• Actuators: It is used to control the physical components of the device like in a smart
light bulb, they can control the dimmer switch or in a robotic vacuum cleaner, they
adjust gear motors. The physical interface is of an IoT device is represented by the
actuators.
Every internet of device uses a specific approach for local data storage, sensor data pro-
cessing, and provision of processing to the IoT device so it can function properly. In order to
integrate information for multiple sensors or for the storage of data in flash memory, an IoT
device’s data processing module is responsible.
Internet of Things Device Firmware
The onboard software which acts as an intermediary between the real world and the IoT
hardware is called firmware. Firmware is split into two types: embedded and OS-based.
Embedded
In order to address the resource restrictions of an IoT device embedded or custom-built
firmware is often used for IoT devices; it is the system software which is run by the device.
Device manufacturers opt for embedded firmware because it is cost-eective and thus they
hire developers having a detailed understanding of the hardware’s internal working so they can
code high-quality programing for the embedded firmware. Such developers are responsible for
additional duty; apart from writing the embedded firmware—they also have to create software
which connects with the hardware.
OS-based
With the influx of advancements in the Internet of Things, these devices have certainly become
more complex and smarter in terms of data processing and storage while the number of sensors
used to equip them has also increased. Consequently, it is also required that there is powerful
software which can adjust according to the device.
Similar to the evolution of computers which used to run loaded ROM for executing basic
functions of computers with MS-DOS and similar operating system, the Internet of Things
devices are growing at a similar pace. These devices use OS as a kind of abstraction layer which
exists between the device’s software and hardware.
The use of this abstraction for the hardware of the device helps the Internet of Things OS to
turn on a familiar division of labor. This means that the embedded developers can now write drivers
for the device while the application developers can work on the software so it can be “smart”.
Busybox is one of the most common OS choices for device manufacturers. Essentially, it
is Unix’s stripped down version and is known to be equipped with certain standard utilities,
carries a tiny footprint, and oers several of Unix’s oerings via a single executable.
Internet of Things Device Management
IoT devices can be managed in two ways: a device is connected with the network, and after a
connection is established, it is monitored and controlled.
Provisioning
Some IoT devices—particularly those with temperature sensor—are not equipped with a
touch-screen or similar built-in hardware for user interaction; they are referred to as a head-
less device. For the configuration of such headless devices, one of the strategies used is WPS
(Wi-Fi protected setup)—it needs a device which has the WPS turned on along with a router
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