MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR IOT
Cutom Mobile Device Applications for interactive IOT solutions
It has become common practice to develop a mobile application as a companion for an IoT device. The mobile applications can be developed to interact with the IoT device thought different communication methods such as Wi-Fi, Internet or Bluetooth. A direct connection to the device would be supported through a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth network, but an internet connection to the device would likely be integrated with a Remote Device Management system or utilized with an API to a server. The app may also be programmed to control the device, view settings on the device or change the device settings.
There are several different components to developing a mobile device application.
Back-End/Server
If your application is designed to communicate with your IoT device or integrates with a Remote Device Management system, you will need a server. Unless you have an on-premise server (not recommended for most clients), you will need to purchase this service which usually has a monthly cost. The server will store information and relay commands to the IoT device sent through the API. A common server used for application development is Amazon Web Services (AWS). If you plan to maintain your own app environment after development, you may want to specify deployment on a different service.
Front-End
The front-end of the application saves data to the mobile device and can send commands to the IoT device or IoT Server. Typically, the data saved to the device would include authentication information, certificates, and application settings. The application can be configured to send commands to the IoT device or server through an API which allows the application to communicate the correct information to the device or server.
User Interface (UI)
The design of the user interface is an important part of the application development process. A UI should be intuitive for the end-user to use while providing an esthetically pleasing layout, navigation and color scheme.
Application Maintenance
After the development of the application is complete, there may be maintenance tasks associated with your application. This can include feature updates, bug fixes, future proofing the application against operating system updates, and server maintenance.
It is important to consider the impact that an application can have on a long term scale and plan accordingly. A maintenance contract or plan is an option that most companies decide to utilize to avoid hiring a team to maintain their product.
Full Service Application Development
Application development can be a very complex process. It takes multiple components working together to communicate with an IoT device. EZ Control uses a set of propriety methods and procedures to rapidly prototype and develop your mobile device application.
After development and deployment, we can continue to maintain your product and assist you with updates to the application, API and server to eliminate additional overhead costs associated with application management.
Leverage our experience in developing IoT communication platforms and schedule a consultation for your solution by utilizing our contact form.