IoT networks are the brains and brawn of smart grids, smart buildings, smart transportation, and other intelligent networks. As they become more complex so too does the prototyping process. Testing and prototyping IoT networks and their mass of sensors and embedded devices can be timely and expensive. The cost is much higher, though, if the problems arise in the real-world network.
Every engineering team seeks to smoothly transition their IoT network into the real world. Advanced prototyping tools like digital twin software seek to make the transition seamless. The best prototyping approach depends on the functions of each network.
Off-the-Shelf Rapid Prototyping
Also called physical prototyping, using off-the-shelf and plug-and-play devices is a quick way to model an IoT network. A very basic test design could use If This Then That (IFTTT) software commands. Advantages include:
- Easy-to-monitor and -control test hardware, the local network, and back-end services (enterprise data, connected PCs and mobile devices)
- Shortened design cycle
- More rapid transition from testing to real-world networks
The time-quality trade-off results in less precise simulation of the system. Consequently, more problems may arise when operating and scaling the prototype in the real world.
3D Printing
With 3-D printing, product and network engineers can quickly print out devices to use in testing. Existing product designs made with CAD software are compatible with 3-D printing. Advantages include:
- Fast printing in a few minutes or hours, depending on the complexity
- Low 3D printer costs, starting at $100 and going up to $10,000 or more for a professional printer.
- Rapid replication of devices, when small batches of similar objects are required
3-D printing typically uses one material, commonly plastic, but metals are also being used. Owing to this limitation, 3D printing is useful for creating simple network devices.
Digital Twin Software
Digital twin software creates a virtual representation of your physical IoT network. The network can be easily reconfigured and extended. Advantages include:
- Virtualization of complex networks run by machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing
- Powerful data and extrapolation capabilities to model scenarios
- Connectivity to other virtual systems to test larger networks
Virtual twin software for specific applications provides powerful modeling capabilities. In a data-intensive project like designing and operating a multi-building project, for example, big data can be looped into the system. Models of global cities, street maps, and thousands of layers of public data can be accessed during prototyping in smart city software. Using World Pro software, for example, architects and property owners can drag and drop their own BIM and GIS files into such a data-rich environment.
With the help of big data, IoT prototyping is gaining the ability to predict every eventuality in the physical world. For more information about digital twin software, contact a professional.
