5 Interesting IoT Projects You Should Build as a Beginner
“Alexa, what is IoT?”
- “So you’ve been taking my help without knowing who or what I am?!”
That could’ve been the conversation if Alexa was a real person, thankfully machines don’t have feelings [for now at least ;)]
Amazon Echo and Google Home are both examples of how introducing the internet to devices other than everyday smartphones or computers can be remarkably innovative and valuable.
The Internet of Things, or “IoT” for short, is about extending the power of the internet beyond computers and smartphones to a whole range of other things, processes, and environments. Those “connected” things are used to gather information, send information back, or both.
IoT Explained: Simply and Non-Technically
How are you reading this post right now? It might be on the desktop, on mobile, maybe a tablet, but whatever device you’re using, it’s most definitely connected to the internet. An internet connection is a wonderful thing, it gives us all sorts of benefits that just weren’t possible before.
IoT makes once “dumb” devices “smarter” by giving them the ability to send data over the internet, allowing the device to communicate with people and other IoT-enabled things.
The connected “smart home” is a good example of IoT in action. Internet-enabled thermostats, doorbells, smoke detectors, and security alarms create a connected hub where data is shared between physical devices and users can remotely control the “things” in that hub (i.e. adjusting temperature settings, unlocking doors, etc.) via a mobile app or website. Far from being restricted to just the home, the Internet of Things can be found in an array of devices, industries, and settings. From smart blackboards in a school classroom to medical devices that can detect signs of Parkinson’s disease, IoT is rapidly making the world smarter by connecting the physical and the digital.
That includes an extraordinary number of objects of all shapes and sizes — from smart microwaves, which automatically cook your food for the right length of time, to self-driving cars, whose complex sensors detect objects in their path, to wearable fitness devices that measure your heart rate and the number of steps you’ve taken that day, then use that information to suggest exercise plans tailored to you. There are even connected footballs that can track how far and fast they are thrown and record those statistics via an app for future training purposes. A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a bio-chip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low, or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and can transfer data over a network.
Why IoT Matters?
When something is connected to the internet, that means that it can send information or receive information, or both. This ability to send and/or receive information makes things smart, and smart is good.
Let’s use smartphones (smartphones) again as an example. Right now you can listen to just about any song in the world, but it’s not because your phone actually has every song in the world stored on it. It’s because every song in the world is stored somewhere else, but your phone can send information (asking for that song) and then receive information (streaming that song on your phone).
To be smart, a thing doesn’t need to have super storage or a supercomputer inside of it. All a thing has to do is connect to super storage or to a supercomputer. Being connected is awesome.
In the Internet of Things, all the things that are being connected to the internet can be put into three categories:
1. Things that collect information and then send it.
2. Things that receive information and then act on it.
3. Things that do both.
And all three of these have enormous benefits that feed on each other.
5 open-source software tools for developing IoT applications
1. DeviceHive
Its cloud-based API can be controlled remotely regardless of network configuration. Its management portal, protocols, and open-source libraries can also be controlled this way. Among its potential applications are security, smart home technology, remote sensors, and automation.
2. Kaa
Kaa is backed by Cybervision and is aimed at providing end-to-end support for connected devices across a large cloud. The multipurpose middleware allows developers to create IoT solutions, connected applications, and all manner of smart products.
3. Arduino
Arduino is one of the better-known platforms, due in part to the fact that it offers both hardware and software. The development kit allows users to code in the Arduino language using an integrated development environment (IDE). Currently, the cloud system consists of an MQTT broker which enables developers to send messages from one board to another.
Projects that have been created using Arduino include a location tracking device for pets, a method to take photos and have them automatically uploaded to popular blogging site Tumblr, and for businesses, it’s possible to create a print issue receipt from GitHub onto paper.
4. Home Assistant
Home Assistant is predominantly geared towards home automation, as the name suggests, and operates on a Python-based coding system that can be controlled with both mobile and desktop browsers. The open-source software is fairly easy to set up and has been noted for its security and privacy capabilities.
The system is updated regularly every two weeks and currently supports almost 250 smart devices. The software can run on anything that can also run Python 3, including desktops and Raspberry pi.
5. Devicehub.net
Device Hub is an integrated solution for IoT project development, the service combines business intelligence and cloud integration in order to synthesize hardware and web technologies. The development kit is billed as a ‘Paas’ or ‘platform as a service with which both hardware and mobile developers are able to effectively utilize what it has on offer.
SMEs and individuals have enjoyed significant success with the platform which has enabled rapid development of fleet management systems, intelligent vending machines, and wearable technologies.
Some Projects for Beginners:
1. IOT Based Air Pollution Monitoring System (using Arduino)
Here, we create an IoT Air Pollution Monitoring System using IoT with an Arduino. This model is used to measure air quality using the internet making an alarm trigger when the quality of air (to be measured in PPM) goes below a certain level. It will measure the amount of some harmful gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, smoke, benzene and alcohol, and NH3. So, let’s just start this project by knowing more about it!
Required Components:
• Arduino UNO
• LCD Display (16X2)
• Wi-Fi Module ESP8266 (works on 3.3V)
• 10K Potentiometer
• MQ135 Gas Sensor
• Active Buzzer
• 1K ohm Resistor, and
• 220-ohm Resistor
2. IOT based Smart Home Security System
Because of the increasing number of crimes, smart cameras are actively coming into play. Here I will be discussing how a security camera can be made using the IoT approach. For this project, we will be needing both — software as well as hardware devices. The list of the devices is as follows:
Hardware requirement:
• Raspberry Pi board
• Raspberry Pi camera
• Pir sensor
• Ew-7711uan
Software requirement:
• Raspbian OS
• Putty
• Mit app invertor
After we are done with all the components, we need to make a proper connection in order to complete our project of IoT based smart home security system.
3. IOT based Smart Irrigation System:
This IOT Project is designed to automatically detect the moisture of the soil using a soil moisture sensor.
This project is specifically designed so as to measure the moisture content of the soil. All the above requisites perform different functions in this project. Let us know some major points about them.
Prerequisites for this project are as follows:
Hardware Components:
• Sensors — Soil Moisture Sensor (with Screw Terminals), PH Sensor, DHT11 Sensor, Pressure Sensor, and PIR Sensor.
• Arduino UNO
• Wi-Fi Module
• GSM Module
Software Requirements:
• Arduino IDE
• Thingspeak
4. IoT Based Humidity and Temperature Monitoring Using Arduino Uno:
Introduction
Here, we can read temperature and humidity data from the DHT11 sensor and upload it to a ThingSpeak cloud using Arduino Uno and ESP8266–01 module. Arduino Uno is MCU, it fetches data of humidity and temperature from the DHT11 sensor and Processes it, and gives it to an ESP8266 Module. ESP8266 is a WiFi module, it is one of the leading platforms for the Internet of Things. It can transfer data to the IoT cloud.
Hardware Requirements:
• Arduino Uno
• ESP8266–01
• DHT11
• AMS1117–3.3V
• 9V battery
Software Requirements:
• Arduino IDE
• Thingspeak
5. IoT Based Humidity and Temperature Monitoring Using Arduino Uno:
Introduction
Using the Internet of Things (IoT), we can control any electronic equipment in homes and industries. Moreover, you can read data from any sensor and analyze it graphically from anywhere in the world. Here, we can read temperature and humidity data from the DHT11 sensor and upload it to a ThingSpeak cloud using Arduino Uno and ESP8266–01 module. Arduino Uno is MCU, it fetches data of humidity and temperature from the DHT11 sensor and Processes it, and gives it to an ESP8266 Module. ESP8266 is a WiFi module, it is one of the leading platforms for the Internet of Things. It can transfer data to the IoT cloud.
Hardware Requirements:
• Arduino Uno
• ESP8266–01
• DHT11
• AMS1117–3.3V
• 9V battery
Software Requirements
• Arduino IDE
Those were some beginner-level projects for anyone who is interested in the general idea of IoT and wants to understand it in practice.
IoT is a lot more than just a cluster of sensors and development boards in a specific arrangement. It has been recognized as a very reliable form of emerging technology that has some very real and beneficial applications in the real world.
Right from an entertainment perspective to helping save lives, its importance has been demonstrated in action. There has been some heavy investment in developing IoT products, the whole IoT industry is worth around 220 Billion USD in 2020 and is only expected to grow with ever-increasing connectivity across the world. IoT is an exciting field that allows absolute beginners to learn and experience the excitement while building projects from scratch.
I hope that this post has served as a good introduction to anyone who is interested in IoT but wasn’t sure where to start. These projects should be able to give you a solid push and take you to an intermediate level along the way with the knowledge and experience you gain. All the best!
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