3 min read
November 9, 2020


This has been a long time coming. Getting started with IoT. I have been looking and thinking about how to get started with IoT. There is a lot that you can do and a lot out there. I am hopefully going to use this as a segway more into AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning).


Here is a list of questions and thoughts of how I am going through the process:


What do I want to accomplish?

If this is your first attempt you should start small. Even something that is nothing more than a button press that triggers an event is a win. There is a lot you can do with IoT. If you are not careful you can get overwhelmed.


What programming languages do I know?

What programming languages would I be interested in learning? If you are already a developer you know at least 1 language, are you willing to learn another language? If you are not a developer are you even willing to learn a language or do you want something that is more workflow managed?


What hardware supports those languages.

Even if you know you want to use specific hardware you have to ask yourself the question around programming. What happens if the hardware doesn't support how you plan to use it, or the programming method of choice? You will need other options.


What is my plan for the data?

Part of the reason for IoT is the Data. The glorious, glorious data. Based on the goal above have you thought about what data to collect, store, or process for future updates or to incorporate AI/ML into?


As you think of those questions along with the answer you start to paint a picture and are able to start going deeper. Since you have a goal you need to start to look up what it might take to accomplish that goal. Do you want to create a silent doorbell, so anytime it is pressed x devices get a notification? Maybe it is more complex and is working with several IoT devices at once. Regardless you should start to sharpen some skills on the standards and protocols you might be using.


I mentioned ML/AI earlier. I would just think of how you want to store the data, cloud storage is relatively cheap and there is a lot that can be done with a Data Lake (data that is stored in a raw format). I wouldn't try to use ML/AI to start, you have no data. ML is only as good as the data you have. AI, that is a beast of its own. Maybe I will look at sharing my AI Thesis I did.


Hopefully, this will help you get started.
Good Luck on your journey.
Other Resources:IoT Standards and Protocols
7 Steps to Getting Started With IoT