Design of open-source platform for introducing Internet of Things in university curricula

Abstract

In the focus of this paper is an approach in designing a platform to be used in university curricula for teaching Internet of Things (IoT). The design process covers several aspects important for considering in the starting process of building this platform. One of these aspects is finding the low-cost platform easy to implement. This paper describes the platform and its components, together with the application scenario. The proposed platform defines all aspects of IoT environments and in best possible way enables students to learn about this whole concept and its functionalities. Besides describing the platform, the paper recommends its variation regarding scenarios and usage. Platform is centered on Arduino/Genuino UNO, Python programming language and ThingSpeak IoT cloud platform. The utilization of the platform is justified by the statistical and analytics data that shows high level of IoT expansion. Finally, the economical advantages of the platform and its simplicity of implementation are presented.