When talking about IoT platforms, most people know and acknowledge ThingsBoard. But many of them are not aware of its possibilities, both front-end and back-end wise. For example, people often focus on the fact that it’s open source. Because it has a bunch of built-in functions and classes, they don’t try to implement something new. But its possibilities run much deeper than a plain white and blue industrial dashboard
What is ThingsBoard?
The fact that the dashboard can show data from many sensors doesn’t mean it always should. After all, a good IoT platform should make it easier for people to use data, not harder. It should also be intuitive, so the user will use it to speed things up and not waste time learning or managing it. This text should give some context and possible ideas on how to use ThingsBoard more efficiently.
It needs to be said that ThingsBoard is not only a dashboard creator but an IoT center of operations. It collects data from sensors and hardware to make it easier for people to make good use of them. A good example would be hotels, industries, or construction sites.
ThingsBoard serves as a platform that can be run from a local device or an online cloud (AWS or Azure). It is also available as a service, which is an option ThingsBoard offers for users to rent. It focuses on external device interaction through pre-built functions and entities integrated at the code level. And that’s what makes it special, as it supports all the popular protocols like MQTT, HTTP, CoAP, or LwM2M.
It can give feedback or show alerts when something is out of order. It is used to define logic and rules. These trigger automatically based on gathered data, so users don’t have to identify issues themselves. This creates scenarios where a standard sensor becomes a determinant of whether a certain action should be done or not. For example, if the temperature drops to a fixed value, the system will show an alert and give feedback to the user. The user can then focus on other things rather than monitoring the changes all the time.
What is ThingsBoard used for?
As mentioned above, it is mostly used to allow employees not to focus too much on constantly checking the readings and data from IoT devices. But this is only the user perspective.
From a business perspective, it allows the employees to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. It helps cut the time spent on the initial analysis of the data collected and makes it easier to get the most out of it by filtering and highlighting the most important aspects whether it is by making a chart with filtered information or giving alerts on the spot when something planned or undesirable happens. It also should make it easier to navigate through the information, but it often fails due to a lack of user-friendly design.
From a developer’s standpoint, it’s more like the main operation center. This is the endpoint that makes use of the information, does the calculations, and interprets the data. It can change the approach to making a business “smart”. It allows the use of standard sensors instead of more sophisticated, custom-made PCBs that have some logic implemented on them.
The developer defines all entity types within the code so that users can physically add and assign new devices via the front-end. This architecture boosts scalability, allowing you to expand the operational area or integrate new measurement layers seamlessly. Additionally, the graphical interface empowers non-technical staff to manage the growing business; once the system is live, even a non-coder can implement simple rules without extensive training.
Advantages of ThingsBoard
Customization is the biggest advantage of ThingsBoard. It is possible to create custom layouts and widgets to make the look of the whole system suitable for its purpose. For example, if a customer is using the dashboard, it shouldn’t look like a series of Excel files. The main goal here is to design a dashboard that will meet the needs of the person using it. The system grants technicians full access to all data and charts, while automated logic triggers notifications the moment it detects drastic changes. In contrast, the platform provides receptionists with real-time product or service availability, intentionally filtering out unnecessary technical details.
The best example of making use of the customization possibilities is one of our previous blogs, where we described our process for changing a hotel’s system to match its look and spirit. Making it more appealing and easier to use, rather than being a barrier and an obstacle for the employees and guests.
Why are we using it?
Runs locally
One of the main strengths of ThingsBoard is the possibility of running it locally or through cloud services. It doesn’t force users to use the same servers as other companies, which heightens the security. And while it can be run in the cloud, it can be any service of choice, e.g., AWS. This is a big advantage when it comes to building systems for companies that have existing IoT platforms but want to replace them. It is also why we are so willing to use ThingsBoard, as it is highly flexible and can be implemented in most use cases.
Scalability
Scalability is the second advantage of ThingsBoard. It is fairly easy to create a system at the start of a business and then expand it later. Also, if the number of identical sensors increases, ThingsBoard can handle an enormous amount without issue. As long as entities are defined early with the final project in mind, implementing new sensors won’t be a problem.
Security
The security aspect is also worth mentioning here. ThingsBoard does a great job of isolating the data it receives. Authorization functions, both pre-built and custom, can be freely implemented at various stages. So while cloud isolation is a good first step, the data is also secured inside the system as well.
Multi-tenency
Multi-tenancy architecture is another good point for choosing ThingsBoard. The possibility of creating various dashboards tailored to the needs of a specific user is really important. As mentioned earlier, technicians, assistants, or sellers want to see different types of data and charts. Also, if at any point in time a person from outside the company were to view the dashboard, it is important not to show confidential data, so the dashboard has to differ from the one used by staff under contract.
Pre-built functions and entity types
Although ThingsBoard defines a set of pre-built functions and entity types, developers can still create custom types to fit unique requirements. These custom assets and widgets prove crucial for specialized projects or unconventional IoT environments.
Upgrading to ThingsBoard Professional Edition unlocks advanced customization, such as full white-labeling. While the Community Edition allows for basic logo and icon changes through technical workarounds, the Professional Edition simplifies this process significantly. The same logic applies to data filtering, chart styling, and sidebar integration: while the Community Edition requires custom code and specialized skills, the Professional Edition handles these tasks through an intuitive graphical interface.
How we used ThingsBoard in recent project? Case Study
We have implemented ThingsBoard in one of our recent projects. It was a custom-made system designed to make use of data collected by sensors on a construction site. Our client wanted a reasonably cost-effective system to manage three types of sensors and personnel working there with various access levels.
The types of sensors used on-site are pressure sensors and dual-axis accelerometers. To take a flexible approach, it was necessary to create a new type of entity that would inherit properties from a sensor the moment it connects to the system. That was a challenge, not only because the types of properties varied between different sensors, but because they also had to have their model as one of the variables. It was necessary to create an asset with all the models and their parameters as attributes of said asset. Rule chains were very useful while implementing this; they allow for simple aggregation of newly connected devices into their respective types.
That on its own wasn’t enough to finish the project, as the final goal was for users to see the sensors in a table format. However, ThingsBoard doesn’t allow displaying a table created as a parameter inside an asset, so a custom widget had to be developed as well.
What we achieved?
To differentiate access levels for various users, user groups were created. This allowed us to create a number of dashboards equal to the number of groups. In some cases, the same dashboard is set to more than one group, where only some widgets are disabled for one of them.
We ended up with a project that uses a lot of functions built by us because, even though ThingsBoard has a wide range of out-of-the-box solutions, they weren’t the right fit for us. This was mostly because the scope of the project was unique, and the solution had to be scalable to different types of construction sites.
Challenges with project
The physical layer presented the project’s greatest implementation challenge. We used loggers (data-sending boards) to manage various connected sensors. Although these sensors physically exist, the system treats them as virtual instances to ensure consistent recognition. Conversely, the system defines the loggers as the physical components installed within the buildings. While the dashboard displays both, the sensors merely identify their host logger, while the loggers handle the actual data transmission.
We chose this architecture to accommodate different device types and reduce costs. By utilizing boards as loggers rather than installing autonomous, signal-capable sensors, we lowered the overall budget. This setup allows us to swap sensors without configuring them as standalone devices. Furthermore, it cuts costs because these sensors function as board extensions and do not require independent communication protocols.
Conclusion
ThingsBoard serves as a perfect example of a versatile tool; it allows you to launch a working prototype in 30 minutes or engineer a highly sophisticated system with dedicated effort. While the platform has its native limits, it transforms into a developer’s sandbox once you master its core mechanics. In short: ThingsBoard offers a powerful, open-source IoT environment that remains customizable, secure, and compatible with numerous connection protocols.
Our team specializes in this platform. If you want to build a system that empowers your workforce, contact us today.
