Welcome to IOTile

IOTile is a device-to-cloud framework for building cloud connected hardware devices. The goal of IOTile is to make it easy to build and deploy custom Internet-connected devices, all the way from the low-level hardware and firmware up through secure connectivity and data storage in the cloud.

CoreTools provides an extensible python based infrastructure for creating and interacting with IOTile Devices.

Key Concepts

CoreTools is centered around creating and using IOTile Devices, which are typically hardware devices (i.e. actual, physical IOT sensors or actuators) but can also be virtual agents running on normal computer.

IOTile Devices are usually very small, highly customized things.

For example, an IOTile Device might be a tiny temperature sensor beacon that just broadcasts the current temperature and runs for 10 years on a button cell battery.

There are three main concepts that unify all IOTile Devices:

  1. IOTile Devices respond to external commands. CoreTools calls these commands Remote Procedure Calls or RPCs. RPCs form the heart of how IOTile Devices are controlled and how they work internally as well.
  2. IOTile Devices send data to the cloud as timestamped Readings that are packaged into Reports. Reports can be signed and marked with unique identifiers to make sure they are securely received by the cloud even when transmitted over unreliable or untrusted communications channels.
  3. IOTile Devices are built from reusable circuit designs called Tiles. Tiles are the heart of what makes an IOTile Device easier to build and easier to use than normal embedded devices.

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