From Concept to Showcase: Demonstrating IoT with InfluxDB
When InfluxData set out to demonstrate how its time series database could power Internet of Things (IoT) applications, the company envisioned more than just code samples — they wanted a complete, tangible IoT showcase that developers could relate to.
Their goal was to build an educational and demonstrative environment that showed how InfluxDB could collect, store, and visualize sensor data in real time. To make this vision reality, InfluxData partnered with Bonitoo.io — their long-term engineering partner trusted for technical precision and creative execution.
The First Step: A Weather Station for Developers
Bonitoo.io began with a simple yet powerful idea — a smart weather station. It was accessible enough for hobbyists and developers to build at home, yet technical enough to illustrate real-world IoT workflows.
We proposed the ESP32 microcontroller, a cost-effective and versatile IoT chip, as the foundation. Using the InfluxDB Arduino Client Library (which Bonitoo had previously developed for InfluxData’s open-source ecosystem), the weather station streamed temperature, humidity, and pressure data directly into InfluxDB 2.0.
To make it tangible, Bonitoo’s engineers even designed and 3D-printed the hardware enclosure, integrating a built-in display for live readings. The result was a hands-on device that developers could use to understand IoT data flow — from sensor to database to dashboard — in minutes.
Evolving into the IoT Center
Following the success of the weather station demo, Bonitoo took the concept further. The next step was to demonstrate industrial-scale IoT scenarios — multiple devices, complex data, and real-time visualization.
The result was the InfluxData IoT Center: a Node.js–based web portal designed for monitoring and managing IoT devices in real time.
The platform simulated virtual devices that communicated via MQTTS and WebSockets, sending live telemetry data into InfluxDB. On the frontend, Bonitoo developed an SVG-based dashboard — a dynamic, interactive map depicting a simple factory floor, where every device updated its status and measurements in real time.
This immersive experience allowed InfluxData to demonstrate the power of InfluxDB for IoT use cases — not just conceptually, but visually and interactively — during events, developer workshops, and product presentations.
Impact and Legacy
In 2022, the InfluxData IoT Center became a flagship showcase for InfluxDB’s IoT capabilities, bridging hardware, software, and real-time data visualization.
For Bonitoo.io, it was a project that combined engineering, design, and storytelling — showing how time series data can power the future of connected devices. Today, the IoT Center continues to inspire developers to build smarter, data-driven IoT systems using the InfluxDB ecosystem.