IoT — The Internet of ThingsWhat it is, and why it is important for you

What is the “Internet of Things,” and why do many think itwill become the next big era in computing? And why dowe consider it a major, must-pursue opportunity forOEMs and systems integrators in virtually everysegment of commerce and industry?

First, the “Internet of Things” describes a paradigmwhere internet communication is no longer limited topeople communicating with people or machines withmachines. In the Internet of Things, or simply IoT,“things” communicate as well. These “things”mayinclude anything that can collect data via sensors, and thenpass that data on via a connection. Such “things” may bevehicles, refrigerators, doors, locks, cameras, machines, subsystems, or entire homes or offices. In short, a “thing” is anythingthat can measure something and pass that data on for processing and feedback.

What benefits can the Internet of Things provide, and how big will be? The primarybenefit is that completely connected, integrated and “intelligent” systems can provide awealth of information that can make them work far better than before. IoT has thepotential to massively increase efficiency, significantly reduce costs, and also reduce risks.

How big will the Internet of Things be? Cisco estimates that a staggering US$14.4 trillionin value is at stake between 2013 and 2022, measured as a combination of increasedrevenue and reduced cost. Gartner and ABI Research estimate that by 2020, between 26and 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the Internet of Things. And if theconcept is expanded to IoE — the Internet of Everything that also includes people andprocesses in addition to things — that number rises to 50 billion. Only a small fraction ofthese are connected today.

What does the “IoT” shift mean to the embedded industry?IoT, and then IoE, represent major opportunity to the embedded and intelligent systemsindustry because IoT will open numerous new services by enabling connected solutionson any device, of any size, and in virtually any market. Initial IoT focus areas are machineautomation, web access, digital healthcare and logistics,image and video processing, iHospitals, iRetail andhospitality, as well as embedded design services andexpertise.

Advantech has been working with design partners toprovide IoT devices and services including wirelesssensor network products, embedded IoT gateways,intelligent systems, and embedded IoT software. Thispaper presents an overview of Advantech’s offerings.

ADVANTECHIoT SOLUTIONS

Internet of Things Facts,Figures, and Opportunities

• Concept of universalconnectivity of all objectsdiscussed since early 1990s

• Term “Internet of Things”first proposed by Kevin Ashton in 1999 at MIT Auto-ID Center

• Advantech Premier memberof Intel IoT Solutions Alliance

• Overall IoT concept: all objects in daily life gatherdata and communicate

• Dual benefits: lower cost and increased revenues

• May create almost US$15trillion in value through 2022

• There will be 30-200 billionconnected devices by 2020

• Most are unconnected today:retrofitting huge opportunity

• Challenge: move from IPv4 toIPv6 to accommodate devices

• IoT offers almost endlessopportunities in numerousfields and markets

• Advantech has full roster ofIoT-ready hardware andsoftware products

• Featured product: ruggedAdvantech UTX-3115 FanlessCompact Box PC as optimizedIoT gateway

IoTInternet of Things

IoT — Differences and Opportunities ADVANTECHIoT SOLUTIONS

The Internet of Things employs aquad-tier model with, from thebottom to the top:

■ The wireless sensor network

level with sensor “mote” edge

devices that communicate via

standard protocols.

■ The embedded IoT gateway

level that shares, filters, and

transports data.

■ The intelligent systems and

networking level that manages

and analyzes data and turns it

into analytics action.

■ The cloud where big data and IoT apps and services enable smart transportation, smart

buildings, smart process automation, smart energy systems, and numerous other instant-feedback

realtime services that were not possible before.

■ Robust and quiet in severe environments

■ Dual-core Intel E3826 processor

■ Works silently in a temperature range of -20º to 60ºC

■ 2.5-inch HDD or SSD and/or mSATA mass storage

■ SUSIAccess remote management

■ Four antennae for flexible connectivity

■ Dual wired gigabit LAN

■ Mobile certificate with PTCRB

■ Palm-size form factor (138 x 116 x 36 mm)

■ Dual miniPCIe for PAN, WWAN, WiFi, 3G/4G

■ VESA / DIN-rail / wall mounts

■ Provides COM, HDMI, VGA, audio, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0

■ Strong but lightweight aluminum housing

■ Optional legacy RS232/485

■ Shock and vibration resistant

IoT Gateway — Advantech UTX-3115 Fanless Compact Box PC:

The IoT Infrastructure — Securely From Edge to Cloud

Embedded systems have been around for a long time, and many were even connected. In theIoT, everything is connected, in real time and not via batch uploads, sneakernet, or USB sticks.This dramatically changes the value of data. On its own, any piece of data isn’t terribly valuable,but if those formerly isolated data points are collected, filtered, and passed on for processingand analysis, a big picture emerges and allows for realtime, intelligent feedback andmanagement. The problem is that perhaps 85% of current systems are legacy technology thatdo not share data between themselves, let alone the cloud. Great opportunity exists inretrofitting and connecting those legacy systems, providing common interfaces between devicesand the cloud, and ascertaining secure travel from edge to cloud. The benefit to customers ofautomated data aggregation, filtering, processing and analysis is intelligent action and reactionthat saves time and money, all without the cost of replacing expensive legacy systems.

Wind River IDP: pre-integrated IoT protocolsWind River — an Intel company with over 30 years ofexperience world-class security expertise and software

solutions for connected devices — provides intelligentdevice platforms that accelerate IoT via trustedplatform services, secure device management, dataaggregation, filtering and event handling, as well as

an IoT device software development kit. Wind River’sIDP technology stack serves as the middleware of the

IoT and contains Wind River's Linux OS with security(access control, standards, signed software, secure boot,

etc), APIs, management, and connectivity. All are tightlyintegrated so OEMs and systems integrators don’t have to

spend time piecemealing components together. Instead,high-value application development can start right offthe bat. Wind River provides global tech support toaddress any issues, helping customers to move very

quickly with IoT projects. The Wind River IDP 2.Xtechnology stacks, implemented on Advantechembedded platforms, is one of several UTX-3115

SKUs, with include Windows Embedded 7 and 8,Linux, and QNX, depending on customer needs.

McAfee IoT-optimized “white-listing” data securityMcAfee, also an Intel company, has been a pioneer inproviding proactive security solutions and services forsystems, networks, and mobile devices around the world.With the massive number of connected IoT devices, security concerns raise to a new level,especially since IoT employs open systems and COTS protocols. As a result, security systemsmust operate on multiple levels, securing at the device level, the connection level, and alsothe cloud level. Embedded devices characteristics — infrequent devices changes (but whenthey happen they are performed in a structured, controlled manner) and the mandate forsecurity to not impact device performance — make white-listing the security approach ofchoice for embedded devices.

SUSIAccessSUSIAccess, preloaded in all Advantech embedded solutions, is a remote devicemanagement software suite that allows remote device monitoring, cross-platform access,real-time remote configuration, as well as Acronis system recovery and backup. SUSIAccessalso provides system security via McAfee Embedded Security solutions, automatic alerts,and remote keyboard, mouse and video access.

Key benefits of SUSIAccess for IoT and intelligent systems applications include the ability tostay in sync with device health status at all time, to reducemaintenance and via quick access and troubleshooting andenergy costs via intelligent power on/off schedules, completeprotection from unauthorized applications without the need forcontinuous updating, optimized and interruption-free backupand recovery with dynamic scheduling, and easy centralizedmaintenance and management of remote and hard-to-reachdevices.

Accelerating IoT with Intelligent Device Platforms Advantech

IoT Products

and Services

■ Embedded IoT gateways

■ Wireless sensor networks

■ Wireless modules: Bluetooth

■ Wireless modules: Cellular

■ Wireless modules: GPS

■ Wireless modules: WiFi

■ Embedded Box PCs

■ Single Board Computers

■ Pico-ITX SBCs

■ MI/O SBCs

■ Remote DAQ devices

■ Web Access+

■ IoT software: SUSIAccess

■ IoT software: APIs

■ Design-in services

■ PTCRB certifications

■ IP libraries

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Custom-developing IoT solutions for a better and more efficient tomorrow IoT business opportunities are everywhere! Any business, operation and process thatgenerates, and relies on, metrics benefits from the Internet of Things. Examples:

A greenhouse monitoring system employs sensorsthat monitor humidity, light, temperature, andCO2. These are passed on to an Advantech UTX-3115 gateway where the data is aggregated,filtered and sent on in real-time to the cloud orother sources that evaluate the data and returnactionable information to the UTX-3115, whichcan then make the necessary adjustments for acontinually optimal growth environment.

Beverage, produce, pharmaceutical products, etc.,benefit from a cold chain logistics monitoringsystem where temperature and humidity sensorsreport to the UTX-3115, which is rugged enoughfor use in trucks and other vehicles, and may useGPS telematic data. The UTX-3115 communicatesvia the Internet to the cloud, enabling truckingcompanies to monitor, adjust, optimize, and alsodocument all pertinent storage data.

With power conservation and sustainable energyfootprints becoming ever more important,individual offices or entire buildings can beequipped with sensor and actuator devices onwired or wireless LANs. Those communicate withAdvantech UTX-3115 gateways which securelyaggregate and filter data, and then poll the cloudfor data analysis and return of actionablemeasures that minimize energy usage whilemaximizing internal environmental conditions.

Examples of IoT Business OpportunitiesADVANTECHIoT SOLUTIONS

Intelligent Systems FrameworkIntel defined the IntelligentSystems Framework (ISF) as aspecification for streamlining thedeployment and development ofintelligent systems. ISF describesconnectivity, manageability andsecurity, identifies commonrequirements, and ensuresinteroperability of differentelements from Intel and itspartners. Advantech IoT productsare compliant with ISF viaSUSIAccess remote managementand iManager 2.0.

Iot vs. IoEThe original definition of theInternet of Things includes mostlymechanical objects and devices.IoE—the Internet of Everything—takes that one step further andincludes places, people, animals,everything.

IPv4 vs. IPv6The Internet Protocol v4, whichuses 32-bit addresses, allows only4.3 billion unique addresses, notenough for IoT and IoE. IPv6 uses128-bit addressing, enough for 340undecillions addresses.

Internet of Things:Definitions

For more information:www.advantech.comECGInfo@advantech.com1-800-866-6008

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Advantech UTX-3115 IoT gateway — pioneering pre-integration for customer benefits The Advantech UTX-3115 is a new fanless form factor co-developed by Advantech andIntel. It is available with a specifically optimized Wind River softwarestack as an out-of-the-box gateway for IoT industrialsolutions. McAfee white-listing security in built intothe unit’s SUSIAccess device management software, asis Acronis system recovery and backup. Pioneeringpre-integration of commercial-grade hardware andsoftware, the Advantech UTX-3115 is the perfect IoTgateway building block for your IoT projects.