intro to internet of things
This is it - the beginning of project week and the final and most intense week in our programme.
In this module, we build on all the work we've done in the past two weeks - advanced programming techniques, distributed calc using Web APIs, discrete electronics, and the hardware course, and introduce the Internet of Things.
IoT is really where the programming wheels hit the real-world road - it's what drives the Amazon Dash, the button in your cupboard that magically makes breakfast cereal arrive an hour later. It's how your heating comes on when you're on your commute home. It's how your crops are watered automatically after a dry afternoon.
Of course, none of this is magic, and by this point our students should see where all this is going. We're going to introduce the protocols, distributed services and data busses that drive the IoT, we'll introduces web actuator services like If This Then That, and we're going to show our students how to use them to build their own IoT systems.
After this section is taught, the week will be almost entirely project-driven. Students will work in teams of four or five to build an IoT project that does something useful. We'll be gently aiming the projects towards the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, as part of our mandate to encourage professional growth, and understanding of local vs global issues. Ultimately, however, we'll expect our students to discover, design, spec out and build their own projects over the course of the final week.
Puncutating the project work, we'll be introducing more techniques and technologies, acting as guides and mentors, even sitting down and cutting code with our students.
The taught portion of the intro should take around 90 minutes, with a break for discussion halfway through.
After completion of this course, the student should know and understand:
- That "Internet of Things" is a broad term that describes a specific type of technology stack
- The "recipe" nature of some IoT architectures, including IFTTT.
This is the final taught section of the programme; it's only suitable for students who have completed all the previous courses.