UniHiker review – A Linux-based STEM education platform with IoT and AI support, Micro:bit edge connector

UniHiker Review

DFRobot’s UniHiker is a STEM educational platform that was originally launched in China, but now UniHiker is now available worldwide through the DFRobot shop. The company has sent us a UniHiker sample for review, so let’s unpack the kit and learn how to use the UniHiker platform. The main component of the kit is the Linux-powered UniHiker board which features a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen display and a BBC Micro:bit edge connector, so we can use expansion boards for the Micro:bit board. Let’s start unboxing it together. UniHiker unboxing DFRobot sent us the UniHiker platform by DHL. The package is a familiar-looking DFRobot box in orange color and comes with a plastic box to safely store the UniHiker board and accessories after use. The plastic box contains another plastic box with the board, some 3-pin and 4-pin cables for Gravity ports, and a USB Type-C cable. The UniHiker is like a […]

SparkFun “Datalogger IoT – 9DoF” no code platform supports over 50 Qwiic sensor modules

SparkFun Datalogger IoT - 9DoF

SparkFun “DataLogger IoT – 9DOF” is an ESP32-based data logger board that transfers data to a microSD card or wirelessly to the cloud and comes with firmware that can automatically detect over 50 Qwiic modules without any programming required from the user making it a so-called “no code platform“. The board comes with a 9-axis IMU sensor + magnetometer, and two Qwiic connectors, and the data is stored in CSV or JSON formats on a microSD card or sent to IoT cloud platforms such as Amazon AWS IoT, Microsoft Azure, or Mathworks ThingSpeak using protocols like MQTT or HTTP. SparkFun “Datalogger IoT – 9DoF” specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32E: ESP32 dual-core microcontroller 4MB flash 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Sensors 6-axis IMU accelerometer & gyro (ISM330DHCX) Magnetometer (MMC5983MA) 2x Qwicc I2C connectors for additional sensors USB – 1x USB Type-C […]

SONOFF SNZB-02D review – A Zigbee temperature & humidity sensor with a 2.5-inch display

Sonoff SNZB-02D review

We’ve previously tested the SNZB-02 Zigbee temperature and humidity sensor with the SONOFF NSPanel Pro smart panel, but ITEAD has now launched the SONOFF SNZB-02D that integrated the same features plus a 2.5-inch display to visualize the data. They’ve sent us a SNZB-02 sample for review, so after listing the specifications we’ll test SONOFF’s latest Zigbee sensor with Home Assistant. SONOFF SNZB-02D specifications Display – 2.5-inch black&white display Connectivity – Zigbee 3.0 Sensors Temperature sensor with -9.9°C to 60°C range, ±0.2°C accuracy Humidity sensor with 5%—95%RH range, ±2%RH accuracy Battery – 3V CR2450 coin-cell battery good for about 2 years with a 5-second polling rate Dimensions – 62.5 x 59.5 x 18.5mm Material – PC Color: White Unboxing and first try We’ll find the sensor in the usual orange package used for Zigbee devices. The SNZB-02D sensor comes with a quick start guide and a pre-installed battery. Just pull the […]

EVerest is an open-source software stack for car charging stations

EVerest open source car charging station software

EVerest is a software project initiated by PIONIX GmbH, but now part of the Linux Foundation’s LFEnergy initiative, whose primary goal is to develop and maintain an open-source software stack for EV charging infrastructure. EVerest supports multiple standards and it will run on any device from AC home chargers to public DC charging stations. I noticed the EVerest project in an upcoming talk at the Embedded Open Source Summit 2023 entitled ” EVerest: Electric Vehicle Chargers With Open Hardware and Software” and whose abstract reads in part: You will learn how to build your own electric vehicle charger using open hardware designs in combination with the EVerest open-source software stack for EV charging infrastructure. Following a quick introduction to EV charging technology, with explanations of the standards, protocols, and complexities involved, the talk will go into a deep dive into how you can build your own AC charging station. Reference […]

PicoMQTT – An MQTT Client/Broker library for ESP8266 and ESP32

PicoMQTT ESP8266 MQTT Broker

PicoMQTT is a lightweight MQTT library for Arduino/PlatformIO optimized for ESP8266 and ESP32. It not only supports the MQTT Client mode like most existing solutions but also the MQTT Broker mode which transforms an ESP8266 or ESP32 board into an MQTT gateway replacing a Raspberry Pi board or an IoT gateway typically used for this task.

The library follows MQTT 3.1.1 specification, supports the publishing and consuming of arbitrary-sized messages, can deliver thousands of messages per second, and supports easy integration with the ArduinoJson library to publish and consume JSON messages.

ESP32 OpenMQTTGateway smart plug acts as an BLE MQTT gateway and a power meter

ESP32 BLE Gateway Power Meter

The Theengs Plug ESP32 smart plug runs OpenMQTTGateway firmware to serve as a BLE MQTT gateway and power meter compatible with Home Assistant, Homebridge, OpenHAB, DomoticZ, FHEM, Jeedom, NodeRed, AWS, and any MQTT-compatible IoT or Smart Home system. While the Matter standard should improve interoperability between Smart Home frameworks over time, there are still millions of devices already produced that are not Matter compatible, and the Theengs Plug aims to at least partially address this issue by helping users reduce the number of hubs required and have only one that supports different ecosystems. Theengs Plug hardware specifications: Microcontroller – ESP32 dual-core wireless MCU with 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity Network Protocol – MQTT Power Supply – 100-120VAC, 60Hz, up to 15A Dimensions – 103 x 61 x 34.6mm Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC ~ 40ºC; storage: -10°C ~ 50°C Humidity – 0%~95% (no condensation) Certification – UL Some […]

433 MHz is not dead! Using an ESP32 board with LoRa module to talk to 433 MHz sensors

RTL 433 to MQTT ESP32

CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Florian Robert (1technophile) of the OpenMQTTGateway project about using a 433 MHz LoRa transceiver on an ESP32 board for home automation, specifically to talk to 433 MHz sensors Everyone is talking about Matter, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Zwave, but before these complex communication technologies, we had one simple, robust one that our sensors and devices used to leverage: 433MHz. It may be too simplistic to talk about 433 MHz as a technology as there are different and various usages of this frequency. You can find it being used in numerous devices around your home, from your outdoor temperature sensors, and security sensors to the tire pressure sensors in your car. If we want to be specific, we can talk about the different radio frequencies (433 MHz, 915MHz, 868MHz, 315MHz, or 350MHz) and signal modulations OOK, ASK, FSK that we encounter behind the keyword 433MHz. […]

Giveaway Week – GL.iNet GL-S10 BLE to MQTT Gateway

GL.inet GL-S10 review

The sixth prize of this year’s Giveaway Week will be GL.iNET GL-S10 BLE to MQTT gateway based on the ESP32 microcontroller and offering Ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth LE connectivity. The gateway is used to gather data from Bluetooth LE devices such as beacons and can be used in warehouses, shopping malls, airports, exhibition halls, tourist attractions, etc… for personnel management, asset management, environmental monitoring, indoor navigation, and more. I reviewed the ESP32-based BLE to MQTT gateway with the provided BLE beacon at the end of last year using MQTT X open-source client and the GL-S10 Tool App for Android. It allowed me to send commands through MQTT topics, for example, to set or retrieve the beacon’s (WiFi) configuration, and receive the data through MQTT subscriptions. Some of the data include the MAC address, RSSI, ad (Broadcast data advData), and a timestamp. It took some effort to get it working, but […]

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