IoT Smart Home Connectivity Platform
Our client specializes in enhancing the connectivity and intelligence of IoT devices through advanced cloud software services. Their offerings provide real-time data analytics and insights and effectively empower businesses to optimize device performance and user experiences.
Four Ages was tasked with developing a robust IoT-based solution to integrate and control various devices via web and mobile platforms. The solution needed to support real-time monitoring and control, handle high message loads, and integrate AWS cloud services to ensure scalability and performance for millions of concurrent device interactions.
Client location
USA
Industry
Internet of Things
Duration
1 Year
Team
6 people
Challenge
Developing a high-performance IoT platform came with several technical challenges. The system needed to process up to 10 million messages per second. Handling this load required an optimized backend architecture with multiple databases. Ensuring real-time data exchange between devices, the cloud, and user applications was particularly complex due to the high data throughput and need for low-latency communication. Four Ages leveraged AWS services to solve the issue, optimizing message brokering and implementing event-driven processing to handle massive data flows without delays.
On the front end, the main challenge was implementing real-time data visualization while maintaining performance. Additionally, the mobile app required seamless device control with immediate responses.
Solution
Four Ages' solution required an optimized backend, an intuitive frontend, robust cloud infrastructure, and an efficient CI/CD pipeline. For the development, we assembled a highly skilled team of 6 professionals, which included a Tech Lead, two Senior Full-stack Developers, a Senior Embedded Developer, a Middle Mobile Developer, and a QA Engineer.
Backend Development
The solution needed to handle the volume of up to 10 million messages per second. To fit the purpose, we used a microservices architecture with multiple databases — relational (AWS RDS), non-relational (DynamoDB), and graph-based storage. This setup allowed for:
High throughput data processing using AWS Lambda and AWS SQS
Efficient message brokering with AWS IoT Core
Seamless device-cloud integration for real-time interactions between IoT sensors, the cloud, and user applications
Since the platform had to support large-scale distributed communication, Four Ages also implemented event-driven processing. This extra step ensured immediate response times.
Frontend Development
The front end consisted of a mobile application (with 20–25 screens) and an admin dashboard (about 20 pages). For this part, Four Ages used React.js for the web and React Native for the mobile app.
We also combined the usage of Redux and Redux-Thunk. The two tools guaranteed seamless synchronization of the UI with the system's dynamic data. A key part of the mobile app was its ability to provide low-latency device control. More particularly, it allowed actions like toggling smart sockets, adjusting thermostats, and live monitoring air quality sensors.
Cloud Infrastructure
The cloud infrastructure on the project was designed to handle high data throughput and guarantee IoT device connectivity. Four Ages leveraged a range of AWS services to achieve reliability and scalability. To further streamline operations, we also employed Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) using Terraform. With this extra step, we could automate the entire cloud environment for fast and repeatable deployments.
CI/CD
Four Ages implemented an automated CI/CD pipeline to streamline development and ensure stability. CircleCI was used for build and test automation, while Docker and Kubernetes enabled efficient microservices orchestration. AWS ECS facilitated flawless scaling and container management.
Testing & Quality Assurance
While working on the project, Four Ages implemented multi-layered testing to ensure reliability and security. This included:
Manual QA — for front-end usability and business logic validation
Unit and integration testing — to verify core functionality and microservice communication
Security testing — focusing on authentication and data protection through JWT-based authentication and encryption mechanisms.
Impact
With the new architecture, the client’s system could successfully handle up to 10 million messages per second. The web and mobile interfaces provided smooth, live data visualization, while device control was responsive and had minimal delay.
On the customer's site, we guaranteed easy control through mobile apps, enabling flawless task automation, energy management, and real-time environmental monitoring. The secure environment built by Four Ages ensured the safe handling of sensitive data. It also provided mechanisms to prevent potential hazards like gas leaks, fires, and water damage.
Responsibilities
Cloud architecture
Backend architecture and development
Frontend development
CI/CD setup
Testing system development
Monitoring system development
Technologies
Author:
Maria Roy
