Gain real-world experience with IoT. Techniques and Concepts of Internet of Things

4.7

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104 ratings

Matthew Caesar

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Hands-on Internet of Things SpecializationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

What you will learn

How to build an autonomous networked device, how to program and connect this device, how to use wireless networking protocols.
Assembly of networked devices, programming of networked devices

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

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This specialization is intended for technologically minded persons who are interested in getting to know the latest in ubiquitous computing, also known as "Internet of Things". The specialization consists of 4 courses that are composed of a basic part with lectures and quizzes, and a practical "honors" part, which includes physically assembling and implementing functionality atop a networked device (please note: while the honors part of the courses is optional, it is required to purchase hardware to complete these practical parts of the courses). The courses are meant to be taken in sequence, as each course builds on the previous one, while adding more functions to the device in the honors section. The construction of the device introduces real-world challenges and technological approaches commonly encountered in the IoT industry and builds students’ confidence that they can do things for real.

Applied Learning Project

Learners will be introduced to the concepts and technologies in Internet of Things. In the (optional) Honors section, we will build an actual small self-driving vehicle, using networking and sensor technologies. Throughout the honors parts of the four courses, the vehicle will become more refined, gaining capabilities such as environmental sensing, computer vision, autonomous driving, cloud-based analytics, and more. Again, we need to mention that a prerequisite to complete this part of the courses is a basic kit of hardware that you need to purchase. If you don't want to complete the honors parts, you don't need the hardware.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Intermediate Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 4 hours/week

English

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Intermediate Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 4 hours/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

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How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

IoT Devices

4.7

stars

126 ratings

The Internet of Things (IoT) stands to be the next revolution in computing. Billions of data-spouting devices connected to the Internet are already fundamentally changing the way we live and work. This course teaches a deep understanding of IoT technologies from the ground up. Students will learn IoT device programming (Arduino and Raspberry Pi), sensing and actuating technologies, IoT protocol stacks (Zigbee, 5G, NFC, MQTT, etc), networking backhaul design and security enforcement, data science for IoT, and cloud-based IoT platforms such as AWS IoT. As an optional honors avtivity, students will be guided through laboratory assignments designed to give them practical real-world experience, where they will deploy a distributed wifi monitoring service, a cloud-based IoT service platform serving tens of thousands of heartbeat sensors, and more. Students will emerge from the class with a cutting-edge education on this rapidly emerging technology segment, and with the confidence to carry out tasks they will commonly encounter in industrial settings. Important: To complete the practical part of the whole series (honors) there will be practical experimentation using actual hardware, which you will need to acquire. (Cost may vary between 100 and 200 USD depending on your location). Most parts that are needed for the first course, will be re-used in the following courses.

Course2

Course 2

IoT Communications

4.5

stars

25 ratings

This course builds on the previous course: IoT Devices. After we have built and programmed a small self-driving vehicle, now it's time get into more advanced territory and enhance the device's connectivity further. To do so you will study radio frequency (RF) communication, the MAC layer, Mesh Networking as well as distributed algorithms for use with geographic locations. These techniques will be applied to your device in the lab, which is composed of four steps, one in each week of the course. In Week 1, after going over some orientation for the course, you will focus on radio frequency (RF) communication, how it fits in with the larger scope of electromagnetism, how RF signals propagate in physical environments, how RF signals can be used to encode data, and how all this information is useful in constructing resilient and high-bandwidth IoT communication substrates.

Course3

Course 3

IoT Networking

4.9

stars

11 ratings

This course builds on the first two courses in this series: IoT Devices and IoT Communications. Here you will begin to learn enterprise IoT. Enterprise networks, from first-hop access to backend IoT services are critical because they allow your IoT devices to reach the Internet and achieve their true intelligence. IoT places extreme demands on first-hop access - ultra-dense deployments challenge spectrum allocation, the need to provide strong segmentation yet let devices reach into IoT services such as gateways and databases. During this week you will begin to learn about these challenges, and the underlying protocols and technologies of wired networks that can help you to address them.

Course4

Course 4

IoT Cloud

4.5

stars

17 ratings

This course is the last course in our series of four courses and builds on the previous three courses: IoT Devices, IoT Communications, and IoT Networking. After we have built and programmed a small self-driving vehicle, we then set out to enhance its connectivity and add important security infrastructure. In this course we will now look closer into various remaining types of decentralized network topography. In the lab, we will additionally cover important cloud technologies based on machine-learning. In the first two weeks' lectures, we will cover important components of networks. Metaphorically speaking, when you learn how the human body works, you start by understanding the "organs", the stomach, the liver, and so on. Likewise, we can best understand networks by understanding the individual components that make them up and their function. In this lecture series we will study "devices" such as routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and many more. We will learn about how they individually operate, how they are configured, and how they work together to achieve various network-wide properties and goals.

Instructor

Matthew Caesar

Offered by

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Prepare for a degree

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
4 weeks per MOOC, that's a total of 16 weeks.
What background knowledge is necessary?
Basic understanding of networking technologies, and some programming and scripting experience.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
Yes.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
If you decide to join our degree program and take the university version of this course, you won't need to repeat quizzes or lectures. These are the same as in the degree course, and as such they count towards the university credit. The lab assignments, although essentially similar, will be more in-depth in our degree program, so we can't give you credit for those.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
You will have a good understanding of Internet of Things and the skills to build, modify and program networked devices. These skills are both highly useful to employers in the industry, and they also prepare you for pursuing an academic degree in this field.
Do I need to buy some things to be able to complete the courses in this Specialization?
No. You can pass the courses in their basic form. However, if you want to do the honors sections, which we highly recommend doing, the key ingredient here is a real life hands-on approach to actively build, connect and program a device, for which you'll need to purchase electronic hardware, with varying cost and availability, depending on your location (100-200 USD).

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Hands-on Internet of Things Specialization

What you will learn

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project