Client Profile

The client operates as a business unit within a well-known manufacturing conglomerate and is recognized globally. This unit specializes in providing consumer security systems, including home lockers, alarm systems, surveillance cameras, and integrated security solutions. With a focus on innovation, their products have evolved to incorporate advanced technology that meets the increasing demands of customers.
Additionally, they supply security systems for banks and commercial establishments, exporting their products to approximately 45 countries worldwide, establishing themselves as a reputable name in the security sector.

Key Requirement

To fulfill their vision of being the preferred choice for comprehensive security solutions and leading in the security industry, the client recognized the need for agility.
Previously dependent on external vendors for technology, hardware, and software related to security camera products, they aimed to develop a scalable IoT backend on the Cloud. This would facilitate integration with various camera hardware, reduce vendor lock-in, and enhance control and functionality.
The client began experiencing positive outcomes with their subsidiaries that had adopted AWS Cloud services, partnering with Flentas to create a scalable cloud platform.

Major Challenges

Developing a highly scalable peer-to-peer (P2P) video streaming component using cloud technology for live camera feeds while moving away from traditional clientserver networking. Creating a standardized IoT backend platform to enable communication between mobile applications and cameras, along with web services for device management and app integration.

Our Approach

Recognizing the immense value of data in an era dominated by connected devices, the client understood that leveraging Cloud technology was essential for building their backend. Flentas collaborated with them to define and implement a robust IoT and video streaming architecture on AWS. The architecture involved two primary entities interacting with the backend: camera devices and mobile applications.
Camera devices connect to the internet via home Wi-Fi and are integrated with Kinesis Video Stream (WebRTC) service for live P2P streaming on mobile applications. AWS IoT Core was integrated with both camera devices and mobile applications using unique topics for direct communication via pub/sub mechanisms for control signal transmission. A web services layer was deployed for mobile applications alongside backend administration on the Fargate platform. AWS Cognito was utilized to implement OAuth-based API authentication and maintain a central user store.
The project required extensive collaboration between the client's IT team and Flentas' technical experts. Managed AWS services provided a scalable and highly available backbone solution in the Cloud.

Best Practices and AWS Services Utilized for Secure Data Flow Management

Integrated camera firmware with AWS SDK for Kinesis Video Streams (KVS) and IoT for effective communication. Provisioned device certificates assigned during initial bootup using Lambda functions and S3 signed URLs. Pre-attached device certificates were configured with policies that restricted access to AWS resources. Mobile applications received access to AWS IoT and WebRTC through temporary IAM tokens linked to specific cameras assigned to users. Applications subscribed to and published messages on designated topics for command/control message exchanges. Implemented user authentication via AWS Cognito, facilitating easy login/signup processes along with OAuth integration for Google, Facebook, and other social platforms. Developed the application tier using Spring Boot-based REST APIs deployed within Docker containers managed by AWS Fargate. Utilized Amazon RDS for relational data storage in the Cloud to enhance scalability. Employed DynamoDB and Kinesis to capture activity/event logs throughout the system for audit trails. Implemented IoT Rules and actions to monitor messages exchanged directly between camera devices and mobile applications.

Outcome of the project

Highly Scalable Architecture The expertise of Flentas in IoT solutions combined with skilled developers enabled the creation of a highly scalable architecture.

Enhanced Performance A serverless web service layer was established using managed container orchestration, resulting in improved performance metrics.

Reliable Security Management A well-managed MQTT Pub/Sub service was implemented alongside a robust security framework.

Reduced Infrastructure Operation Costs The WebRTC streaming service was fully managed, allowing on-demand scaling capabilities that led to decreased infrastructure operation costs.

Reduced time to market The client maintained a leading position in technological advancements by leveraging cutting-edge technology that facilitated rapid product launches. The technology platform built on AWS services provided necessary flexibility and expedited time-tomarket.

Overall Economic Project By adopting a serverless approach while building the streaming data backend with AWS support, cost-effective and reliable workflows were established. The project was successfully bootstrapped through collaboration among multiple stakeholders.

All Components and AWS Services Used

AWS IoT Core, AWS Kinesis Video Streams (WebRTC), AWS Fargate, Application Load Balancer (ALB), Amazon RDS (MySQL), Spring Boot REST APIs, AWS Cognito, AWS CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeCommit, Amazon DynamoDB, Kinesis for event logging.