IoT Building Blocks
The Backbone of the IoT, Bridging the Digital and Physical
Detect, Measure, and Monitor Environmental Conditions and Collect Data
It all starts with sensors acting as the eyes and ears for IoT, detecting movement and vibration, measuring temperature and humidity, and more. Sensors identify and locate items, determine environmental conditions, and are used to trigger alarms and process management.
Every IoT Solution Requires Specific Types of Sensors
There are many different types of sensors for the wide range of IoT use cases. From form factors to supported communications protocols, from plug-and-play sensor platforms to standalone sensors and actuators, the range of sensors and their capabilities can be overwhelming. But not with Arrow as your partner.
Arrow Offers Hundreds of Sensors and Can Build Custom Sensors for You
Arrow offers sensors from dozen’s of suppliers, and with Arrow-sourced products and design services, we can source the right hardware and build that sensor (or gateway) into a specialized solution – with support from sensor to sunset.
1. Temperature Sensors
2. Proximity Sensors
3. Pressure Sensors
4. Water Quality Sensors
5. Chemical, Smoke and Gas Sensors
6. IR Sensors
7. Level Sensors
Connect IoT Sensors and Devices to Networks
While many communications technologies can be used to connect sensors and devices to the Internet of Things, a range of wireless technology dominates current use. All the various types of wireless options allow devices to send. When selecting from the wireless options for your IoT solutions, you’ll want to consider:
Wireless Technology Options
SmartMesh IP™
Wireless mesh network is built for industrial applications. Benefits include >99.999% reliability even in harsh RF conditions, >10-year battery life, and secure connectivity. Learn more.
IEEE 802.15.4: ZigBee
ZigBee is an open global standard designed to be used in M2M networks. It doesn’t require a lot of power, has a low latency, and a low duty cycle, allowing products to maximize battery life.
IEEE 802.11: WiFi
WiFi is the best known and most popular wireless technology that runs of the 802.11 standards set forth by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
IEEE 802.15.1: Bluetooth and BLE
Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are used to transfer data over short distances. BLE is supported by most smartphone and computer makers as well as leading operating systems.
Some wireless solutions include:
1. NFC
2. RFID
3. Cellular
4. Zwave
5. 6LoWPan
6. Thread
7. SIGFox
8. LoraWAN
Connect IoT Devices to the Cloud and Perform Edge Analytics
IoT gateways manage device connectivity, protocol translation, data filtering and processing, security, and more. They aggregate sensor data, translate between sensor protocols, and process sensor data before sending it on to the network. Next-generation IoT gateways also operate as platforms for edge analytics and become an active, intelligent part of many IoT solutions, improving responsiveness and supporting new operating models.
Gateways make sense of and standardize a range of different protocols and methodologies that must be managed, because different devices:
Gateways act as a bridge between sensors and the cloud. Sensors talk to a gateway, the gateway processes, translates and standardizes all that sensor data, and then the gateway talks to the cloud.
Creating connected solutions requires devices to push their data into private, public, and hybrid clouds for aggregation, integration, and analytics. Whether you’re building a connected device or looking to use IoT to solve your business problems, Arrow can help you solve for your needs by leveraging our ecosystem of suppliers and partnerships.
Arrow can provision cloud subscriptions across multiple public cloud services and consolidate the usage and billing whether you want to use it for developing and deploying your applications or you want to resell them to your customers. For many customers, a public cloud may not be the right solution and Arrow can bring in the right partners to design, source, implement, and manage a private datacenter infrastructure. Or, leverage best in class co-location with interconnection providers.
Arrow’s partnerships with leading suppliers of analytics solution (both premise and cloud) coupled with expertise from our large ecosystems of Systems Integrators allows you to leverage the skills you need to build and deliver your solutions.