This is a guest post from Tsahi Levent-Levi. Tsahi works in the software communications space as an engineer, manager, marketer and CTO. He is the author and editor of bloggeek.me, which focuses on the ecosystem and business opportunities around WebRTC.
Reading this on a web browser? Did you know -in theory- we could do a video call directly from the page you’re reading. All modern web browsers today support a technology called WebRTC which enables doing just that – adding real-time communications (voice, video and data) to any web application.
What is WebRTC?
In 90% of cases, WebRTC is likened to use cases like Skype or Chat Roulette – services where people conduct online video calls with one another. Check out a great example of that in the How to Connect WebRTC with ChatEngine tutorial.WebRTC and IoT
We’d like to take a different angle – looking at how WebRTC fits in the realm of IoT. Funny enough, in 2014, We wrote that IoT and WebRTC don’t really mix. But a lot has happened since then. WebRTC has found a home in many different use cases, and a lot of them surprised me, especially in the world of IoT.WebRTC Use Cases
When it comes to IoT and WebRTC, there are two main use case categories: Device-to-Person and Device-to-Cloud. We’ll dive into what this means example by example, but it’s not an exhaustive list. There are hundreds of use cases and it’s really just up to your imagination. However, for the sake of understanding, here are a few.Use Cases | WebRTC Device-to-Person
The first examples center around real-time audio and video. Baby monitor, video doorbell, building intercom, nanny cam, surveillance cam — these can all be viewed as where the main purpose is to be able to receive and sometimes send real-time audio and video.
The remote control and operation of these devices take place in “signaling land” – that’s where tools like PubNub IoT Device Control plays. Letting users see or hear what’s on the other side – that’s where WebRTC plays a role.
Let’s take the building intercom use case as an example. Think of the intercom as one piece of a smart building deployment, where multiple types of sensors and automation are integrated. For the intercom, a guest would have to select an apartment or an office to ring to. The resident of the apartment will answer that ring over the intercom, from a device in the apartment or from his smartphone. The “closed-loop” video, or more accurately, a video chat will take place between the guest and the resident, followed by an opening of the front door of the building.
This example can be broken down into multiple control messages flowing: ring, answer, open door, etc. The conversation itself? That’s a WebRTC session that connects the guest (via intercom device) to the resident (via a person on a mobile device).
The same functionality can be applied to a nanny cam and a parent, where neither person on the other side participates in the conversation, but there’s still a one-way video session.