Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that AWS Greengrass, a software which allows customers to run AWS compute, messaging, data caching, and sync capabilities on connected devices, is now available to all customers. With AWS Greengrass, devices can run AWS Lambda functions to perform tasks locally, keep device data in sync, and communicate with other devices while leveraging the full processing, analytics, and storage power of AWS Cloud.
The company explains that programming and updating software functionality on IoT devices is challenging and complex. Relatively few developers have the expertise to update these embedded systems, and even fewer can do so without creating unwanted downtime. AWS Greengrass claims to eliminate this problem by allowing customers to use AWS Lambda to run code locally on connected devices in the same way they do on the AWS Cloud.
“Many of the world’s largest IoT implementations run on AWS, and customers across industries – from energy, to mining, to media and entertainment – have asked us whether we could extend AWS’s industry leading cloud capabilities to the edge,” said Dirk Didascalou, Vice President of IoT, AWS.
“By embedding AWS Lambda and AWS IoT capabilities in connected devices, AWS Greengrass gives customers the flexibility to have devices act locally on the data they generate while using the AWS Cloud for management, analytics, and storage – all using a single, familiar AWS programming model,” Didascalou added.
With the new software, developers can add AWS Lambda functions to connected devices right from the AWS Management Console, and devices can execute the code locally, responding to events and taking actions in near real-time. It also includes AWS IoT messaging and synching capabilities so devices can send messages to other devices without connecting back to the cloud.
So far, companies including Intel, Lenovo, Mongoose, Qualcomm Technologies, Raspberry Pi, Samsung, Technicolor and Wistron have integrated AWS Greengrass into their platforms.