ARM Debuts IoT Starter Kit that Provides Connectivity to BlueMix
ARM is continuing to build around the momentum it generated when it released the mbed operating system in October of 2014. The mbed OS gives devices the ability to connect to the Internet of Things. Using ARM’s mbed OS provides devices connected to your cloud with uniformity in regards to data transfer protocols and security. ARM has teamed up with IBM to build an IoT starter kit that can be configured to report data back to IBM’s powerful BlueMix PaaS offering.
ARM is calling its new product the mbed IoT Starter Kit – Ethernet edition. For those attending the Embedded World conference in Nuremberg, Germany, you’ll actually be able to see the IoT starter kit by ARM in action. Since ARM’s product can channel data directly into IBM’s BlueMix, the data gathered from the IoT starter kit allows developers to rapidly create enterprise apps based on real-time IoT provided data.
If you take a closer look at the board on the IoT starter kit, you’ll notice that ARM has equipped it with a Cortex-M4 processor. The device supports a variety of connectivity choices such as Bluetooth Smart, CDMA, 2G, 3G, LTE, Wi-Fi, Thread, and 802.15.4/6LoWPAN. Out of the box, the ARM’s IoT device supports the TLS/DTLS, CoAP, HTTP, MQTT and lightweight M2M protocols.
The introduction of the IoT starter kit is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of cloud innovation. Krisztian Flautner, the GM for IoT at ARM, mentions “Smart cities, businesses and homes capable of sharing rich information about their surroundings will be critical in unlocking the potential of IoT.”
In a release, ARM writes, “The combination of a secure sensor environment by ARM with cloud-based analytics, mobile and application resources from IBM will allow fast prototyping of new smart products and unique value-added services.”
The mbed operating system seems to have generated a community of over 70,000 developers at mbed.org. ARM believes that products containing its IoT starter kit will begin shipping in late 2015.
