The Internet of Things 101

As an IoT design firm, we dream of a home where appliances and products do our bidding for us. The alarm sounds, the blinds automatically raise, the coffee starts brewing fresh coffee. As you step in the kitchen, the toaster pops with your golden-brown bagel. Your car drives you to work while you catch up on emails with your voice assistant, Alexa.

We’re proud to say our IoT design firm works on products like these every day and makes these once science fiction ideas come to life! We’ve worked on everything from home automation products to cellphones.

So, What Really is the Internet of Things?

In a nut shell, The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the communication between internet enabled devices. With a little more detail, it consists of all web-enabled devices that collect, send, and act on data they acquire from their environments using embedded sensors, processors and communication hardware (this is where we come in!). An IoT design firm will create computing hardware which include processors with embedded programming that indicates how the device should behave, sensors that gather various sorts of readings like temperature or heart rate, and communication hardware that can send and receive signals. For a great overview of all the elements of IoT, check out this video from IBM Think Academy. 

The Role of the IoT Design Firm:

Behind the scenes at an IoT design firm.

The role of the IoT design firm is to produce the device itself, which is everything from the core including firmware to the design on the outside. The guts of an IoT device contain the hardware and firmware that allow the product to connect with others and the cloud. It’s this aspect that makes IoT what it is – communicating with the cloud so we don’t have to. This core component of the IoT device is made possible by electrical engineering.

Surrounding the core of the IoT product is the mechanical engineering. This is what allows the product to function or move as intended. The final layer, which wraps it all up in a sophisticated little package is the industrial design. This ensures the product is appealing to its demographic, reflective of the company that created it, and functions properly.

We’re proud that we, as a leading IoT design firm, offer all three of these services in house with an all-star team. We welcome you to check out some of our electrical, mechanical, and industrial work here. Let us know what you think!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!