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Samsung has welcomed ARM’s Internet of Things Starter Kit – Ethernet Edition – which channels data from smart/connected devices into IBM’s Bluemix cloud platform.
The IoT Starter Kit, announced last week, consists of an ARM mbed-enabled development board from Freescale, powered by an ARM Cortex-M4 based processor, together with a sensor IO application shield.
Prototypes have been given to early adopters including the Science and Technology Facilities Council(STFC), which is researching areas such as space science, the environment, medicine and computing. Cambridge Consultants, a production development and technology consultancy business, is also experimenting with the kit.
Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland president Andy Griffiths was encouraged by the news.
“Samsung welcomes the news that IBM and ARM are developing a starter kit designed to spur on the invention of internet-connected gadgets, helping to create smart homes across the globe," he said.
"For the Internet of Things to truly succeed, there needs to be cross-collaboration from different manufacturers so that devices can connect and communicate with one another. Openness is key to making this a success; our acquisition of SmartThings last year was a step forward in bringing together developers, device makers and service providers, to help make the vision of the connected home a reality.
"We believe that a common, interoperable approach is essential to a successful IoT economy.”
Future versions of the kit will run the new ARM mbed OS and utilise ARM mbed Device Server software.
The first products developed using the kit are expected to enter the market this year, and ARM is already in talks with electronics distributors to package and market the Starter Kit.
The kit offers Ethernet connectivity, with possible future versions also being looked at for cellular, Wi-Fi and Thread.
Krisztian Flautner, general manager, IoT business, ARM, said: “Smart cities, businesses and homes capable of sharing rich information about their surroundings will be critical in unlocking the potential of IoT. The ARM IoT Starter Kit will accelerate the availability of connected devices by making product and service prototyping faster and easier.”
Meg Divitto, vice president for IoT, IBM, added: “In order to make this work for businesses, it needs to be simple to connect physical devices into the cloud, and to build applications and insights around them. IBM Bluemix and the new ARM mbed starter kit are designed to substantially enhance that effort.”
The news comes as Verizon Wireless and ABI Research estimate the number of business IoT connections will quadruple from 2014 over the next few years, to reach 5.4 billion devices globally by 2020.
However, the report found that at the moment just 10 per cent of organisations are current using the Internet of Things extensively.
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