ARM starter kit (Photo : www.bbc.co.uk)
ARM along with IBM recently released a development kit which will allow developers to seamlessly create their own Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The kit named mBed IoT Starter Kit - Ethernet Edition aimed to remove the common obstacles faced by developers in creation of IoT prototypes.
The ARM starter kit uses ARM's own mbed operating system and the kit will be cloud-ready courtesy of IBM's BlueMix cloud services, according to ZDNet. The cloud connection will help in the development of various apps as well as services based on the prototypes that will be created by the developers.
IoT devices are these common household and personal devices that have added sensors, motors and other electronic protocols that enable the device to be connected to the Internet. Once the device is online, user along with manufacturers can analyze and store the data they collect for further study.
According to ARM, the kit was designed for developers who has limited or no experience when it comes to embedded or Web development. The company added that the prototype designs will help enthusiasts throughout the whole process of developing a device and then connect it to IBM's BlueMix cloud service.
ARM also posted a message on its official website saying that on-board sensors will collect and send data directly into IBM's cloud servers from the minute the box was opened.
ARM and IBM hopes that this project will give them a head-start in the growing market of interconnected devices. Currently, more than 1.2 billion devices are interconnected on the internet and these devices range from weather sensors to health devices. A study by Verizon shows that by 2020 more than 5.4 billion devices will be connected by means of IOT.
The kit includes a board integrated with a Freescale K64F Kinetis microcontroller and has an ARM Cortex-M4 processor that runs at 120MHz, according to PC World. The kit can connect directly to IBM's BlueMix cloud service by means of the Ethernet port.
Additional hardware components include a 128x32 LCD, a 256KB RAM and 1MB of flash storage. It also has a speaker, accelerometer, potentiometer, Pulse-Width Modulation control and a temperature sensor.
ARM has yet to provide a specific release date as well as pricing for the kit.
