RAKWireless introduced the Wisblock IoT Modular System in 2020 to let developers easily create LoRaWAN IoT solutions with various core modules, baseboards, and sensor/IO modules. The company kept adding new Wisblock modules year after year, and there are now over 120 modules part of the Wisblock ecosystem.
While the large choice of modules makes designing IoT prototypes more flexible, customers often face challenges in checking compatibility and selecting the right modules for the right slots. That’s why RAKWireless has been working on web-based online designer tools for the Wisblock ecosystem. The first release is the Meshtastic Designer used to quickly configure and create their own Meshtastic devices from the module to enclosure, and place an order from there once the design is complete.
I’ve given it a quick try myself. I wanted a Meshtastic device with a display, a keyboard, a GNSS module, and an air quality sensor since the pollution levels in parts of Thailand are now quite high. With the right firmware, the kit would allow messaging, location sharing, and air quality level display.
Let’s go to the designer website, and select the features we need: Air Quality, Display, and GNSS. Sadly, a keyboard is not an option, so let’s skip that one. We can always use a smartphone connected to our kit. Click on Next to select the country and frequency band.
Clicking on Configure will automatically create an IoT prototype with various Wisblock modules. It takes a few seconds, and here’s the result I got. Meshtastic Designer will show a 3D view of the prototype, the selected modules with price information and a Purchase button on the left, and categories of Wisblock modules on the right in case we need to add something.
Let’s say I want to add an enclosure. So I click on “7 Enclosure” on the right section, and I’m presented with a list of enclosures and mounting plates, and the cases and plates that are incompatible (too small) are greyed out. I could drag and drop the compatible enclosure to the left section. I reckon it’s not ideal since I’m using a display, but let’s forget about this little detail for now.
You can delete the module you don’t think you need, and change the device functions. For example, I went back to display from “Display” to “E-Paper” since it may be more visible outdoors.
The resulting kit ended up without any display since the RAK14000 E-Paper module is not supported here. That’s disappointing, but at least it prevents people from buying compatible modules.
Clicking on Purchase will bring you to the RAKWireless store with all modules selected in the kit.
You’ll also need to develop the firmware using the RUI3 multi-target IoT development platform or directly with the MCU’s manufacturer SDK.
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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