Teaching the Internet of Things (IoT) Using Universally Available Raspberry Pi and Arduino Platforms

Major technology corporations like IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and others have taken direct aim at the rapidly developing Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. These corporations believe that the next major technologic evolution (and hence their future markets and customers) will revolve around this newest application of the Internet. These companies and most involved in the technology fields believe that we are on the cusp of the next transformation of machinery and infrastructure: the process of adding intelligence and connectivity to small to large-scale technology and infrastructure systems and in this process creating the Internet of Things. Already, academic and industry experts in various technical fields have given catchy names to these proposed systems: autonomous cars, Smart Grid, Smart Buildings, Smart Homes, e-health care, are but a few terms that have made it into the popular press. These large-scale and not-solarge-scale applications are becoming possible due to the convergence of several key enabling technologies. Essentially, through the use of networked embedded controllers (known as ambient intelligence) and complex wired and wireless sensor and actuator networks one is able to create intelligent infrastructure systems (i.e. cyber-physical systems) that have the potential to change almost every aspect of mankind’s interaction with the environment and most all other forms of human commerce and endeavors. Presently, formal education in these innovative Internet applications is lacking. Cisco, through its online Networking Academy offers a short overview course about the Internet of Everything (IoE) and has announced its intent to offer more online courses about the topic. However, access is restricted to colleges that belong to the Cisco networking academy program. IBM has recently launched its Internet of Things Foundation that offers business and industry partners, as well as, educational entities, development tools to implement and test out their IoT applications with the further ability to visually display acquired data in real time. However, as of yet, most colleges that offer engineering technology education at the two-year college level, do not offer courses or programs to introduce and teach this new technology. This paper will present our experience in our initial attempts to impart an introduction of this technology to our students and to also possibly induce students to become interested in STEM fields. A new four credit course ELE111 (three hours of lecture and three hours of lab), entitled, Internet of Everything, has been offered to our students this past year. This paper will recount our experience with this specifically hardware centric hands-on course. Course and lab content will be covered and our experience with what worked and what did not will be discussed. This freshly renewed effort to graduate technicians with the skill sets needed to install, evaluate, maintain, and up-grade these IoT systems as they are envisioned is destined to be an ongoing process at our institution. Introduction By this time, most have heard of the popular culture moniker “Internet of Things” or IoT. Many large technology corporations have begun taking direct aim at this rapidly developing technology area. Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Goggle, Apple and many other enterprises believe that the next major technologic evolution (and hence their future markets and customers) will revolve around this newest application of the Internet. These companies and most involved in the technology fields believe that we are on the cusp of the next technologic evolution: the transformation of machinery and infrastructure the process of adding both intelligence and connectivity to small to large-scale technology and infrastructure systems. The end result of this process of crafting innovative, intelligent, system applications is the creation of a space known (collectively) as the Internet of Things. Already, academic and industry experts in various technical fields have given catchy names to these proposed systems: Smart Grid, Smart Homes, Smart Buildings, Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing, autonomous and connected cars, e-health care, and microgrids are but a few terms that have made it into the popular press. As one can easily surmise, the key term here is “Smart” but just as important is the fact that these systems also enjoy connectivity via modern communications technology (i.e. computer/data networking). These large-scale and notso-large-scale applications are becoming possible due to the evolution and convergence of several key technologies. Essentially, through the use of networked embedded microcontrollers (ambient intelligence), connected complex sensors and actuators (sensor networks), and wired and wireless networking one is able to create intelligent infrastructure systems (i.e. cyberphysical systems) that have the potential to change almost every aspect of mankind’s interaction with the environment and most all other forms of human commerce and endeavor. The details of this technology evolution have been chronicled elsewhere by this author and others 1-9 and will not be repeated here. Presently, formal technology education in these innovative Internet applications is wanting. Certainly, there is no shortage of attention to the underlying technologies at the upper-level undergraduate and graduate schools of four-year engineering colleges. In fact, many research institutions are devoting their efforts to these new technology fields and possible applications of the IoT. However, most colleges that offer engineering technology education at the two-year college level, as of yet, do not have educational courses or programs to introduce and teach this new technology. Recently, Cisco, through its online Networking Academy, has started to offer a short overview course about the Internet of Everything (IoE) and has announced its intent to offer more online courses about the topic. This is a well thought-out business decision driven by Cisco’s desire to gain market share of the networking piece of the IoT. However, access to this material is presently restricted to colleges that have Cisco networking academies. Also, IBM has recently launched its Internet of Things Foundation 10 that offers business and industry partners, as well as, educational entities, development tools to implement and test out their newly designed IoT applications with the further ability to visually display acquired data in real time. The Problem Ironically, some of the very technologies that are driving this newest technology area have in some cases, for decades, been trying to remove/detach the hardware from the user. To provide computing power to the masses, the computer industry has attempted to shield the user from the intricacies of both the computer hardware and software needed to provide computing power. Often this strategy, to avail a technology or family of products to the masses, is known as proving a “turn-key” solution. Certainly this has been an effective approach, as evidenced by the success and proliferation of the personal computer (PC), the cellular telephone or smartphone, and the automobile to name but three highly technical products designed for mass consumption by mankind. At the same time, providing a turn-key product/commodity has in many instances reduced the ability of the populace to “tinker” with and become familiar with the underlying technology. This last fact is not entirely due to the manufacturer’s desire to provide a turn-key solution but in the case of the three examples just mentioned is also a natural consequence of the evolution of electronics technology 11,12,13 and the seemingly never-ending micro-miniaturization of electronic systems (i.e. Moore’s Law). One of the consequences of this is trend is the uneconomical cost of repair for the electronic sub-systems in these products and what we tend to define as “throw-away” or disposable technology when considering consumer electronics products. Computer software has likewise followed a similar trajectory in its evolution. From the earliest programming languages with their oftentimes complex syntax and coding structures to today’s point-and-click graphical programming software (GPS), we have developed computer operating systems like the venerable “Windows” series with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to allow even the most neo-type computer user to rapidly become a capable operator of a PC. Today’s automobiles run millions of lines of computer code during their operation and our only chore to get them operational is to turn the key on (or press the start button), step on the gas petal, and turn the steering wheel. Seemingly, our only interaction with the automobile’s software is when the infamous “Check Engine” annunciator light comes on. According to most of the major automobile manufacturers, in the not too distant future, self-driving, autonomous cars will further reduce our interaction to just getting in and specifying a destination! Again, it has all been about bringing the technology to the masses. Technology education tends to be aimed at giving the required skills to the technician that will allow them to deal with technology based systems either during the manufacturing process or final test or in the field after the product has been placed in use (the after-market). The job market for technicians tends to be the driving force behind curricula change in the two-year college technology education arena. Over the course of the last three decades in particular, the transformation of the electronics industry and the computer industry (from mainframes to PCs) has changed the face of technician training at the two-year college level. In the electronics area, programs have been discontinued due to low enrollment or sometimes morphed into computer technology programs with an emphasis on networking. In many cases, these morphed programs have given up compu