How is the industry developing, and where can a novice specialist find his place?

When I was first offered a job in IoT – the Internet of things, I had no idea what it meant. But as a programmer, I was ready to work on anything, even if it actually turned out to be an online store (that’s what I thought at first)! And I got into the team developing the Internet of Things platform, which allows you to connect pieces of iron that I have known since university, but also provides many opportunities for their interaction with each other. I especially liked the automation scripts.

The Internet and the kitchen in the office were the main mediums for acquiring knowledge. On the Internet, the most relevant and useful information for solving emerging problems. In the kitchen, you can share experiences in a relaxed atmosphere, discuss your projects, hear the opinion and suggestions of a person who thinks differently than you. But most importantly, by my example, I once again confirmed this almost common truth that you need to learn from real problems. I got the best development when I got into a real project. Courses with synthetic tasks provided only theoretical training.

Initially, I was exclusively engaged in the development of an interprotocol communication service, which just allows you to connect any device to the platform using its protocol. My responsibilities included writing data serializers and deserializers – a kind of translators from our JSON data packet language to the device binary packet language and vice versa. Now the range of tasks is expanding: I am engaged, among other things, in interaction on pilot projects, preparing and conducting demonstrations on the platform with different equipment, creating an online course on IoT development in OTUS. In our program, we focus on useful practice and real tasks that a specialist in the IoT industry deals with.

Pleasant excitement covers every time I connect new equipment

My heart is forever given to the very first project that I did when I first got a job in the company – this is the connection of an ACS (access control system) to the platform.

The task was as follows: here is an access control system without access to the Internet, here is our platform, here is a cabinet with pieces of iron and a colleague Dima, whom you can torment with any questions. It is necessary that all the data about who and when came / left appear on the platform, then reports will be built based on this data. Then it seemed something unbearable, but I was never afraid of challenges. Moreover, they immediately told me that everything is real.

At first, I dealt with the ACS microcontroller, with how its memory is organized, where and what is stored. Then I wrote a code that can access the controller according to its protocol, and then I connected the platform so that all commands come from it. You can read about how it was in the article “Access control systems in IoT – we know how, we know, we practice.” Yes, for some time my workplace was between a table standing in the corridor near the access control system and the ceiling, I climbed back and forth, connected something, disconnected it and tested it. But when I finally received the first packet of information from the device, it was just incredible happiness.

I still feel this excitement when I connect some new equipment, and then joy when I see all the data that it transmits in a convenient interface. And if you can also control the device remotely, it’s even more interesting!

The main thing is not to turn the device into a “brick”

For my profession, first of all, patience and attentiveness are needed. Patience, because electronics, located at the heart of any equipment, often presents surprises, it must be handled carefully and wisely. If something goes wrong, you can’t just pick up and knock on it to make it work. You need to painstakingly sit and figure out whether everything is connected correctly, whether something burned out during testing, and so on.

And care is needed when writing code. Because it happens that a huge amount of information is transmitted in packets, and you need to write the parser correctly so that the correct value corresponds to each parameter, and the command generator so that in no case send a command to the device that will “brick” it.

At first, fears arose with the advent of the tasks of connecting a new device and introducing new data transfer protocols. After a while, the same device model was organized in the head as on the platform: any device consists of a set of parameters, the values ​​of which it transmits, and commands that it can execute. Now, when looking at any protocol, a clear picture is built, and it becomes easier to implement it.

Also, the platform does not stand still. When I first came, there were complex interfaces, a high entry threshold, I had to spend a lot of time doing some primitive actions. Now, it seems to me, almost all work in the platform is intuitive, well-thought-out necessary functionality without disturbing excesses, nice design. It has become easier and more convenient to work, customer support on their issues does not take much time.

I want to charge others with ideas of IoT solutions

I consider myself a happy person, I really like my work, it is extremely interesting. I know many people who do similar things at the hobby level, make a smart home on their knees, for example. And I cook in this area every day, I am, so to speak, at the forefront, aware of all trends, designing “smart systems”, thinking through the most optimal logic for automation scenarios, and I feel absolutely in my path.

I am completely and completely fired up with the idea of ​​​​IoT and I try to charge others with it. I write articles, I tell my friends, recently the other day I helped a robotics friend connect his board to the platform via video conference. From scratch, we managed and sorted it out in half an hour, set up two-way interaction with the device. He like it very much. And I am glad when others manage to implement IoT ideas in their lives and work, when there is an understanding that it is necessary, it is pleasant and it is convenient.

How to get into the ranks of professional IoT developers? How is the industry developing, and where can a novice specialist find his place?

When I was first offered a job in IoT – the Internet of things, I had no idea what it meant. But as a programmer, I was ready to work on anything, even if it actually turned out to be an online store (that’s what I thought at first)! And I got into the team developing the Internet of Things platform, which allows you to connect pieces of iron that I have known since university, but also provides many opportunities for their interaction with each other. I especially liked the automation scripts.

The Internet and the kitchen in the office were the main mediums for acquiring knowledge. On the Internet, the most relevant and useful information for solving emerging problems. In the kitchen, you can share experiences in a relaxed atmosphere, discuss your projects, hear the opinion and suggestions of a person who thinks differently than you. But most importantly, by my example, I once again confirmed this almost common truth that you need to learn from real problems. I got the best development when I got into a real project. Courses with synthetic tasks provided only theoretical training.

Initially, I was exclusively engaged in the development of an interprotocol communication service, which just allows you to connect any device to the platform using its protocol. My responsibilities included writing data serializers and deserializers – a kind of translators from our JSON data packet language to the device binary packet language and vice versa. Now the range of tasks is expanding: I am engaged, among other things, in interaction on pilot projects, preparing and conducting demonstrations on the platform with different equipment, creating an online course on IoT development in OTUS. In our program, we focus on useful practice and real tasks that a specialist in the IoT industry deals with.

Pleasant excitement covers every time I connect new equipment
My heart is forever given to the very first project that I did when I first got a job in the company – this is the connection of an ACS (access control system) to the platform.

The task was as follows: here is an access control system without access to the Internet, here is our platform, here is a cabinet with pieces of iron and a colleague Dima, whom you can torment with any questions. It is necessary that all the data about who and when came / left appear on the platform, then reports will be built based on this data. Then it seemed something unbearable, but I was never afraid of challenges. Moreover, they immediately told me that everything is real.

At first, I dealt with the ACS microcontroller, with how its memory is organized, where and what is stored. Then I wrote a code that can access the controller according to its protocol, and then I connected the platform so that all commands come from it. You can read about how it was in the article “Access control systems in IoT – we know how, we know, we practice.” Yes, for some time my workplace was between a table standing in the corridor near the access control system and the ceiling, I climbed back and forth, connected something, disconnected it and tested it. But when I finally received the first packet of information from the device, it was just incredible happiness.

I still feel this excitement when I connect some new equipment, and then joy when I see all the data that it transmits in a convenient interface. And if you can also control the device remotely, it’s even more interesting!

The main thing is not to turn the device into a “brick”
For my profession, first of all, patience and attentiveness are needed. Patience, because electronics, located at the heart of any equipment, often presents surprises, it must be handled carefully and wisely. If something goes wrong, you can’t just pick up and knock on it to make it work. You need to painstakingly sit and figure out whether everything is connected correctly, whether something burned out during testing, and so on.

And care is needed when writing code. Because it happens that a huge amount of information is transmitted in packets, and you need to write the parser correctly so that the correct value corresponds to each parameter, and the command generator so that in no case send a command to the device that will “brick” it.

At first, fears arose with the advent of the tasks of connecting a new device and introducing new data transfer protocols. After a while, the same device model was organized in the head as on the platform: any device consists of a set of parameters, the values of which it transmits, and commands that it can execute. Now, when looking at any protocol, a clear picture is built, and it becomes easier to implement it.
Also, the platform does not stand still. When I first came, there were complex interfaces, a high entry threshold, I had to spend a lot of time doing some primitive actions. Now, it seems to me, almost all work in the platform is intuitive, well-thought-out necessary functionality without disturbing excesses, nice design. It has become easier and more convenient to work, customer support on their issues does not take much time.

I want to charge others with ideas of IoT solutions
I consider myself a happy person, I really like my work, it is extremely interesting. I know many people who do similar things at the hobby level, make a smart home on their knees, for example. And I cook in this area every day, I am, so to speak, at the forefront, aware of all trends, designing “smart systems”, thinking through the most optimal logic for automation scenarios, and I feel absolutely in my path.

I am completely and completely fired up with the idea of IoT and I try to charge others with it. I write articles, I tell my friends, recently the other day I helped a robotics friend connect his board to the platform via video conference. From scratch, we managed and sorted it out in half an hour, set up two-way interaction with the device. He like it very much. And I am glad when others manage to implement IoT ideas in their lives and work, when there is an understanding that it is necessary, it is pleasant and it is convenient.