The internet of things(IoT) is emerging at a quick speed. Reason behind is the availability of small, low-cost IoT hardware development boards. They come in practically infinite frameworks. IoT devices monitor and implement things or real-life elements, comprising industrial equipment, home appliances, buildings, cars, warehouse inventory items, and society. As soon as you decide to develop new IoT project, you’ll need to think through the hardware requirements for your own IoT project. Assess and refine the prototype IoT devices that you build against these requirements and adapt them, adopting standard modules or custom modules as appropriate.

In this article/blog, we are going to deliberate some of the widely available standard hardware development options and discuss why you might choose one device over another for prototyping and developing your next IoT project.

Understanding the requirements, of the development board for your IoT project

There are some factors to keep in mind to select a development kit suitable for you first IoT project or device, you need to consider the hardware requirements characteristically. Advanced devices and device platforms are constantly being released. You need to understand the key characteristics that are common come across with most IoT devices to compare and evaluate new devices as they become available. 

IoT devices are extremely specifc and are designed to operate within very specific frameworks and environments, so the hardware requirements for IoT projects differ widely with each other.

To be precise, categorize the IoT device characteristics in terms of these high level capabilities:

• Data acquisition and control
• Data handling and storing
• Connectivity
• Power Management   
• Physical design
• Security 
• Ease of development 
• Cost requirements

Simplifying further the availability of the desired hardware development boards can be of two types like, microcontrollers and single board computers (SBCs). They designed around System-on–chip (SoC). SoCs package a number of capabilities including data processing, storage, and networking, within a single chip. A microcontroller is a SoC that delivers data processing and storage capabilities. Microcontrollers contain a processor core (or cores), memory (RAM), and erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) for storing the custom programs that run on the microcontroller whereas single board computers (SBCs) are a step up from microcontrollers, because they allow you to attach peripheral devices like keyboards, mouse, and screens, as well as storing more memory and processing power

Choosing between microcontroller development boards and single-board computers  

On the approach to get started with your first IoT project, understand your IoT device’s characteristics and application’s requirements. For the design determination to get an appropriate selection over microcontroller and single board computer, take a decision on the following factors such as 

Regulate the category and amount of peripheral sensors and output components that you need, and, if necessary, any design circuits for these components

• Select a microcontroller or single-board device to co-ordinate analysis 
• Select on the data communication protocols that you need to use for intra-device communication 
• Select the networking hardware and protocols that you need to use to communicate with cloud services and apps
• Development Boards Comparison and availability  

There are a lot many features for selecting hardware board for first IoT projects. Adopting standards-based, product hardware like microcontrollers or single-board-computers can save time and cost in the early phases of development, without losing flexibility. What you learn in the prototyping phase can help you use critical hardware design decisions when you move into deploying your IoT project.

This comparison table for hardware development boards will guide you to acquire complete understating for selecting the appropriate development board for your IoT project. 

Conclusion

While developing your first IoT project either prototyping or production phase, you want to observe the all the components and features, with your practice to choose the appropriate development board deal with consistent platform environment, and forums for ease of development