Embedded Software for the IoT

The market for Internet of Things (IoT) devices is growing. It is predicted that more than 30.9 billion devices will be connected to the IoT worldwide by 2025. Therefore, the development of system and embedded software for chips, APIs and firmware, big data and cloud solutions is becoming common and routine.

Smart IoT devices integrated with software, embedded electronics and microchips interact with other devices, collect, send and receive information. It is the embedded system that is used in most IoT applications when connecting IoT sensors, IoT actuators and IoT processors.

What is IoT firmware?
Embedded IoT software runs on systems or hardware devices with limited computing resources, such as microcontrollers or microprocessors. It performs control, data collection, information processing, and interacts with other devices and cloud services.

Embedded software is sometimes mistakenly called firmware. It is not the same. Embedded software controls the device as a whole, while firmware gives control to the operating system, which runs and controls the programs.

The firmware acts as a processing kernel. This is something the IT team at Yemat Bulgaria is particularly interested in. It creates embedded software for new and upgraded IoT devices, from setting up the hardware to launching the finished product.

Peripherals and embedded software solutions
The latest Emat EOOD IoT cases are embedded software solutions for terminals, points of sale, self-service checkouts and scanners. Emat IT programmers use Java, Python, C, C++, JavaScript to develop the backend of the hardware and software part of the services (connection of payment gateways, control sensors, readers and border nodes of the embedded IoT system).

Emat's peripheral software solutions include IoT server IoT, infrastructure libraries, IoT integrations to ensure stable and secure connectivity between devices, data processing software and custom applications.

Embedded Software (IoT) for Self-Service Checkouts
Self-service checkouts have become increasingly popular in recent years. Once a symbol of large retail chains, they are now commonplace in smaller shops and outlets. The embedded software for these IoT devices manages the interface of the device, recognises the product code, accepts payments and interacts with the central sales management system. IoT devices collect sales data, customer preferences and other statistics that can be used for analysis and decision making.

Embedded software (IoT) for terminals
IoT terminals are used to perform various banking transactions, payments, data collection or authorisation. The embedded software manages the user interface, communicates with payment systems and transfers data.

Embedded software (IoT) for retail outlets
For retail outlets, IoT devices play a key role in automating operations and managing sales. Embedded software manages inventory, processes transactions, tracks sales, collects data for analysis and optimises business processes.

IoT embedded software for ticket scanners
Ticket scanners are part of the access control system of transport systems. The main requirement for digital solutions for such devices is fast and accurate information processing. The firmware scans, validates and transmits data to the control system for authorisation and access.

IoT Embedded Software Development Process
The IoT product development process is not much different from a typical product development lifecycle, it just has more elements to manage. You need to consider the specific requirements of a particular device, take into account its resources, and address protection and security issues.

Firmware for IoT devices should include:

1. Device and resource management: device status monitoring, activation, deactivation and power management.
2. Collecting and processing data from sensors, aggregating and transmitting it for analysis or storage.
3. Communication and networking to enable connections to other IoT devices, cloud servers or networks.
4. Security and privacy, encrypting communications, authenticating devices and users to prevent threats.
5. Software updates to fix bugs, add new features or improve security.

Suppliers and partners
Finding the right components for IoT devices can be challenging. Emat EOOD works with manufacturers of embedded systems and high-quality IoT process automation solutions. The company uses serverless Azure platform solutions to transform data collected from sensors into useful information, helping customers build their own cloud services.

Cost and time for IoT embedded software development
The price of developing embedded software for IoT devices depends on a number of factors, including functionality, complexity and security requirements. Development time can vary, but typically these types of projects take anywhere from a few months to a year or more.