KinCony IoT’s KC868-A566 is an ESP32 WiFi & BLE IoT board with a massive 512 GPIOs, more specifically with 256 12V/24V digital outputs and 256 digital inputs that should meet most people’s requirements, except for its price, as it is currently selling for $1,000 on Aliexpress.
The board is based on ESP32-WROOM-32E, and besides the massive numbers of GPIOs, also adds four analog input ports, an Ethernet port, and an RS485 connector. The company also made sure it can run ESPHome open-source firmware and integrates well with Home Assistant open-source home automation framework.
KinCony IoT KC868-A566 board specifications:
- Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32E with
- ESP32 dual-core microcontroller
- 4MB flash
- 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna, fully compatible with ESPHome firmware
- Ethernet – 100/10Mbps Ethernet via vertical RJ45 jack
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port
- Serial – RS485 interface
- I/Os
- 256x MOSFET outputs (12V/24V 5000mA per channel) with 74HC595 serial to parallel chips
- 256x dry contact inputs with 74HC165 chips
- R485 and 4x analog inputs (2x 0-5V DC, 2x 4-20 mA) on 8-pin terminal
- Misc – LED for each GPIO, 2x buttons (Reset and Download)
- Power Supply – 12 to 24V via 2-pin terminal
- Dimensions – 505 x 105 mm; support for DIN Rail mounting
The company says you can program the board with your own Arduino source code for DIY home automation projects, but it also runs ESPHome or Tasmota for easy integration with Home Assistant as demonstrated in the video below. There’s also a support forum for all their KC868 controllers, and they are quite active on YouTube as well releasing about two videos per week about their products.
When thinking more about it, the $1,000 price tag for an ESP32 board with 512 GPIOs may not be that excessive because that’s less than $2 per I/Os, and could be useful to automate your house, factory, hotel, hospital, airport, etc…
Via Hackster.io
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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