We introduce you to Extra IoT, the Internet of Things

 Article written by David Gálvez and José Francisco Castaño , from Extra Software's Extra IoT team.

Extra IoT is the Extra Software area dedicated to IoT, and it arises from a stream of restless in the company itself, wanting to advance through a new world. We did not have a garage, but we had a table in the company itself ...

But first of all, what do we call IoT? Internet of Things is a concept that stays based on the interconnection of any product with any other around it. From a tome to the refrigerator in your own home. The goal is to make all of these devices communicate with each other and consequently be smarter and more independent.

Its significance can be very important in both economic and social spheres. Greater even than the digital age. And it is that the Internet of Gears allows devices to interact with elements of real life and gain independence from human beings, leaving us in control of what is really important.

What does Extra IoT offer ?

Like the vast majority of technological early payment, the goal of IoT is to style our lives more comfortable, as well as to afford more security popular various zones. Let's give some examples:

A refrigerator that was able to warn us when it lost temperature or indicate that some food has expired or has passed

A desk that will record where everything has been left, or that we could know where each object that belongs to us is, at all time

Our entire home controlled from a smartphone or PC (from the front door, to the toilet chain)

A wristband for allergy sufferers that warns us of allergens and their concentration in the air; ...

At the beginning in Extra IoT we started with simple applications, such as a weather station. We currently have a constant mapping of humidity and temperature in our facilities, as well as sensitive areas such as servers.

We also carry out an internal solution with NFC cards that associates people with the cards, controls the security of access to certain areas, and even warehouse stock management.

Nor should we forget security, not everything is beautiful with any IoT solution, this type of misused solutions or poor security can cause sensitive user information to be public. The little or bad protection of IoT devices, together with their great expansion, are being factors that are worryingly multiplying the number of attacks by botnets.

The information must always be anonymous, and the user must be aware that he is sharing such information.

Extra IoT solutions for customers

Acquiring knowledge after hard work, we had the opportunity to create a solution for a client, which obviously we could not miss. It was a solidarity project for a foundation and its laundry, and it also allowed us to integrate intellectually disabled people into the world of work.

That's when we created the Laundry ID project (which has led us to be recognized in the European Union ). It is a project to identify garments and locate them, thanks to an IoT infrastructure with Raspberry Pi3. The infrastructure made the solution economical, viable and also had a minimum margin of error.

On the other hand, the area itself developed ideas and solutions based on our own needs, such as requesting information or actions through voice commands or managing the occupation of spaces in our facilities.

Of course, all interactions with IoT have software solutions for mobile and web, with which we can see our data in any geographical point.

In addition, our Big Data expert provides us with the data for interpretation and decision-making.

We continued to have concerns and decided to work on a solution for nursing homes. After an intense and satisfactory brainstorming, we had in mind a solution for positioning people in the residence itself. We could know the activity of each person, the location and their own habits, we could learn these habits and thus notify the staff when anomalous situations occur. Finally, this idea could be moved to a private home, and this is how we are currently, developing a solution that encompasses all these aspects.

Thanks to IoT we are able to fill those concerns that some of our clients raised us, and with the birth of this department in Extra Software we want to tell you: