Do you have ‘Intel Inside’ your IoT?

New insights are being generated and translated into meaningful change, by simply connecting the “things” that were never connected before. With this tidal wave of new data, business want a better grasp of their finances while IT managers struggle with integration, interoperability and management concerns. While the change has started to set in, 85 percent of technology still remains unconnected. Owing to the complexity of IoT systems, it takes time to develop, implement and maintain. Moreover, the security threats are pervasive, consequently, IoT is still very much the Wild West, but a lot of companies have begun to grope in the dark to explore. On the other hand, the IoT revolution has fueled the innovation in our everyday lives through many innovative products. So much so, that the industry giants have weighed the enormous potential that IoT has to drive the economic and social changes in the world. The latest example is that of Intel - the chip giant, is recent to invest in the IoT sector. Thus far, Intel has been partnering with well-known products and TV shows to establish its brand recognition with makers, but the core community hadn't warmed up to the chip maker's products yet. Thus, Intel will be targeting companies that develop IoT devices and the community of do-it-yourself hardware makers with its new product - Quark Microcontroller Developer Kit D2000; priced at US$15, it is the least expensive developer board Intel has ever shipped! Since most developer boards are mostly ARM-based, the new developer board operates at a speed of 32MHz, the same frequency as the Quark chip on the button-sized Curie board. The Curie board was used on snowboards at X games to capture and provide real-time information on speed, the height of a jump, and other statistics to viewers and athletes. Furthermore, the board is compatible with the hardware specifications of Arduino Uno, a popular software development tool with makers. A development kit called Intel System Studio for Microcontrollers, which is based on the Eclipse integrated development environment, is also included in the kit. It can be used to develop gadgets, wearables, home automation products, industrial equipment and other Internet of Things products. Furthermore, developers could also use it to hook up sensors for temperature, light, sound, weather and distance to devices. The developer board is available from Mouser Electronics and from Avnet, according to Intel.