Open Hardware, Open Software, Open Communities: a new IoT innovation ecosystem

1. Open Hardware, Open Software, Open
Communities:
a new IoT innovation ecosystem
Fabio Antonelli – CREATE-NET
Rome, 28th October 2015
IoT360 Summit – 2015
Technology Forecast Session

2. Building IoT Solutions:
Challenges
Hardware Integration
Software Interoperability
Plethora of Communication Protocols
Standardization Efforts (à Confusion)
Lack of Skills
Privacy and Data Control Issues
Accessibility of IoT Apps in a Global Market
What role can play Open Hw, Sw and Open Communities?

3. A. Open Source Hardware

4. A. The Role of Open Hardware:
for educational purposes ….
• Arduino: created in 2005 as a project for
students (Italy, Massimo Banzi)
– Over one million (un-official numbers)
Arduinos sold in 7 years
– a lot of flavours, different providers
• Raspberry Pi: created in 2006 in UK, to
promote teaching of computer science
in schools and in developing countries
– 5 million Raspberry Pi units in 2015

5. A. The Role of Open Hardware:
Fast Prototyping and Validation
• For Makers: helping them to
prototype solution/ DIY
projects
• For Startups: prototyping
solutions, creation of MVP,
etc
A set of prototyping tools and platforms:

6. A. IoT Hardware Market for Fast
Prototyping
This rapid growth
has created a real
market

7. A. IoT Hardware Market for Fast
Prototyping
• Many projects from Startups
• Some of them founded via Crowdfunding campaigns
• Recently big players willing to enter into this market

8. A. The IoT Hardware opportunities
• Possible integrations and extensions with a
pletora of pluggable sensors and actuators

9. A. The IoT Hardware opportunities
Massive adoption of wearable devices
(smartwatches, trackers)

10. A. The IoT Hardware opportunities
• Smart Tags, Smart Home Devices, Drones,
Robots

11. A. Open Hardware: the advantages
• Replicability, Adaptability à creation
of a marketplace
• Time to Market
• Lowering costs for prototyping,
designing, engineering IoT solutions

12. B. Open Software for IoT
• Software plays a critical role at different levels:
– At the edge, at sensing and actuation level;
– M2M level;
– Gateway level;
– In the cloud
• Challenges exist for affording the creation of IoT solutions:
– Platforms fragmentations
– Too many standards == no standards
– Closed vertical solutions
Open Source can contribute in different areas and at different
extents

13. B. Open Software for IoT
• Open Software for IoT:
– Projects (toolkits, middleware,…)
– Libraries for communication (protocols)
– Platforms
– Embedded systems (tinyOS, RioT, …)
– Implementations of stardards (AllJoin à allSeen
Alliance, OM2M ETSI Smart M2M specification,
…)

14. B. Open Software for IoT
Device Software

15. B. Open Software for IoT
Device Software

16. B. Open Software for IoT
Device Software
CoAP
OMA LWM2M
MQTT
Client Libraries + Server + SandBox

17. B. Open Software for IoT
Device Software

18. B. Open Software for IoT
Back-end Platforms
Where it all begun…
now we haven’t only
commercial solutions….

19. C. IoT Open Communities
Hardware Hype Cycle
Availability of easy-to-use
open hw & sw platforms
Emergence: reasons why….
… and of collaboration
platforms

20. C. IoT Open Communities
• Hackerspaces
• FabLabs

21. C. IoT Open Communities
• >100 Maker Fairs per Year
• Meetup Communities
• (IoT Meetup, Hadware,
Software,…)

22. C. Who are IoT Developers
• Some Highlights from a recent “Eclipse IoT
Developers Survey”:
• Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc are key platforms for
developers. Over 80% over developers have some
experience with these types of hardware
platforms.
• Open source is pervasive in IoT. Over 80% of
developers report their companies have policies
use open source software for IoT solutions.

23. C. Who are IoT Developers
VisionMobile Survey (2015):
• 53% of mobile developers
are already involved in IoT
development
• Not all “makers” either.
45% of them are
professionals, seeking to
build or grow a business
out of IoT.

24. From DIY to Business….
• Hardware startups:
Source: Tomas Tuginz, from Crounchbase
Investment Stages (A, B, C, Seeds)

25. A New IoT Innovation Ecosystem
Trends:
• Role of individuals in the IoT landscape: new
innovative ideas are pushed by individuals
purshuing their creativity;
• A lot of IoT innovation ideas and solutions are
conveyed by and through Startups;
• Large companies prefer to acquire venture-
backed startups to accelerate their innovation
efforts, istead of internal investments.

26. A New IoT Innovation Ecosystem
Individuals
Startups
Companies
need for professional tools,
open platforms and
communities
Crowdfunding as a
possible tool for getting
support
Some examples:
SmartThings – Samsung
PTC - Thingworx , Axeda

27. Open Hw, SW & Communities:
The Advantages
• Accelerate Innovation Delivery:
– Fast protypingthanks to open hw & sw
platforms
– Fast Market Validation (e.g.: through
crowdfunding campaigns)
• Lower Market Barriers:
– Costs: thanks to a lot of new hardware
and open software accessible in terms of
price and integrability (sensors, mart
watches, trackers, smart home devices)
– Skills/Knowledge acquisition