Connecting low-power, microcontroller-based devices, such as appliances, smart meters, and industrial equipment, to the cloud enables data collection and analysis and remote updates to deployed devices. Often, these devices need to cost-effectively connect to a mobile device via Bluetooth Low Energy for provisioning, reading, and security, but this can be challenging. In this session, we dive deep into how the Amazon FreeRTOS microcontroller operating system makes it easy to program, deploy, secure, connect, and manage small, low-power edge devices. You learn how to authenticate microcontroller devices with iOS and Android devices and to monitor, manage, and update firmware using the over-the-air update functionality in AWS IoT Device Management.

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Connecting low-power devices to the cloud
with Amazon FreeRTOS BLE
Tanmoy Sen
Senior Product Manager
AWS IoT
S V C 2 0 6

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Agenda
Amazon FreeRTOS overview
Amazon FreeRTOS features
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
• Over-the-air updates

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Data sources

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AWS IoT architecture
Endpoints
Things
Sense & act
Cloud
Storage & compute
Intelligence
Insights & logic → action
Gateway
Gateway
Fleet
onboarding,
management,
and SW updates
Fleet
audit and
protection
Connecting
devices to
services
IoT data analytics,
actions, and
intelligence
Secure device
connectivity
and messaging

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Code space
Functionality
Communications stack
Security stack
Key management
OTA
Bootloader

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User (application) code
Vendor-supplied libraries
Hardware
FreeRTOS
kernel
MQTT agent OTA agentAWS Greengrass Discovery
Amazon FreeRTOS libraries
Amazon FreeRTOS value proposition
Improved developer experience, better outcomes:
Enables continued use of the open source FreeRTOS kernel
Augment with functionality to take care of undifferentiating work
Simplify application design
Smaller development teams
Faster time to market

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Amazon FreeRTOS value proposition
Improved outcomes:
Device to cloud integration with incremental capabilities
Global software company with mature processes

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MQTT I/O port Key
manage-
ment
MQTT
User (application) code
Amazon FreeRTOS libraries
Secure
storage
Vendor-supplied libraries
Hardware
Wi-Fi TLS library
TCP/IPFreeRTOS
kernel
Amazon FreeRTOS value proposition
De-risk:
Rapid device evaluation
Open standards – minimize platform lock-in
Abstracted interfaces – minimize device lock-in
Wide tool support – minimize development ecosystem lock-in

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Amazon FreeRTOS partners

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Qualifying an Amazon FreeRTOS port
• AWS IoT Device Tester
• Production board bring up
• Development board qualification
• Test automation
• Sets up cloud resources, automates compiling and flashing
• Supports concurrent test execution

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Amazon FreeRTOS features
1. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support in Amazon FreeRTOS
2. Amazon FreeRTOS over-the-air (OTA) updates

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Bluetooth Low Energy

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BLE support in Amazon FreeRTOS
• GAP and GATT profiles in BLE
• Standardized BLE API
• Companion iOS and Android SDKs
• Custom profile for MQTT over BLE
• Custom profile for Wi-Fi provisioning over BLE

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Amazon FreeRTOS: Standardized BLE API
• User application portable across BLE-
qualified hardware platforms
• Supports standard GAP advertising and
GATT profiles
• Create custom profiles for your own
services
• Supports BLE Secure Connections (BLE 4.2
and up)
Hardware
Vendor-supplied libraries
Amazon FreeRTOS internal libraries
MQTT
agent
FreeRT
OS
kernel
Shadow
library
Greengrass
Discovery
Wi-Fi
mgmt
library
Stdzd
BLE API
OTA
agent
User (Application) code
Device
Defender
library

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Custom profile: MQTT over BLE
• Connect BLE devices to AWS IoT via mobile
devices as proxy
• New MQTT library (Beta) supports both BLE
and TCP transport
• iOS and Android SDKs provide the proxy
libraries
• Demo applications to get started
• Amazon Cognito handles authentication
between proxy and AWS IoT
Amazon
Cognito
AWS IoT
Core

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• MQTT library is transport
independent
• Network interface can be
implemented against any
transport
• Amazon FreeRTOS implements
the network for IP and BLE
connectivity
New MQTT library
Application code
MQTT library
Network interface
Secure socket
TCP TLS
BLE management
BLE stack
IP connectivity BLE connectivity

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Why MQTT over BLE?
MQTT over BLE gives you access to
• AWS IoT Device Shadows over BLE
• AWS IoT Device Defender over BLE
• Amazon FreeRTOS OTA over BLE

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Custom profile: Wi-Fi provisioning over BLE
• Provision Wi-Fi credentials over BLE using
mobile device
• Save multiple networks, reprioritize, add,
delete
• Supports BLE Secure Connections (BLE 4.2
and up)
• Demo examples to get started

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BLE demo
Two common use cases for
customers using BLE devices:
1. Connect BLE devices to AWS IoT using
mobile device as proxy
2. Provision Wi-Fi credentials using BLE

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Three steps to getting started
Choose supported hardware from AWS Partner Device Catalog

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Three steps to getting started
ESP32-DevKitC, ESP-WROVER-KIT nRF52840-DK B-L475E-IOT01A1 + SPBTLE-1S

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Three steps to getting started
• Amazon FreeRTOS GitHub repository
• Android and iOS SDK GitHub
Download source code
Refer to user guide
• Hardware-specific Getting Started

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Over-the-air (OTA) updates

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OTA updates
• Assign firmware update to groups using AWS
IoT Device Management
• Code sign new firmware images
• Validate signature on device
• Stream updates to your device over MQTT
• APIs to control installation and reboot logic

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Use case: Vestel
• Smart auto-dose washing
machine
• Connectivity to AWS IoT over
Wi-Fi for command/control
• Download security updates and
new programs

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• Scalable, secure
• Small footprint
• OTA – security
• Remote management

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Problem
Dairy farming has a shortage of quality labor, and finding
good people to help on the farm is challenging. Coupled with
a lack of precise tools to manage their operations, farmers
are not generating as much milk (revenue) as they could.
Solution
Halter gives farmers the ability to shift and manage their
herd remotely from a smart device. Each cow is fitted with a
smart collar, which is coupled with a mobile app. This allows
the farmer to create virtual paddocks, physically shift cows,
and monitor the well-being of each cow from wherever they
are. Halter is able to easily push new functionality to
customers by updating the app and pushing a firmware
update using OTA to the smart collar.
Impact
Halter gives farmers control of their assets, their farms, and
their lives. The system reduces labor requirements,
increases milk production, makes compliance easy, and
enhances animal and farmer welfare.

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Key benefits and impacts
Impact metrics Use case
Amazon
FreeRTOS OTA
service + agent
Saved months of development effort on
both firmware and backend, which could
be invested in features instead
Easy OTA updates to collars allow rapid
prototyping of new features and simple
release to customers
Tickless idle
mode
Reduced power consumption of our
microcontroller from ~15 mA to ~1 mA
24/7 solar-powered device with a very
tight power budget
IoT MQTT
Reusable communications channel
reduces implementation effort for new
backend integrations from days to hours
Real-time log shipping, diagnostic
commands, and simple scripting
interface

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OTA on Amazon FreeRTOS

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OTA: Operator actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to cloud Schedule an update job
Notify device update is
available
AWS Key
Management Service
(AWS KMS)
AWS Identity and
Access Management
(IAM)
AWS
Certificate
Manager
(ACM)
Security, identity, and compliance

34. © 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.S U M M I T
OTA: Operator actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to cloud Schedule an update job
Notify device update is
available
AWS
Certificate
Manager
(ACM)
Amazon Simple Storage
Service
(Amazon S3)
Security, identity, and compliance Storage
AWS Key
Management Service
(AWS KMS)
AWS Identity and
Access Management
(IAM)

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OTA: Operator actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to cloud
Schedule an
update job
Notify device
update is
available

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OTA: OTA agent actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to cloud
Schedule an
update job
Notify device
update is
available
Device
downloads
image (over
MQTT)
Write image to
flash
Close file and verify
signature
Notify application
that new image is
ready
Application
activates when it is
ready (set boot flags
and reset)

37. © 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.S U M M I T
OTA: OTA agent actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to cloud
Schedule an
update job
Notify device
update is
available
Device
downloads
image (over
MQTT)
Write image to
flash
Close file and
verify signature
Notify
application that
new image is
ready
Application
activates when it is
ready (set boot flags
and reset)

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OTA: Bootloader actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to
cloud and sign
image
Schedule an
update job
Notify device
update is
available
Device
downloads
image (over
MQTT)
Write image to
flash
Close file and
verify signature
Notify
application that
new image is
ready
Application
activates when
it is ready
Verify image at
boot
Initialize OTA
agent and confirm
current image is
latest
Hand control to
application for
self test
On passing self
test, commit
new image
Update cloud
status to
completed.

39. © 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.S U M M I T
OTA: Bootloader actions
Developer
authors update
Upload to
cloud and sign
image
Schedule an
update job
Notify device
update is
available
Device
downloads
image (over
MQTT)
Write image to
flash
Close file and
verify signature
Notify
application that
new image is
ready
Application
activates when
it is ready
Verify image at
boot
Initialize OTA
agent and confirm
current image is
latest
Hand control to
application for
self test
On passing self
test, commit
new image
Update cloud
status to
completed

40. © 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.S U M M I T
Three steps to getting started
• AWS Partner Device Catalog
• Windows Simulator
Choose supported hardware
• Amazon FreeRTOS console
• Amazon FreeRTOS GitHub repository
Download source code
Refer to User Guide
• Hardware-specific Getting Started

41. © 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.S U M M I T
Online resources
Amazon FreeRTOS repo
https://github.com/aws/amazon-freertos
Amazon FreeRTOS online documentation
Reference https://docs.aws.amazon.com/freertos/index.html
User Guide https://docs.aws.amazon.com/freertos/latest/userguide/what-is-amazon-freertos.html
Getting started https://docs.aws.amazon.com/freertos/latest/userguide/freertos-getting-started.html
Android and iOS SDKs:
https://github.com/aws/amazon-freertos-ble-ios-sdk/
https://github.com/aws/amazon-freertos-ble-android-sdk/

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Thank you!
S U M M I T © 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Tanmoy Sen
stanmoy@amazon.com