IoT

    5 Reasons You Should Prototype IoT Devices

    The process from plan to final product is almost always more challenging than expected. This is especially true in the IoT space.
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    5 Reasons You Should Prototype IoT Devices

    Concretizing ideas, concepts or plans is often difficult. The process from plan to final product is almost always more challenging than expected, and this is especially true in the IoT space.

    When starting a new IoT project, any experienced IoT developer will tell you that things can go wrong. Whether it's going over budget, due to hardware failure, carelessness, or other general mishaps it can happen. Therefore, you need to be prepared. And that's where prototyping IoT devices comes in.

         What is prototyping in IoT?

    IoT prototyping is the act of experimenting with design ideas and implementing them into the initial version of a finished product; essentially, it involves trying and testing different ways of bringing things from the planning stage to reality. In IoT, prototyping can be:

    ▲User Interface (UI)
    ▲Hardware devices
    ▲Backend software
    ▲ System connectivity

    Thus, prototyping can be done in many different ways. While we ourselves are well aware of what the benefits of IoT prototyping are, we wish everyone was. With that in mind, here are 5 reasons why you should prototype your IoT device:

    1. it brings clarity to the design

    One of the most important aspects of realizing a project is having a clear vision. However, this vision can sometimes become confusing in the process of realizing it. And that's exactly when IoT device prototyping can help.

    Let's break down each part of the project you can create a prototype for to show you how:

    • User Interface (UI): prototyping allows you to see if it makes sense for the end user (your customer).

    • Hardware: You can check if the specifications are adequate for your system.

    • Connectivity: this helps you find out if your project has IoT latency issues or unexpectedly high traffic.

    These project areas and their possible problems will become apparent during the prototype phase. In turn, they will give you a better idea of what your project will ultimately look like.

    2. Provide you with important information

    Prototyping can also demonstrate the feasibility of design aspects in an IoT project.

    For example, as mentioned earlier, prototype network connections may show much higher than expected latency levels, therefore making the original design unacceptable. In addition, prototyping a device may reveal that it does not have enough range, tends to overheat, or drains the battery faster than expected.

    This information will reveal what changes must be made during the design phase. Maybe you need to consider different IoT protocols, maybe you need to buy parts from a different manufacturer, or you may need to completely reorganize the project. Either way, noticing these aspects as soon as possible can be a huge benefit to your future projects.

    3. Providing you with early feedback from users and your team

    Allowing users and the development team the opportunity to interact with the system and its components is a great way to receive early feedback. Remember, an important part of any project is proving its value to the end customer, and IoT prototypes are the easiest and fastest way to do this.

    It's wise to keep iterating on the prototype and getting into a positive feedback loop. This is called IoT Rapid Prototyping, and it will make each prototype better than the last and reassure developers that everything is working as expected. This prototyping methodology allows you to continuously develop a minimum viable product.

    4. Reduce Risk

    The information you gather from your IoT prototype can help you reduce or mitigate future risks. It's vital to identify vulnerabilities or possible problems in your system as soon as possible. Additionally, by creating and improving prototypes, you can see these issues before they are deployed.

    ▲ Find out how much power your IoT devices consume, whether they are secure, and whether they are energy efficient.
    ▲ See if your communication protocols are working properly.
    ▲Check if your IoT encryption methods are effective.

    5. Save money and time

    IoT prototypes can save you a lot of money and time.

    After investing in an IoT prototyping kit, you can eliminate the risk of spending extra time and budget correcting any device issues after deployment. Costly fixes like these can also be a huge blow to the morale of your customers and your team, not to mention the amount of money you'll spend if the project comes to a halt.

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