Most IoT projects today lean heavily on Python, C, or Node.js, and that’s fine. But during my recent academic paper selection process, I came across “The Benefits of Tierless Elixir/Potato for Engineering IoT Systems”, and it completely shifted how I think about building IoT architectures.

The paper raised a question that stuck with me:

why do we keep separating the logic, runtime and UI layers in IoT systems if functional, tierless architectures can unify everything?

That curiosity, combined with the influence of a professor(Adolfo Neto) who strongly advocates for functional programming and the BEAM, pushed me to test this idea in practice.

So I built a complete IoT prototype using Elixir, Circuits, Raspberry Pi, and Phoenix LiveView. And honestly? It felt like IoT the way it should be: supervised, fault-tolerant, reactive, and consistent from the edge to the dashboard.

The Prototype: What I Actually Built

My goal was simple:

Build an IoT system end-to-end using only Elixir, from the hardware to the backend.

That resulted in a two-part monorepo:

• A Raspberry Pi running Elixir (no Nerves this time, just Elixir Circuits)


• A Phoenix LiveView dashboard receiving sensor data in real time

The device communicates via Phoenix Channels/WebSockets, sending temperature, light level, and button events, while receiving commands to control a buzzer.

Architecture Overview

If a sensor process fails: only that process restarts.

If the network blips: the BEAM keeps the system stable.

If the dashboard disconnects: LiveView reconnects automatically.

This is where the “future feeling” starts to show.

Circuit Setup (Everything on the Pi4)

Hardware used:

• DS18B20 (1-Wire temperature sensor)


• LDR + Capacitor (for RC timing)


• Button (pull-up GPIO)


• Active buzzer + transistor

The LDR timing loop runs in a separate process so it doesn’t block WebSocket communication, a natural fit for the actor model.

Why Elixir Feels Like the Future of IoT

After building this, a few conclusions became obvious:

• The BEAM VM solves problems IoT devs fight daily


• Concurrency is natural, not bolted-on


• Fault tolerance is built-in


• Real-time dashboards require zero JS


• A single language from hardware to UI reduces mental load


• Tierless architectures aren’t just academic, they’re practical

This cohesiveness made the whole experience feel weirdly futuristic.

Not flashy.

Not hyped.

Just… right.

What’s Next?

• Implementing a Nerves firmware version


• Adding more sensors


• Testing distributed BEAM cluster of Pis


• Applying Potato tierless concepts end-to-end


• Publishing a deeper academic report

Elixir isn't mainstream in IoT, but maybe it should be.

This small prototype convinced me that a unified, functional, message-driven approach has the potential to dramatically simplify embedded systems.

If you're curious about IoT, the BEAM, or tierless architectures, give Elixir a try.

It might surprise you the same way it surprised me.

Try It Yourself

cd server

mix deps.get

mix phx.server

http://localhost:4000/dashboard

# Clone the repo on the rasp and:

cd rasp

mix deps.get

iex -S mix