May 2016 Summaries

With the increasing popularity of the maker movement and Arduino's open-source, microcontroller-based kits, many software engineers are exploring hardware hacking, but the C-based language Sketch can be a barrier for web developers. This tutorial introduces web developers to using Arduino with Node.js and the JavaScript-based Johnny-Five robotics framework, enabling them to prototype Internet of Things (IoT) applications. It guides users through setting up Arduino, creating a simple "Hello World" blinking LED project, and advancing to an IoT project using PubNub's JavaScript APIs to control an RGB LED via a web interface. By leveraging Johnny-Five and PubNub, developers can control hardware devices from anywhere, transforming them into IoT devices. The tutorial emphasizes the potential for web developers to apply their existing JavaScript skills to hardware projects, encouraging experimentation with other microcontrollers like Raspberry Pi and ongoing learning through resources like Adafruit and GitHub.

Version 4 of the Java SDK is now available for beta testing, featuring a complete rewrite to enhance performance and compatibility across Java SE, Java EE, and Android platforms. This update introduces a new architecture similar to the iOS v4 SDKs, offering improvements such as a reworked PubNub method invocation using a builder/fluent API, seamless configuration through the PNConfiguration class, and global callbacks for Subscribe/Presence/Status messages to achieve design parity with iOS clients. The SDK supports the new v2 Publish/Subscribe API for server-side message filtering, provides both synchronous and asynchronous method executions within a single class, and enables logging without the need for debug jars. It also features a reworked networking stack utilizing Retrofit and OkHTTP clients, a new cryptography stack eliminating the bouncycastle dependency, and unified distributables for Java and Android. Users are encouraged to participate in the beta testing to ensure the software meets their needs before the final release.

A smart traffic management system has been developed to enhance emergency response by facilitating the movement of emergency vehicles through busy city intersections. This system is demonstrated through a simulation using a map interface that models the movement of vehicles and traffic signals along a predefined route in San Francisco, utilizing the Mapbox API and PubNub's Real-time Network for real-time communication. The system's architecture includes a cloud-based Traffic Management Server (TMS) on IBM Bluemix, which remotely controls traffic signals based on data from emergency vehicles, optimizing their route by calculating distance and bearing to the next approaching signal. The project, implemented as a client web application and server using Python and PubNub services, aims to alleviate traffic congestion for emergency vehicles, although it acknowledges limitations in handling complex real-world scenarios. Future enhancements could involve integrating IBM Watson to analyze historical traffic patterns for increased accuracy in predicting and managing traffic flows. The full source code is available on GitHub, and instructions for hosting the demonstration are provided within the project's documentation.

The text discusses overcoming challenges in building real-time applications for IoT devices, emphasizing the use of PubNub as a solution for real-time communication. It details the selection of microcontroller boards based on specific project requirements, such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and Atmel microcontrollers, to demonstrate interoperability across different platforms. The article highlights the importance of real-time bi-directional communication, recommending PubNub's SDKs to facilitate this by automatically handling protocol complexities and ensuring seamless message routing. It also explains the significance of using uniform APIs across various devices for consistent communication, regardless of the programming language or platform. The author describes the need for remote monitoring through a central dashboard and illustrates how PubNub's presence API can notify the status of devices. Additionally, the text covers real-time data visualization, using PubNub Eon to create live-updating charts and maps, which can be particularly useful in applications like home automation or medical wearables. Overall, the article showcases how PubNub can simplify real-time communication and monitoring for IoT applications, allowing developers to focus more on application development rather than maintaining network infrastructure.