In this day and age, the necessities are no longer limited to food, clothing, and shelter. The world has changed dramatically, and the only thing we need now is the internet. Our lives have become simpler and better as a result of evolution. Online orders, drone deliveries, remote-controlled homes, education from home what more do you need from technology? With the advancement of technology, the Internet of Things- IoT technology and testing has also become a significant part of connecting users with software, electronics, and sensors and providing a seamless experience of delivery of data.
The Rise of IoT
Worldwide, there will be an estimated 25.44 billion IoT-connected devices by 2030. This represents a tremendous increase from 7.74 billion connected devices in 2019. In this, the largest number was recorded in China with 3.17 billion devices.
Software solutions covered under IoT are expected to gain a lot of momentum with real-time streaming analytics, security solution, remote monitoring, professional services with consulting, deployment, managed services, device management, network management, application area, smart energy and utilities, smart manufacturing, connected logistics, smart retail, etc. under the geographies including North America, Europe, APAC- Asia Pacific, MEA- the Middle East and Africa and Latin America.
Until Everything is Connected to Everything Else!
More than 4 billion people around the globe are using the internet and over 5.5 billion now have a mobile phone. This means over 70% population is using technology. It is growing at a tremendous rate thus expanding the hyper-connectivity. IoT can grow over 60 billion devices connectivity to people. Some of the advancements of IoT are:
- Microsoft launched Azure in India in September 2016, becoming the nation’s first public cloud provider that established three data centers in Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai. These data centers provide increased scalability and flexibility for Azure.
- A partnership was formed between IBM and Visa, an American multinational financial services corporation, in February 2017. This allowed IBM to combine the token technology and enable the devices to carry out commerce on behalf of their owners.
- Store owners can get information about their customers’ traffic patterns in the shop and how long they spend in each aisle by using smart lighting devices, video feeds, and Wi-Fi food monitoring software in 2019.
IoT Testing Addressing New Age Requirements
Manufacturing, health care, sensors, RFID, smart beacons, smart pills, smart home care, connected smart cars with voice search, apps, traffic information, transport, and Logistics Company, small-time retailers, Amazon Dell, Auto manufacturers, etc. are using and advancing their existing systems and have made every task highly convenient.
Advanced principal technologies and the propagation of devices have helped fuel the growth of IoT technologies. IoT testing has shifted the focus on early identification and fixing of flaws. The IoT structure consists of hardware, cloud, backend analytics, and bidirectional communications. This hyper-connected environment is built on
- Broadband wireless internet connectivity- needless to say, we are moving towards 4G and this is soon turning to be 5G and 6G ensuring less cost with the best connectivity.
- Everyday objects are being equipped with miniaturized sensors. These sensors and the propagators will either respond autonomously or following instructions from the user.
- Cobots are robots that collaborate using AI and machine learning. Using the sensor data, all the information gathered will be analyzed.
But the most important task here is testing.
IoT Testing and its Importance- It’s a Perfect Storm
To achieve better results in the marketplace, IoT testing is essential. The goal of testing is to provide greater insight and control over interconnected IoT devices. Testing focuses on security, analytics, devices, networks, and more.
IoT Testing Framework
| Application layer | Functional, compatibility, usability and user experience, localization, API testing |
| Services layer | Interoperability, functional, API testing |
| Gateway and Network layer | Network compatibility and network connectivity testing |
| Sensor layer | Functional and security testing |
Challenges in IoT Testing- Not Everything is that Easy as it Seems
- With the rising benefits and demand of IoT, it becomes imperative to be aware of the challenges associated with testing.
- Checking both the network and internal communication, for the complex cases and real-time responsiveness. Getting all the points checked is tough but mandatory as well.
- Internet is used in the whole process, here security and privacy become a big concern.
- Resource consideration is still a major issue such as limitation in memory, processing power, and battery life. This somewhere hinders the performance. Like proper network connection is needed for faster speed and stability.
- Hardware and software components are dependent on each other and if anyone is not functioning properly, it affects the performance of others. Generic systems are tedious to test.
IoT testing approach can vary from system to system, it can be tough and challenging but surely the one providing a myriad of benefits. The IoT market segment is expanding considerably with endless bustling opportunities by the commercial clientele in the hyper-connected world.
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Written by Infiwave Solutions