IoT Development Services: 8 Top Tools and Their Features

Over 64 billion devices are expected to be online by 2025; the Internet of Things (IoT) keeps progressing rapidly.

IoT developers are constantly creating new devices to serve diverse use cases. This means that the number of tools used in IoT development services is growing too. These tools help the developers in testing devices and their performance.

Several important steps are involved in IoT design and development. These include developing software and apps, devising data collection and analysis strategies, and selecting an appropriate platform to manage these devices.

There are several tools designed to help make the IoT development process easy. Let’s start by defining what IoT tools are.

What are IoT tools?

IoT tools are hardware and software platforms, network analyzers, and other IoT-specific tools that are used to create programs that can run on IoT systems.

These include development boards, shields, and software programs for IoT development services. Besides these, an IoT platform that can manage all devices is also required.

For example, if you want to build a program that can monitor security cameras in your house, you will need the guidance of someone familiar with developing coding-based platforms. For that, you must hire the expertise of a custom mobile app development company.

IoT Tools Empower Developers To:

• Register, configure, and monitor devices, including remote management and firmware updates.
• Build customized data-analysis dashboards to derive insights in real-time.
• Support for multiple protocols, cloud platforms, and databases to streamline communication between devices.
• Safeguard IoT devices through authentication, access control, and encryption.

Let us explore some of the top tools and their features.

8 Best IoT Tools for Developers

1. Arduino 

Arduino is an open-source platform that offers hardware like microcontroller boards, modules, shields, and kits for IoT development.

Additionally, it also offers a wide range of software such as Arduino IDE, Cloud, Cloud Remote, and Web Editor. This software connects to the Arduino hardware and contains a text editor for code writing, message area, text console, etc.

Using these tools, developers can create interactive electronic projects. The Arduino tool also lets developers connect to other devices and systems like smartphones, computers, and cloud-based services. It supports a wide range of sensors too. All of this makes it a versatile tool.

Features:

• Microcontroller Boards: It offers various microcontroller boards suitable for diverse projects.
• Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Arduino IDE provides a friendly interface to developers which eases writing and uploading code to Arduino boards.
• Extensive Libraries: It has an extensive library of codes and samples.
• Large Community: Arduino has a large and active development community to assist developers.

2. Apache NetBeans 

Apache NetBeans is an open-source IDE that provides a powerful platform for IoT applications like device management, data processing, and analytics. It is mainly designed for Java and runs smoothly on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris platforms.

Apache NetBeans has a wide variety of tools and features for code editing, debugging, and project management. It supports multiple programming languages including Java, C, C++, and HTML 5.

Using Apache NetBeans, developers can create high-end IoT applications that are portable. Moreover, it also has a large development community that shares tutorials, templates, and other resources to assist developers.

Features:

• Multi-language Support: NetBeans supports programming languages like Java, JavaScript, C++, C, and more.
• Simplified Project Management: It offers templates, code completion, and debugging features to streamline development.
• Plugins and Extensions: NetBeans provides plugins designed specifically for IoT-specific requirements.
• Collaboration Features: It offers features like code sharing and version control to support team collaboration on projects.

3. Kinoma Create 

Kinoma is yet another open-source tool that is a part of the Kinoma Studio developed by used in the development of embedded apps and devices. The tool includes a Javascript framework and hardware kits that enable quick prototyping.

Kinoma Create facilitates the connection between two devices without requiring developers to have high knowledge of programming in Javascript. It comprises many features like connecting light, temperature, and movement sensors necessary for developing small IoT applications.

Businesses can hire developers fluent in leveraging the Kinoma and Kinoma Create tools from a trusted custom mobile app development company.

Features: 

• Quick Prototype Building: Kinoma Create allows developers to quickly build prototypes by using hardware development kits with touch-enabled color displays and programmable devices.
• Visual Interface: Kinoma Studio offers a visual interface to developers for building and connecting workflows which streamlines the creation and management of  IoT applications.
• Accessibility: Using Kinoma, developers can build IoT devices that can connect to other devices, cloud services, and web APIs and communicate with them.

4. MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) 

MQTT is a publish-subscribe messaging protocol that supports low-bandwidth communication of a central broker like a cloud-based service with devices like sensors and actuators.

MQTT is lightweight and supports several features like service quality and security. With this tool, developers can build scalable, reliable, and secure IoT systems and applications that offer multi-device support.

Features:

• It Is Lightweight: MQTT is designed for low-resource IoT devices that have limited bandwidth, and hence, it is lightweight.
• Publish-Subscribe Protocol: It uses a publish-subscribe protocol through which devices publish messages to topics, which are received by others by subscribing to them.
• Retains Latest Message Value: MQTT can retain the latest message value. This means even if the subscribers were offline when the message was published, they still receive the most recent message.

5. Mainspring 

Mainspring is an open-source, cloud-oriented IoT development platform that offers Java-based solutions to help developers build machine-to-machine applications. These include applications like remote monitoring projects and fleet management applications.

Since it is a cloud-based platform, it makes the development and management of IoT applications easy, ensuring seamless IoT development.

Features:

• Rapid App Development: Mainspring offers features and functionalities like coding-free IoT design, user-friendly visual interface, and drag-and-drop, which boosts IoT app development speed.
• Remote Device Management: Mainspring allows users to monitor, control, and update their IoT devices remotely.
• It supports data-driven decisions: Mainspring offers built-in data analytics features through which users can gain data-based insights to make decisions.
• Scalable and Reliable: The tool provides data security and scalability features to adapt to expansion in IoT deployment.

6. Node-RED  

Node-RED is a visual programming tool that uses the Node.js framework. It works with an API and helps developers carry out communication between hardware and software.

Node-RED provides developers with access to a flow editor in the web browser. Using this, they can build IoT applications through the visual connections of nodes. It also lets them create applications using pre-built blocks on a canvas through drag-and-drag functions.

In a nutshell, Node-RED simplifies IoT development-related tasks like data processing, triggering actions, etc. It also has a large support community that keeps sharing new techniques and example flows to support developers.

Features: 

• Flow-Driven Programming: Node-RED connects nodes to build IoT applications through flow-based programming.
• Large Node Libraries: It offers a large library comprising pre-built nodes that easily integrate with IoT devices, protocols, and services.
• Real-Time Dashboards: Users can monitor and visualize data in real-time through dashboards.

7. Flutter 

Flutter is open open-source IoT development kit that has a programmable processor core. It features an ARM processor, a built-in battery charging, and a security chip.

Flutter is based on the Arduino platform and supports long-range wireless transmission. This makes it suitable for wireless network sensor applications.

Features:

• Cross-Platform Support: Flutter supports cross-platform application support using a single codebase.
• Native App-Like Performance: Flutter offers an extensive range of libraries and pre-built widgets that allow developers to build IoT apps that provide a native-like app performance.
• Custom UI: Flutter can be easily tailored to support the personalization of IoT devices.

8. Wireshark 

Wireshark is a free, open-source, network protocol analyzer. Developers can use it to monitor and troubleshoot IoT-related communication errors.

Wireshark is recognized as one of the leading network analyzers. It displays compatibility with all operating systems and provides developers with detailed insights into communication between IoT devices and networks. Thus, it is an important tool used for developing and debugging IoT applications.

Features:

• Analyze Network Traffic: Wireshark can capture and analyze network traffic to aid communication between IoT devices and networks.

• It Supports Multiple Protocols: Wireshark supports various protocols like MQTT, HTTP, CoAP, etc. while analyzing network traffic.
• Decoding Network Packets: The Wireshark tool can decode network packets into readable formats. Developers can easily detect issues and understand information flow.

Empower IoT Development Services With the Best Tools

There are several tools and platforms available for IoT development and each of those offers unique capabilities and features. Depending on project requirements, developers can choose the most appropriate tools suited to their needs.

As a business owner, if you are unsure about which tools to choose, or want to integrate IoT capabilities into your Android, iOS, or any other desktop devices, you can consult a custom mobile app development company to guide you through the process.

TRooTech Business Solutions is a leading IoT development services provider that has experience and expertise in helping businesses build secure, reliable, and scalable IoT solutions.

By teaming up with TRooTech’s team of seasoned IoT developers, businesses can deploy future-proof IoT devices using the latest tools.