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The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for Internet of Things Devices
Just a little more than two weeks ago Microsoft released their latest feature update for Windows 10 and now they are providing more details about the IoT version of the operating system.
5 Min Read
Microsoft is detailing the IoT features and enhancements that are part of the Fall Creators Update.
Over on the Microsoft Internet of Things blog, Rushmi Malaviarachchi, the company's Partner Group Program Manager for IoT, provides not only information about the new capabilities in this update but also previews scenarios to test continued development. Consider these scenarios to be an IoT-sized Windows Insider Program like the one which exists for business users.
According to Malaviarachchi, this update is significant because Microsoft has decided to provide a broader platform that will enable developers to produce IoT solutions that can then be iterated and delivered to customers much faster.
Here are some of the areas of improvements in the Windows 10 IoT Core Fall Creators Update:
Inking support updated to take advantage of DirectInk APIs which allow developers to add highlighting, pencil, and vector-based inking. Additionally, XAML controls for UWP apps have been added to support on-screen devices like rulers and protractors. Pen and touch can also now be used at the same time on compatible hardware.
Kiosk Mode already supports Assigned Access for devices and only allows those units to access one UWP app. In this update Assigned Access now allows access to more than one UWP app and even Win32 apps in this locked down option. This can now be remotely setup from the cloud as well.
Updated language support: Chinese (Simplified, China), English (United Kingdom), English (United States), French (France), French (Canada), Spanish (Spain, International Sort), and Spanish (Mexico).
Low level hardware checks and troubleshooting can now be performed using the Emergency Management Services rather than needing to build custom solutions. These checks work independent of the operating system.
User Mode Bus Access has been enabled in Windows IoT Enterprise using the Windows.Devices APIs. This feature is already turned on for Windows IoT Core. This will facilitate communications between hardware devices that use GPIO, I2C, SPI, and UART busses.
Additional support for IoT systems such as Point of Sale devices and their customer facing displays has been added to customize their appearance including cursor style, brightness, blink rate, and character sets. You can also access custom glyphs, transaction descriptors, and marquee mode for scrolling text.
The new Device Management Client has been released which will connect with Azure IoT Hub and allow you to manage your Windows 10 IoT Core devices via the cloud.
During the continued development of Windows 10 IoT Core Fall Creators Update the following two preview scenarios are available for customers:
We’ve enabled support for hosting Nano Server containers [Preview] at the edge on 64-bit editions of Windows 10 IoT Core and Enterprise. Using containers, applications and their data can be isolated from each other and quickly moved from development to production, or from the cloud to the edge. This can improve application security and reliability as well as accelerate deployment by integrating with popular DevOps toolchains.
Windows 10 IoT Core now offers support for Windows Device Health Attestation [Preview]. This feature allows management systems to leverage a trusted service to verify the device’s health state for reporting or even for protecting access to remote resources.
One last thing - the integration between Windows 10 IoT and Azure IoT has been simplified:
Azure IoT Edge on Windows 10 IoT [Preview] allows IoT solutions to orchestrate intelligence between the cloud and edge devices to ensure applications and services can act on IoT data wherever it makes the most sense. This program is currently in preview – sign up to receive the latest information on the preview program and visit the Azure IoT Edge page on GitHub for technical information.
Using the Azure IoT Hub Device Provisioning Service [Preview], Windows 10 IoT devices can be manufactured with a common image and configured to connect automatically at first boot to Azure IoT Hub to retrieve device-specific provisioning information. The Device Provisioning Service is designed to support millions of devices, enabling the provisioning of large scale deployments in a secure and consistent manner and automating what historically has been a complex and time-consuming process.
For more details on creating your own IoT solutions based on Windows 10 visit Microsoft's Windows 10 On Devices blog.
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