A cloud is a group of IT services in the form of data storage, applications and servers, such as Microsoft Outlook, which are connected to each other in a network. Users can store their data on these, and have on-demand access to that data anytime and anywhere, irrespective of the device they are accessing it on; all that is required is an Internet connection. Additional storage space can easily be purchased without needing to change the access device. These cloud resources are usually accessed by the user via a website or app. Thus, all data can be stored centrally in one place.
The K900 and the cloud
Individual settings allow the K900 to automatically connect and directly communicate with the cloud when it is switched on. The robot sends status messages to the cloud at regular intervals, and stores the data there. This connection makes it possible for the user to manage the robot remotely and to view the cleaning logs, also known as missions. Users who have multiple robots can therefore manage the data of their entire fleet from one location.
Of course, the K900 also works without the cloud. However, one must then be within physical reach of the robot to access it. Those who do not want to connect the robot into the cloud network can connect to it either via a hotspot or a WLAN network at their location.
Security factors
To ensure the security of data transmission, communication between the K900 robot and the Cloud is secured via HTTPS. The abbreviation HTTPS stands for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure”, which translates to “Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol”. This protocol performs two functions:
- The communication and connection between the web client and the web server are encrypted. This is to prevent unauthorized third parties from reading the communication.
- The web server is authenticated by sending a certificate to the web client at the very beginning of the communication, which certifies the trustworthiness of the domain.
There are no perfect systems, however, with HTTPS, the security level on the device and the cloud is roughly comparable. In addition, a so-called “token”, a kind of secret, is stored on the robot, which is validated on the cloud side so that not just any person can send data to the cloud. This helps the robot to verify itself. Most security vulnerabilities still arise from human error.
