Mongoose OS - case study

iParcelBox Ltd. is a United Kingdom based technology company passionate about secure and simple parcel delivery solutions.
It has developed an iParcelBox - a smart, secure and simple parcel delivery solution which can be monitored and controlled from the customer’s smartphone.

Mongoose OS is used on the embedded ESP32 module and enables Wi-Fi Connectivity for the iParcelBox.

We run a short Q&A session with Paul Needler a CEO at iParcelBox Ltd to get his feedback on working with Mongoose OS, here are the main takeaways from it:

Q: What challenges did you encounter that required Mongoose OS?

A: We had developed a proof of concept using ESP32 with Arduino as a coding platform, however in order to commercialise our product we needed a commercially licensable tool that was not open source. With limited in-house coding ability we were not comfortable with starting from scratch with ESP-IDF, and were particularly looking for a tool that integrated fully with AWS IoT, whilst also providing us with the ability to rapidly develop, deploy and test our code.

Q: Can you share a little about why you choose Mongoose OS and the process that led there?

A: We found out about Mongoose OS from an AWS page which listed integration partners. What attracted us was the ease of implementation, the volume of libraries available and the engagement on forums both from Cesanta staff and the wider community. Before making the leap, we had great engagement from the Cesanta leadership to help us verify that our core requirements could be met by the Mongoose OS platform, among them:

Full encryption
Easy and flexible configuration of individual devices
Pre-built AWS IoT and SSL interfaces
Secure firmware updates via OTA
Access controls to prevent unauthorised settings changes / file access for deployed devices.

Q: What was it like integrating with Mongoose OS?

A: Despite having limited coding experience, it was pretty straightforward. The javascript layer makes the coding process quick and easy, and the developer guides on the website enabled us to progress fast.

Q: What changed for you after you integrated Mongoose OS?

A: Using Mongoose OS, we were able to rapidly develop and deploy an initial MVP (minimum viable product) for consumer trials, leading to further development and launch of our product to the market towards the end of 2019. The engagement with the Cesanta team and user community has enabled us to constantly develop and refine the product, adding new firmware/software features and improvements. As we’ve continued to learn and develop the product, we’ve also begun to migrate the firmware code from JavaScript across to C. The way Mongoose OS works has enabled us to run the firmware with both codes together, avoiding the need to re-write everything at once.

Q: What results can you share from your product performance / stability after Mongoose OS integration?

A: During 2020, our customers had over 15,000 successful deliveries to their iParcelBoxes across the UK. We’ve had a remarkably low number of failures - almost all due to hardware issues of our own making, and I’m pleased to say that despite some errors on our part with firmware updates, in every instance we’ve been able to find ways to use the capabilities of Mongoose OS to get the devices back online and updated remotely.

Q: Tell us more about the security of your product?

A: As should be the case for any IoT device, we take security very seriously – we went as far as getting the world experts at McAfee ATR in the US to undertake rigorous vulnerability testing of the iParcelBox hardware and firmware. Apart from a couple of “schoolboy errors” on our part which were immediately fixed, we passed with flying colours, and the team at McAfee were also very complimentary about MongooseOS.

Q: What you'd like others to know about working with Mongoose OS?

A: It may not be as well known as the bigger (usually open-source) platforms such as Arduino, but Mongoose OS is simple, incredibly powerful and a very viable solution for a large commercial product. As we’re not professional programmers, we rely heavily on the support of the Cesanta team and the wider community via the forums and gitter chat – it’s an invaluable resource for people who might be uncomfortable with making the leap to a new software tool.