Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud business unit of Amazon, has launched a new platform for theInternet of Things (IoT) that can help customers connect and manage applications through the cloud on a global scale.

Dubbed ‘AWS IoT’, the service makes it easy for devices including cars, turbines, sensor grids, light bulbs and more, to connect to AWS services so that the users can store, process, analyse, and act on the volumes of data generated by the connected devices.

It will allow factory floors, vehicles, health care systems, and household appliances among other ‘things’ to connect through cloud services, Amazon said.

Reuters cited Amazon chief technology officer Werner Vogels as saying that the beta version of the service will be available from 8 October.

The service will allow fast and lightweight connection to the cloud, making AWS IoT compatible with devices having limited memory, processing power, or battery life.

AWS IoT will enable customers to connect with each other’s devices as well, and ensure security of data and interactions.

It will even enable cloud applications to interact with connected devices when they are offline.

Amazon has not specified any minimum fees for the service, and customers will be charged as and when they use.

Prices for AWS IoT will be based on the number of messages exchanged with devices, with each message defined as a 512-byte block of data by Amazon.

The firm has agreed to offer 250,000 free messages to its customers every month for the initial 1 year period. Prices for every million messages start at $5, reports Reuters.