October 2014
18
E
MBEDDED
W
IRELESS
Open Source solutions for
connected applications tomorrow
By Andrew Mitchell,
Sierra Wireless
This article introduces Legato,
a new generation of M2M software
- an open-source embedded platform
designed to simplify the development
of M2M applications. It is built
on a fully-tested Linux distribution,
with a tightly integrated application
framework and M2M toolset.
The explosive growth in the Internet of
Everything holds enormous potential. Mod-
ern machine-to-machine (M2M) technology
can provide more processing power and intelli-
gence at the edge than ever before, and support
more complex and powerful connected appli-
cations. But the M2M marketplace presents a
number of hurdles for developers seeking to
capitalize on this potential. Barriers include:
No standardized, M2M-ready operation
system (OS). Linux is increasingly becom-
ing the OS of choice for M2M because it is
open-source, easily customized and widely
used among developers. But standard Linux
is not designed for the unique requirements
of embedded applications. Adapting it can be
enormously time-consuming and expensive
because you have to assemble all the neces-
sary libraries, development tools and APIs,
and then integrate with specific vendor hard-
ware. Companies can spend many months
and hundreds of thousands of dollars just to
create a functional Linux-based application
environment before they even begin testing
and validation.
Poor scalability. Taking an M2M application
from idea to proof-of-concept can be rela-
tively easy. The problems begin once a proto-
type is approved for mass production. It can
literally take years to evolve a proof-of-con-
cept to a working solution that complies with
industry-specific standards and protocols,
mobile network operator (MNO) specifica-
tions, and regulatory requirements.
Limited portability. M2M applications are
typically tied to the proprietary software envi-
ronment of a vendor. That means developers
usually have to repeat the entire integration,
testing, and validation process for each hard-
ware platform deployed. If an application
uses one chipset in North America, another
in Europe, and another in China, developers
have to build essentially custom solutions
from scratch for each market.
Impeded innovation. The lack of a standard-
ized, universal software platform is in many
ways preventing the M2M industry from
evolving as quickly as it should. Using pro-
prietary, hardware-specific solutions makes it
very difficult for anyone, other than the peo-
ple building the device, to create software that
runs on it. It also means that developers have
limited ability to port their expertise from one
project or platform to another, which makes
it more expensive for OEMs and other com-
panies building connected applications to
bring in needed developer expertise. With 2
billion M2M connections projected world-
wide by 2018 - representing nearly 20 percent
of all mobile-connected devices - the time has
come for a standardized M2M platform that
can support universal device-to-cloud solu-
tions. The smartphone industry saw explo-
sive growth only when a standardized mobile
operating environment emerged that let peo-
ple develop applications independently of the
underlying hardware. It’s time for that indus-
try evolution in M2M.
Sierra Wireless is enabling this new gen-
eration of M2M software with Legato - an
open-source embedded platform designed
to simplify the development of M2M appli-
cations. It is built on a fully-tested Linux dis-
tribution, with a tightly integrated application
framework and M2M toolset that provide
everything developers need to quickly build,
deploy and connect their embedded appli-
cations. Developers can ramp up applica-
tions from proof-of-concept to mass market
deployment with more flexibility, using this
fully customizable open-source platform that
can support any vendor hardware, any cloud
management platform, and any network or
peripheral. How does Legato change the way
developers create and deploy M2M applica-
tions? An automotive supplier building a gov-
ernment-mandated eCall emergency response
system can use the same solution to run a
third-party pay-as-you-drive insurance appli-
cation - completely securely and on the same
platform. An energy industry OEM can use
Figure 1. Legato is an open
source embedded platform built
on Linux, designed to simplify
M2M application development.
