IoT SDK overview

Agora's IoT SDK brings real-time audio and video engagement to smart devices with a lightweight design optimized for low-resource and battery-powered systems. Compatible with WebRTC and a wide range of chipsets, it supports seamless cross-platform development across mobile, PC, web, and smart displays. With robust performance in weak network conditions and integration with Agora’s real-time platform, it’s ideal for live streaming, remote control, and interactive IoT applications.

Use the IoT SDK to build lightweight, cross-platform apps for smart devices, from video doorbells to smart displays. Designed for low power consumption and exceptional network performance, it offers full compatibility with Agora’s RTC and Signaling platforms, simplifying development for interactive and reliable IoT solutions.

Built on Agora’s Software-Defined Real-Time Network (SDRTN®), the IoT SDK ensures high connectivity, low latency, and maximum stability even in challenging network conditions. Add real-time audio and video capabilities to smart devices with a small footprint, minimal power consumption, and seamless interoperability with Agora’s real-time platform and RTC SDKs.

Start building

SDK quickstart

Run the IoT SDK example project to stream audio and video.

Build from scratch

Integrate media streaming and Signaling into your own project, step by step.

Download SDKs

Get the latest IoT SDK package for your target device.

Authentication

Secure IoT SDK connections with tokens.

API reference

Explore IoT SDK API references and related integration surfaces.

Samples

Browse open-source sample projects for IoT workflows.

Product Features

Highly integrated

IoT SDK integrates both real-time communication and Signaling services, so you can easily develop features like live streaming and remote control at the same time.

Lightweight design

Designed for low-resource embedded systems, IoT SDK has a small package footprint as low as 400kB so you don’t have to worry about system resource usage.

Low power consumption

Based on low hardware requirements, IoT SDK works well with battery-powered devices like video doorbells.

Cross-platform

IoT SDK is compatible with RTC SDK for Web, and developers can build apps across platforms like mobile, PC, web, and smart displays like Amazon Alexa, without plugins, while supporting a wide range of chipsets and operating systems.

Excellent resistance to poor networks

With end-to-end algorithmic network optimization, IoT SDK provides smooth live streaming even in weak network environments.

Interoperable with the full Agora platform

IoT SDK is interoperable with other Agora products so you can easily build up the companion apps on iOS, Android, or any other platform.

Common use cases

Use case	Description
Broadcasting devices	Deliver real-time audio and video streams from IoT devices to multiple audience clients on mobile, web, or desktop platforms. Supports scenarios such as sports livestreaming, with synchronized features like timers, scoring, play-by-play information, and betting, connecting on-site devices with low-latency broadcast and interactive viewing services.
Real-time monitoring	Let users view live video from one or more cameras, view the same camera stream from multiple mobile devices, view multiple camera streams from one mobile device, and communicate with the camera through two-way audio.
Cellular smartwatches	Enable real-time audio and video calls between a low-power cellular smartwatch and a mobile application.
Remote control	Combine Signaling and real-time media capabilities to build remote control applications for smart devices, robots, cameras, and other connected hardware.

Core capabilities

Capability	Description
IoT SDK interoperability	Supports intercommunication between IoT SDKs using multiple audio and video encoding formats. See `audio_data_type_e` and `video_data_type_e`.
RTC SDK interoperability	Supports bidirectional intercommunication between IoT SDK and RTC Server SDK, RTC Native SDK, RTC third-party framework SDKs, and RTC Web SDK. See Communicate with RTC SDK.
Uplink bandwidth prediction and bitrate adaptation	Proposes target bitrate recommendations based on a bandwidth prediction algorithm, and reports whether to increase or decrease bitrate to boost throughput and avoid network congestion. See Adapt the sending bitrate.
Cloud Proxy connectivity	Supports connecting to Agora through networks with firewall or access restrictions. See Connect with Cloud Proxy.
Key frames	Supports requesting local key frames to improve encoding and decoding efficiency and reduce data storage footprint. See Send and receive key frames.
Stream state management	Supports flexibly starting and pausing local audio and video publishing and remote audio and video subscription, with status monitoring. See Manage stream state.
Multiple media formats	Supports multiple audio and video formats for different device and interoperability requirements, including G.711, G.722, Opus, and AAC audio, and H.264 and JPEG video. See Configure the audio codec.
Security and compliance support	Supports media stream encryption and geofencing to help protect media transmission and control where your application can connect. See Secure channel encryption and Restrict media zones.

Product performance

Metric	Specification
Package size	SDK integration adds less than 400 KB.
Memory usage	Less than 2 MB for simultaneous 320 x 240 H.264 stream transmission.
Connectivity rate	Greater than 99%.
Maximum bitrate	Up to 50 Mbps per channel, per user.
Network resilience	Imperceptible recovery under 50% packet loss.

Platform compatibility

IoT SDK supports Linux, HarmonyOS, and LiteOS devices. For a full list of supported architectures, operating system versions, and toolchains, see Supported platforms.