Online Course – Certified Professional Specialization in the Internet of Things and AI Cloud Specialization from the University of California San Diego

Build your own Internet of Things. Learn how to create Internet of Things products and services in six courses.

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Professional Certificate

Intermediate level

No prior knowledge required

Time to complete the course

7-day free trial

No unnecessary risks

Skills you will acquire in the course

  • Data analysis skills
  • Understanding research methods
  • Using statistical software
  • Problem-solving ability
  • Communication skills
  • Critical thinking
  • Teamwork
  • Time management
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Performances and working with computers

What you will learn in the course

Courses for which the course is suitable

  • IoT Engineer
  • Smart systems developer
  • Sensing and Actuation Expert
  • IoT Communications Engineer
  • IoT product developer
  • Internet of Things Project Manager
  • IoT Data Processing Specialist
  • IoT application developer

Expertise – Series of 6 Courses

This specialization deals with the development of products and services in the Internet of Things (IoT) – including sensing, actuation, processing and communication devices – to help you develop skills and experience that you can use in designing new systems.

Course structure

  • Theoretical parts
  • Practical parts
Practical parts
  • Learning practical concepts in the field of IoT such as:
    • sense
    • activation
    • communication

Final project

In the final project, developed in collaboration with Qualcomm, you will apply the skills you have learned to a project of your choice using the DragonBoard 410c platform.

Details of the courses that make up the specialization

Internet of Things: How did we get here?

Course 1 • 20 hours • 3.9 (1,113 ratings)

Course Details
What you’ll learn

It’s hard to imagine life without your smartphone—you rely on it so much—for work, to keep in touch with family and friends, to capture and share special moments, and to navigate a new neighborhood. Have you ever wondered how and why that happened? Or how and why GPS sensors got into your cell phone?

In this course, we will explore the connection between several fields that brought us to today’s smartphones. You will learn about the birth and development of telephone networks, broadcasting networks (television and radio), and consumer electronics. We will discuss the impact of the Internet, content (multimedia), smartphones, and applications on our daily lives. We will then examine how this emerging platform, called the Internet of Things – where billions and trillions of devices communicate with each other and with the “cloud” – can enable innovative and extraordinary products and services.

Take this course if you want to understand what new advancements are on the way for products that enable mobile technology!

Learning objectives:

This course provides a foundational foundation for how science and technology have evolved to enable the Internet of Things—in a way that is appropriate for every learner. For those interested in developing practical expertise in design and development for the Internet of Things, this course will provide context for the discoveries and hardware technologies that will drive the next round of innovation. After completing this course, you will discover how to:

  • Compare how the telephone system works (i.e., corner networks) versus how media delivery works (i.e., broadcast/multicast networks).
  • Explain the advantages and disadvantages between Circuit Switched Networks (i.e., dedicated resources) and Packet Switched Networks (i.e., shared resources).
  • Tell interesting stories about key innovations that transformed the media, entertainment, and consumer electronics industries.
  • Explain how email, YouTube, SMS, etc. work.
  • Find sources for those interested in taking a “deep dive” on the above topics.

Internet of Things V2: Enabling DragonBoard™ and the Community Ecosystem

Course 2 • 20 hours • 3.7 (34 ratings)

Course Details
What you’ll learn

Want to develop skills in prototyping integrated products using advanced technologies? In this course, you will build a hardware and software development environment that will guide you on your path through the IoT specialization courses. We will use the DragonBoard™ 410c tablet. This is the first course in a series where you will learn both the theory and hands-on practice required to prototype IoT products. The course is suitable for a wide range of learners.

This course is for you if:

  • You will want to learn how to use Linux for mixed purposes.
  • You would like to change direction in your career to design and develop products that enable the Internet of Things.
  • Are you an entrepreneur, innovator, or member of the DIY community?
Learning objectives:

After you complete this course, you will be able to:

  • Know where to find resources and help in the 96Boards ecosystem.
  • Describe the DragonBoard™ 410c’s scope, I/O expansion capabilities, processing capabilities (CPU and graphics), and connectivity capabilities.
  • Understand how to navigate and use the Linux command line interface.
  • Set up at least one integrated development environment (IDE) for software development.
  • Use Git and GitHub for version control purposes.
  • Create and build projects that connect to sensors and actuators via GPIO and Arduino.

Internet of Things V2: Establishing and Using Cloud Services

Course 3 • 10 hours • 4.7 (38 ratings)

Course Details
What you’ll learn

Have you wondered what exactly AWS is and why it’s important? Do you want to make informed design decisions about which services to use? Do you want to gain expertise to leverage the cloud for your projects?

In this course, you will learn how to connect to the AWS cloud. Then, you will develop software to send data to and receive data from the cloud. Along the way, you will learn how to build your project using a variety of different services.

Learning objectives:

After you complete this course, you will be able to:

  • Understand what the cloud is and how it works.
  • Install and configure the AWS CLI and SDK on a Linux system.
  • Use various AWS services such as EC2, IoT, and more.
  • Build projects that are incompatible with cloud infrastructure.
  • Integrate the cloud into integrated systems.

Internet of Things: Communication Technologies

Course 4 • 5 hours • 4.6 (492 ratings)

Course Details
What you’ll learn

Have you ever wondered how “things” talk to each other and to the cloud? Do you understand the alternatives for transmitting real-time data versus reliable signaling data? Building on the skills from the Sensing and Manipulation course, we will explore the protocols for exchanging information between processors. In this course, you will learn how VoIP systems like Skype work and implement your own application for voice calls and text messages. You will start by using the SIP protocol for managing meetings. Then, you will learn how voice codecs like AMR are used in 3G networks and use them for voice traffic in your application.

Learning objectives:

After you complete this course, you will be able to:

  • Implement session initiation, management, and termination on your DagonBoard™ 410c using SIP.
  • Discover other users and exchange device capabilities.
  • Compare and contrast wideband and narrowband codecs and experience the differences in sound quality between them.
  • Implement and demonstrate VoIP calls using the DagonBoard 410c.

Internet of Things: Multimedia Technologies

Course 5 • 5 hours • 4.6 (297 ratings)

Course Details
What you’ll learn

Content is a prime example of the features that have contributed to the success of wireless internet. Mobile platforms such as the Snapdragon™ processor include specialized hardware and software capabilities that streamline the acquisition, processing, and presentation of multimedia content efficiently and cost-effectively. In this course, you will learn the principles of video and audio codecs used for media content on iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Netflix, and more. You will learn about file formats and codec settings to optimize media quality and bandwidth, and apply them to the development process of a basic media player application.

Learning objectives:

After you complete this course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the pros and cons between media quality and bandwidth for content delivery.
  • Extract and display metadata from media files.
  • Implement and prototype a simple media player application using the DragonBoard™ 410c.

Internet of Things: Final Project V2 – Building a Mobile Tracking System

Course 6 • 4 hours • 4.7 (11 ratings)

Course Details
What you’ll learn

In the final project of the Internet of Things specialization, you will design and build your own system that uses at least two sensors, one communication protocol and, of course, one actuator. You will have the opportunity to test and apply what you have learned from our courses to achieve a project that is durable, practical and fun. We encourage you to design whatever you want! This is your chance to be creative or explore an idea you have in mind. If you do not have your own idea, we provide a description of a surveillance system that you can build.

We will collaborate with you on the final project by building a surveillance system that features a solar-powered field station, which will serve as a hub for several surveillance sensors.

You will demonstrate the knowledge and skills you have gained in this course by submitting industry-appropriate documents such as system design documents and unit test reports. In addition, you will be asked to describe and present your project as a short video session – suitable for demonstrating your knowledge and technical communication skills.

Learning objectives:

After you complete this final project, you will be able to:

  • Design systems using mobile platforms. You will gain experience in documenting and presenting designs.
  • Develop systems that connect multiple sensors and actuators to the DragonBoard™ 410c system and develop the software required to create a fully functional system.
  • Define unit tests and system tests, run tests, and prepare test reports as engineers in the industry typically do.
  • Gain experience (and input!) in delivering technical presentations.