/O elements.

21. The method as in claim 12 wherein the cloud API profile is to specify IoT service-side requirements of the new IoT device.

22. The method as in claim 21 wherein the IoT service-side requirements comprise a manner in which the IoT service is to exchange commands and data with the new IoT devices and/or notifications to be sent to a client on which the app or application is to be executed.