There are now plenty of Espressif ESP8266 boards or module to play with, but most of them require some cables or wires, at least for power. WiThumb does not need any of that as it’s designed to be plugged into any USB ports, and includes a 6-axis motion sensor, and a temperature sensor.
WiThumb USB dongle specifications:
- SoC – Espressif ESP8266 32-bit MCU with 802.11b/g/n WiFi
- Storage – 4MB Flash memory
- Sensors – Temperature sensor (+/- 0.25C typical accuracy, -40 to 125 C range), 6-axis gyroscope + accelerometer
- Expansion – Breadboard friendly through holes with 1x 10-bit ADC, I2C and 4x GPIOs
- USB – USB type A connector
- Misc – Reset and flash buttons
- Power – 5V via USB port
- Dimensions – 4.8 x 2.2 cm
The USB stick can be programmed like most ESP8266 board, i.e. via USB using the Arduino IDE.
In case you wonder what kind of application it could be useful for, the developer has come up with a few ideas including an Internet connected thermometer, an IMU (Inertial measurement unit) for drones and robots, home/office security (using motion sensors), IoT gateway,WiFi sniffer,Monitor or TV usage logging, driving habits logger (with accelerometer), and many others with you augment the USB stick capabilities through I2C, GPIO or ADC.
As many other projects, WiThumb has gone to Kickstarter to get funds for mass production, and has almost reached its lowly $2,000 funding target. A $19 pledge should get you WiThumb, but you may want to add $3 more to get the plastic case too, and there are rewards with multiple WiThumb. Shipping adds $4 to the US, and $10 to the rest of the world for one unit, and only a little more if you purchase several units. Delivery is scheduled for November 2016, except the “developer’s deal” reward (September 2016). You may also want to checkout hackarobot.com for info about previous projects by the developer, and access to support forums.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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