Efficient IoT approach to server connectivity and infrastructure

The number of Cloud and hardware configurations rises in tandem with the rapid spread of IoT solutions. To meet the ensuing challenges, the standardisation group SGET has developed a practice-oriented approach to enable the uniform access to a range of hardware components from different manufacturers by using a broad scope of protocols.

As a manufacturer and SGET panel member, Kontron will start supporting the Universal IoT Connector Standard (UIC) effective immediately and plans to implement it for a wide portfolio of modules, boards and systems.

In contrast to previously existing standards, UIC doesn't interlock only in the application layer, but also in the transport layer. While customisation triggered by a hardware update or change of manufacturer had to hitherto handled manually throughout the different layers, UIC now enables facilitated periphery connection, control, and configuration through these three levels of abstraction: device configuration, sensor- and actuator communication, and device communication. UIC can be used both under Windows 10 IoT Enterprise as well as under Linux.

The UIC's practice-oriented approach uses existing structures to harness a maximum of synergy. The multi-tiered design supports the continuous development, and the modular approach guarantees a well-balanced combination of abstraction and user friendliness.

The three UIC building blocks
The Universal IoT Connector is built from the following three functional blocks or interface descriptions: the Embedded Driver Module (EDM) Interface controls the connected hardware peripherals through drivers, and can provide sensors, actuators, or other local information. The Project Configuration Interface is the configuration mechanism for embedded systems. It controls which peripherals are to be triggered, how raw data will be augmented into sets of information, and when data is transmitted to the server. The third functional block is the Communication Agent Interface, which handles the information transfer to the communication unit, which then forwards the data to the (Cloud) server.