• State of IO 02.19.20

    Iostats

    adafruit.io has 308,729 total users, however! Here are the most recent stats from the last 30 days which is a pretty good picture!

    • USERS ACTIVE (last 30 days): 16,656
    • USERS ADDED (last 7 days): 1,989
    • FEEDS: 458,270
    • FEEDS CREATED (last 7 days): 5,535

    In the last 30 days adafruit.io inserted over 789 million records. There are about 18 million background jobs per day and about 4,200+ MQTT connections active 24/7. IFTTT, Adafruit’s week in review: February 10 – February 16

    • Service connections: +594, all-time 65,733
    • Applet runs: +1,340,267, all-time 201,663,200
    • Applets turned on: +1,627, all-time 151,161
  • Adafruit IoT Monthly: Physical Event Notifiers, Particle deprecates Particle Mesh and More!

    IoT Projects

    All-in-One MQTT Home Automation Remote

    MQTT Remote

    serverframework built a WiFi “MQTT remote” with an ESP8266. Pressing a button triggers a function to send a MQTT message to a Home Assistant listener. - serverframework blog

    Kinetic Courier, Physical Event Notifier

    Kinetic Courier

    Something happened? Ring a bell, wave a flag, light some lights! A physical notification platform for IoT events. - hackster.io

    Alexa-controlled Adam Savage Pumpkin with IFTTT and Adafruit IO

    Alexa Pumpkin

    minihannah built an Alexa-controlled pumpkin which uses a combination of Adafruit IO and IFTTT to trigger lights connected to an Adafruit Feather M0 WiFi. - adafruit blog

    Internet Monster

    Internet Monster A cute monster that repeats what the internet says. What could possibly go wrong! - instructables

    PyPortal MQTT Sensor Node/Control Pad for Home Assistant

    PyPortal MQTT

    Richard Albritton wrote a guide about how to take IoT to the next level with this MQTT powered Super Sensor with an Adafruit PyPortal. - Adafruit Learning System

    Physical Test Controller with TreeJS, Socket.io and CircuitPython

    MQTT Web Controller

    @makerschmitz is building a physical controller with a web interface. You can watch it in-action on Twitter.

    IoT News and More!

    Particle deprecates Particle Mesh, discontinuing Particle Xenon

    Particle CEO Note

    Particle has announced today that they are discontinuing development of Particle Mesh, their OpenThread-based mesh networking solution, and will no longer be manufacturing their associated Xenon development board.

    Particle states they ran into two barriers which kept them from delivering on the promise with Particle Mesh:

    • Mesh networking, while a compelling technology, is extremely complex, and trying to make it “just work” with zero configuration for all customers in all environments just wasn’t feasible. As a result, the experience of Particle Mesh doesn’t live up to the standard that we set for ourselves with our other products.
    • It turns out that, for most of our customers, 802.15.4 mesh networking seems to not have been the right technology in the first place; most customers would be better off using Bluetooth Low Energy (which we will continue to invest in) or a sub-GHz radio like LoRa (which can be added to Particle through third-party accessories).

    See Particle’s full announcement and learn How to use Xenon with CircuitPython.

    Testing CircuitPython on Teensy 4.0 – IoT made easy IoTeensy

    IoTeensy

    CircuitPython has landed on the NXP iMX RT1062. We threw together a quick IoT project which uses the AirLift FeatherWing to fetch inspirational quotes from Adafruit’s quote service and displays them on an OLED FeatherWing. - Adafruit Blog

    The World’s First LoRa SoC: STM32WL

    LoRa STM32WL

    STMicroelectronics announced the launch of the STM32L, the world’s first integrated LoRa System-on-a-Chip (SoC). This is the first silicon which integrates a microcontroller and a sub-GHz radio, previously two separate modules. - CNX Software

    Arduino Portenta H7

    Arduino H7 Pro

    Arduino released a new Pro line at CES 2020 with a new flagship board - the Portenta H7. This board contains a STM32H747, Murata 1DX dual WiFi 802.11b/g/n 65 Mbps and Bluetooth 5.1 BR/EDR/LE, Secure Element (NXP SE0502), and a GPU (Chrom-ART graphical hardware Accelerator).

    Use-cases for this $99 board include “high-end industrial machinery, labratory equipement, computer vision”, and machine learning. - Arduino.cc

    WeMos W600-PICO

    WeMos W600

    WeMos released a new board for $2.10 USD plus shipping. The CPU is a Winner Micro W600 ARM Cortex-M3 WiSoC and the board is pre-loaded with MicroPython. - CNX Software

    OTA Device Firmware Updates for NRF52 Processors

    NRF52 OTA Firmware

    Mohammad Afaneh on NovelBits posts about updating the internal firmware on internet of things (IoT) devices via Bluetooth. - novelbits

    Pocket-Sized ESP32 with 300uW Display

    Pocket ESP32

    A pocket-sized ESP32 with a 300uW SHARP Memory LCD. - Hackaday.io

    ESP-AHT-10

    ESP-AHT 10

    A minimalist ESP temperature sensor which you can plug into your USB port. Designed with KiCAD, the board files are open source and available on GitHub

    Adafruit IoT Updates

    All the Internet of Things Episode 6: Digi-Key IoT Studio

    All the IoT Digi-Key

    Adafruit and Digi-Key have teamed up to present All the Internet of Things – a six-episode series covering everything you could ever want to know about the Internet of Things.

    We are very excited to release the final episode, which incorporates all the different subjects discussed in previous episodes, and shows off this incredible resource: Digi-Key IoT Studio.

    Unlike most other IoT platforms, Digi-Key IoT Studio is code-less — all sensor interaction and storage is done automatically by the drag-and-drop IDE. You don’t need to install toolchains, code editors or compile any code on your computer! Digi-Key Studio runs in your web browser, handles all aspects of developing an internet of things project, and even compiles your code remotely.

    Watch the full video or check out this guide to get started now.

    Free Year of Adafruit IO+ with the GitHub Student Developer Pack

    GitHub Education Great news for students! Adafruit is part of the GitHub Student Developer Pack!

    If you are a student and have joined (details here), all you need to do is log in to your adafruit.com account, click Services, then GitHub, and click connect! The discounts and free adafruit.io plus are waiting for you, it’s that simple!

    What is Adafruit IO?

    Adafruit.io has over 16,000+ active users in the last 30 days and 930+ Adafruit IO Plus subscribers. Sign up for Adafruit IO (for free!) by clicking this link. Ready to upgrade? Click here to read more about Adafruit IO+, our subscription-based service. We don’t have investors and we’re not going to sell your data. When you sign up for Adafruit IO+, you’re supporting the same Adafruit Industries whose hardware and software you already know and love! You help make sure we’re not going anywhere by letting us know we’re on the right track.

  • Adafruit IoT Monthly: Learning from IoT Projects, Adafruit Joins the LoRa Alliance, Ring Ransoms, and more!

    IoT Projects

    Face Tracking and Identification with Walle-ng

    OpenCV Robot

    Anton built a robot inspired by the Pixar Movie Wall-E. If a face is detected (using the OpenCV Facial Recognition Demo), activity is logged and a notification is sent to an Amazon Web Service API Gateway and distributed as an SMS by AWS’s Simple Notification Service. - Hackster.io

    Data Logging Zero to Hero with CircuitPython and MQTT

    CircuitPython MQTT

    Robin Cole published a tutorial which navigates through the basics of creating a CircuitPython temperature logging device. First, you use the Mu editor to plot your data and verify it’s correct. Then add WiFi Connectivity using a local MQTT broker and CircuitPython’s MiniMQTT module. Finally, add an MQTT sensor to Home Assistant so the data is graphed on a web dashboard. - Hackster.io

    ISS-Tracking Globe Lamp

    Globe

    This project uses an Open Notify API notification called ISS Location Now to track the International Space Station. A WeMos D1 grabs and parses the data. Then it tells a servo where to place a laser-pointer on a 3D-printed globe. - Instructables

    Disaster-Radio - an off-grid, solar-powered mesh network

    Disaster Flowchart

    disaster.radio is a work-in-progress long-range, low-bandwidth wireless disaster recovery mesh network powered by the sun.

    What I Learned Building an Indoor Air Quality Monitor with Adafruit IO

    AQ Monitor

    There are lessons to learn from every electronics project. Even a sensor node can quickly become complicated. Andy Bradford wrote up his experience (and provided free, open source code on GitHub) in building a logging platform. - Andy Bradford

    PyPortal Voice Controlled Smart Switch and Time Display

    PyPortal Smart Switch

    We’ve written about this project in a previous IoT Monthly before, but it was only a sneak preview. The PyPortal Voice Controlled Smart Switch and Time Display is now on the Adafruit Learning System as a guide - Adafruit Learning System

    Sending Arduino Data to Google Sheets using the Google Cloud Platform

    Arduino Google IoT

    Building an Arduino sketch to send data to Google Sheets using the Google Cloud Platform. - DZone

    IoT News and More!

    Adafruit joins the LoRa Alliance

    Adafruit LoRa Alliance

    Adafruit is thrilled to announce that we have joined the LoRa Alliance! I asked Ladyada why we joined this alliance…

    “Humans have done a great job of connecting people in dense populations like cities or buildings – WiFi and Cellular are ubiquitous technologies that connect people, machines and sensors. The future is to connect people wherever they are, and that’s where LoRa has so much promise. We think LoRa and LoRaWAN are the best way to solve last-mile connectivity for Industrial and Agricultural IoT” – Limor “Ladyada” Fried.

    Read the full blog post here…

    Ring Cameras are Ransomed

    Ring Camera

    December 2019 was the month of Ring insecurity. First, videos appeared where hackers spoke to families through their Ring cameras: “We would like to notify you that your account has been terminated by a hacker.” The voice then says, “Pay this 50 bitcoin ransom…”.  Ring asserted that their investigation found that the family used an email/password combination which was exposed in an unrelated data breach. @fs0c131y on Twitter did a deep-dive into Ring’s iOS/Android application. They found the application to leak geographic details of cameras through their API, Ring does not require authentication for video/photo alerts and the application does not implement rate-limiting for logging in. It’s likely that hackers are running automatic bots against the login with exposed usernames/passwords from previous breaches.

    FBI releases a statement for building a digital defense for the Internet of Things

    FBI Press Release

    The FBI has suggested network security measurements for those with IoT devices on their network. In short: change factory settings/passwords, isolate IoT devices to their own network, and update your devices regularly. - FBI

    LoRaWAN and Wi-Fi: Made for Each Other

    WiFi and LoRaWAN

    Remi Lorrain wrote that “WiFi and LoRaWAN work well together as an end-to-end solution in IoT applications and more.” - EETimes

    Project Connected Home over IP: an Open Standard for Smart Home Devices

    Project Connected Home

    Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance and board members form a working group to develop an open standard for smart home devices - Project Connected Home

    Ikea’s 2020 Smart Home Lineup is Unveiled

    Ikea Smart Home App

    Ikea is planning on barreling into the smart-home area in 2020 with new bulbs, products and even a ZigBee gateway. - TheVerge

    DZone’s IoT Predictions for 2020

    DZone IoT 2020 Stock Photo

    Dzone published their 2020 IoT predictions, among them are: the edge gets smarter, evolving networks and protocols, AI Smart Homes connected to ISPs, increases in DIY Home Security installations, more hard-lined policies for BYOD, and new flexible electronic materials. - Part 1 and Part 2

    The 2019 State of Responsible IoT Report

    Responsible IoT Report

    “With ThingsCon, we have devoted ourselves to working towards a ‘responsible IoT’. But what does that look like in the light of Surveillance Capitalism? With this years ‘responsible IoT Report’ – RioT for short – we wanted to find out.” - ThingsCon

    HackADay SuperConference Talk on YouTube: Basic Device Security for Basic Needs

    HackADay Talk Screenshot from Youtube

    Kerry Sharfglass remarks that “In our IoT-ified world, device security is more important than ever, but not every hardware product needs to be secured like an ATM inside a missile. I will discuss basic design practices and implementation tricks which are easy to incorporate into your product and provide a solid baseline of security against casual adversaries.” - YouTube

    Five Reasons to Upgrade to MQTT 5

    MQTT 5 Spec Screenshot

    The latest version of the IoT’s favorite stateless protocol has been out for a while. Here are five reasons to upgrade to it - IoTforAll

    Actinus Environmental Sensor FeatherWing Released

    Sensor Featherwing

    Actinius’ Environmental Sensor FeatherWing measures temperature, humidity, pressure, and air quality. The Feather-compatible environmental sensor add-on also includes a Grove connector for use with any I2C-compatible microcontroller. It’s available for purchase from the actinius website and is in-stock at the time of writing.

    OpenMV Cam H7 Plus

    OpenMV Cam H7 Plus

    The OpenMV Cam is a small, low power, microcontroller board which allows you to easily implement applications using machine vision in the real-world. You program the OpenMV Cam in high level Python scripts (courtesy of the MicroPython Operating System) instead of C/C++. It’s currently in-production and will be in stock by March 2020. - OpenMV

    Adafruit IoT Updates

    New Adafruit IO Feature: Kiosk Mode for Dashboards

    Kiosk Mode

    Adafruit IO Dashboards have a new “kiosk mode” URL that will launch the dashboard in a “no browsing mode” without any of the surrounding page. This is super-handy if you’re designing an exhibit or would like to use a Raspberry Pi + HDMI Display to monitor your Adafruit IO Feeds. Read our blog post to learn how to enable this feature on your dashboard right now…

    New PyPortal Sizes: Meet the PyPortal Pynt and the PyPortal Titano

    PyPortal Family Picture

    The PyPortal is our easy-to-use IoT device that allows you to create all the things for the “Internet of Things” in minutes. Adafruit has released the PyPortal Pynt, the little sister to our popular PyPortal - zapped with a shink ray to take the design from a 3.2” diagonal down to 2.4” diagonal screen. We’ve also released the PyPortal Titano, with an ATMEL (Microchip) ATSAMD51J20 plus an Espressif ESP32 Wi-Fi coprocessor with TLS/SSL support built-in. PyPortal Titano has a bigger 3.5″ diagonal 320 x 480 color TFT with resistive touch screen. Compare that to the original PyPortal’s 3.2” 240x320, there are twice the number of pixels! Also, Adafruit has updated the connector to be a reverse-friendly USB C connector.

    Build a Mini Smart Home with the Smart Home Kit for Digi-Key IoT Studio

    DigiKey Home Kit

    Automate your own adorable, IoT-enabled papier-mâché house. The small size of this build lets one explore wiring, user interaction, and firmware deployment without having to get a ladder out. After building this project, you can re-purpose it for your home or apartment. We’ve specifically selected components and sensors which are common in real-world IoT projects. You can also go further with this project, adding sensors to monitor different rooms in your home. Visit the product page for this kit on the Adafruit Website…

    What is Adafruit IO?

    Adafruit.io has over 14,000+ active users in the last 30 days and 880+ Adafruit IO Plus subscribers. Sign up for Adafruit IO (for free!) by clicking this link. Ready to upgrade? Click here to read more about Adafruit IO+, our subscription-based service. We don’t have investors and we’re not going to sell your data. When you sign up for Adafruit IO+, you’re supporting the same Adafruit Industries whose hardware and software you already know and love. You help make sure we’re not going anywhere by letting us know we’re on the right track.

  • Adafruit IoT Monthly: Machine Learning 101, PWNing the ESP32, and more!

    IoT Projects

    Running ML on Particle Hardware, ML 101

    Tensorflow Lite now runs on newer Particle devices! Brandon Satrom published a very detailed tutorial about running TFLite on Particle devices. - Particle

    Do your chores or else I’ll cut off the internet!

    AccidentalRebel is creating a device “that monitors and logs if my kids have done their chores and daily tasks. If not, their devices won’t have access to the internet.”. When their chores for the day are complete, their device will automatically re-connect them to the internet. - Hackaday.io

    ESPRing Clock

    ESPRing is a NeoPixel ring with an onboard ESP module. The ESP connects to WiFi and fetches the NTP time. - Hackaday.io

    AutoHome - Universal Home Automation with Raspberry Pi

    rirozizo is building a home automation system powered by a Raspberry Pi “to remotely control any possible home appliances without the use of proprietary hardware and apps”. They’re using the (free) Adafruit IO service as the MQTT broker and for data visualization. - Github

    Voice-Controlled PyPortal Smart Switch

    Dan the Geek is improving their PyPortal-based Smart Switch. They connected it to Adafruit IO’s IFTTT integration so they can turn a light on or off using voice commands over Alexa or Google Assistant. - Twitter

    Evaluating Motion Sensors, Microwave v.s. PIR

    Akarush wrote a detailed log of his evaluation for two motion sensors - a RCWL-0516 and a PIR motion sensor. The results? Each sensor has unique advantages and disadvantages. - Hackaday.io

    Bluetooth-based Costume Props using Arduino and ESP32

    Juan Carlos Jiménez hosted a costume party and integrated their costume with the house decorations. This BLE-powered costume prop is spooky. - JCJC-Dev

    RGB Weather Strip

    This RGB LED Strip changes color based on the weather forecast outside. - Hackaday

    Code-less IoT Projects with Node-RED on Raspberry Pi

    Les Pounder posted a tutorial about using the Node-RED development tool…

    Node-RED is an awesome tool and anyone, yes anyone can make something with it. All you need is a web browser and a device with Node-RED. Node-RED uses JavaScript syntax, but we do not have to write any code, rather we link nodes together.

    Around the Internet - IoT News

    PWNing MBEDTLS on ESP32

    LimitedResults found vulnerabilities with the ESP32 which allows an attacker to compromise the cryptographic library on the ESP32, MbedTLS. It’s important to note that an adversary will need physical access to the ESP32 module as it’s been compromised using a voltage-glitching attack. While this doesn’t impact hobbyists, it is a an attack on the hardware module (you can not roll out new software to patch it). If you have an ESP32 module in the field, it is potentially vulnerable to this type of attack, given an attacker’s resources and time. It looks like Espressif is following this report. They tweeted after ESP32 was pwned a couple of months ago: “We have upgraded the hardware; stay tuned for ESP32v3 with improved security and performance!”. We are unsure if this impacts the ESP8266 or the upcoming ESP32-S2 module.

    Adafruit joins the Zephyr Project

    The Zephyr Project is a scalable real-time operating system (RTOS) supporting multiple hardware architectures, optimized for resource constrained devices, and built with safety and security in mind, and we’re thrilled to announced we’ve joined the project. - Adafruit

    Mozilla is building a “Web of Things”

    Mozilla is building an “open platform for monitoring and controlling devices over the web”.

    The idea of the Web of Things is to create a decentralized Internet of Things by giving things URLs on the web to make them linkable and discoverable, and defining a standard data model and APIs to make them interoperable.

    Read more on Mozilla IoT…

    Amazon’s long-term plan for Alexa

    An interview with Rohit Prasad, Alexa’s head scientist, revealed details about where Amazon wants to head with their powerful voice assistant. - TechnologyReview

    Hackable Smart Watch powered by Espruino

    Bangle.js is a hackable, open-source smartwatch that can be easily customized. It’s currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and may fill the space on our wrists from Pebble’s acquisition by Fitbit. The bangle packs more of a punch than a pebble with a nRF52832, 64kB RAM, heart rate monitor, accelerometer, magnetometer and a 350mAh battery. - Kickstarter

    Best Buy discontinues Insignia IoT Products

    Insignia, Best Buy’s generic hardware brand, has shut down every product which replies on their app (including a freezer). Each time this happens, we think about how many products in our lives rely on “other peoples servers”. Do you have a contingency plan for the IoT devices in your life? - Hackaday

    Recognizing AI Snake Oil

    AI has been intertwined with IoT (AIOT). But, “Much of what’s being sold as ‘AI’ today is snake oil — it does not and cannot work.”. This paper addresses the important questions of “Why is this happening? How can we recognize flawed AI claims and push back?” - Princeton

    Analyzing NB-IoT and LoRaWAN Sensor Battery Life

    Low power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies like NB-IoT and LoRaWAN are perfect for your projects requiring small packets, long battery life, and long distances. But how long will the batteries in your IoT project really last? - Semtech Developer Journal

    Adafruit IoT Updates

    Promotion: 1 Year of Adafruit IO Plus Free with $250 Adafruit Purchase

    We’re running a special promotion! As of November 20th, 2019 5:30pm, if you place an order of $250 or more at Adafruit, you’ll receive a 1 year subscription to Adafruit IO+. You’ll receive a minimal yet elegant Adafruit IO+ Subscription Card! This card comes with a code on the back and when typed into your Adafruit IO account, will activate a full year of Adafruit IO+ service for all the IoT projects you can dream up.

    Promotion: Google AIY Voice Kit for Black Girls CODE

    For a limited time, whenever you buy a Google AIY Voice Full Kit the regular price of $59.95 here, on this page, Google will automatically donate one to Black Girls CODE. Black Girls CODE goal is to empower young women of color ages 7-17 to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders + creators. Check out the bundle on Adafruit’s website.

    What is Adafruit.IO?

    Adafruit.io has over 14,000+ active users in the last 30 days and 850+ Adafruit IO Plus subscribers. Sign up for Adafruit IO (for free!) by clicking this link. Ready to upgrade? Click here to read more about Adafruit IO+, our subscription-based service. We don’t have investors and we’re not going to sell your data. When you sign up for Adafruit IO+, you’re supporting the same Adafruit Industries whose hardware and software you already know and love. You help make sure we’re not going anywhere by letting us know we’re on the right track.

  • Adafruit IoT Monthly: Helping Harry's Heart, CircuitPython meets AWS IoT and more!

    IoT Projects

    Helping Harry’s Heart

    Adam Taylor built a remote monitoring system to monitor his dog’s respiration rate to help the vet to adjust his heart medication. They used a X4M200 respiration sensor fitted to Harry’s (the dog) harness. Adam used Adafruit IO to send the dog’s heart rate to the internet, privately. “Along with [the] graphical view, I can also see the time stamped data” to share with “the cardiac specialist at Harry’s next appointment. - Hackster.io

    CircuitPython BLE Remote Control On/Off Switch

    rdagger has “multiple computers around the house, and sometimes they need to be rebooted remotely.”. Instead of manually opening the locked closet and rebooting their NAS, rdagger opted for a different approach. They built a BLE peripheral which “attaches to the front so the server can be turned on remotely from outside the closet”. - Read the guide on the Adafruit Learning System

    Hacking the Sonos Ikea Symfonisk into a High-Quality Amplifier

    Ikea released a $99 SONOS-compatible speaker, but a plastic enclosure can’t hold a candle to a pair of high-quality wooden speakers. Ben Hobby grabbed some tools and (literally) hacked one apart to connect it to his bookshelf speakers so you don’t have to. - Makezine.

    PyPortal IoT Plant Monitor with AWS IoT and CircuitPython

    This smart-planter monitors your plant’s vitals on the PyPortal’s screen, logs data to Amazon AWS IoT, and sends an email to your inbox when your plant needs to be watered! Using Amazon AWS IoT with CircuitPython allows you to prototype internet-of-things projects faster than ever before. With CircuitPython, you’re able to instantly provision your device for AWS IoT by dragging and dropping certificates/keys. - Adafruit Learning System

    Mini Smart Home with Huzzah, HASSio and Crickit

    The Mini Smart Home is a test bed that can let you move one step closer to making a truly smart Smart Home. When finished, you will have a completely independent system that hosts a customizable browser based User Interface, a device management system, usage and data logging, advanced automation tools, and user account security. This is all done with a Smart Home server OS called Home Assistant. - Adafruit Learning System

    Around the Internet – IoT News and Links

    Tearing Down Quirky’s Egg-Minder

    A teardown of the (now defunct) Quirky’s Egg-Minder reveals a well-designed IoT product before the ESP8266 was “a thing” - HackADay

    Using the ESP32 as a WiFi Coprocessor (like Adafruit AirLift boards running the excellent nina-fw firmware) is becoming more popular. Instead of printf()’ing your way through ESP-IDF and mbed - this post details a method of using the Eclipse IDE and a JLink debugger. - DZone

    Amazon’s Quest to put Alexa everywhere

    Aside from the usual smart-speaker, Amazon released a bevy of new hardware supporting their Alexa voice assistant earlier this month. This hardware ranges from a wearable wing to Alexa-compatible eyeglasses. But what’s the goal of releasing all this hardware so quickly? - VentureBeat

    Why Engineering Teams Are Shutting Down Industrial IoT Projects

    Despite the previous accomplishments of their profession, engineering teams are unexpectedly shutting down industrial IoT projects at an alarming rate. But why now? It seems like IoT, as an industry, is evolving daily with new hardware advances. - DZone

    MCCI Catena 4618 is a Cortex M0+ LoRaWan + sensors in a Feather footprint

    MCCI has released the Catena 4618, a complete single-board IoT device and sensors for LoRaWAN projects.

    Based on the Murata CMWX1ZZABZ-078, and designed to be compatible with the MCCI Catena 44xx and 46xx family and the Adafruit Feather family of development boards and accessories, the Catena 4618 is a great platform for LoRaWAN investigation and deployment. It works well with The Things Network, or any LoRaWAN 1.0 or 1.1 network in the 865 to 923 MHz range.

    The board is available from the MCCI online store and more information is available on the MCCI website.

    NoCAN - a new type of wireless sensor network

    Transmitting data over SPI/I2C wires does not work well for long distances, you can transmit longer distances but only when reducing the frequency. The NoCAN platform allows creation of a reliable sensor network with nodes connected through a CAN bus. It includes a dynamic-address-assignment scheme from a node manager when it’s bootstrapped (just like DHCP). - Omzlo

    ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Zero W in Space

    The APEX experiment brought two ESP32s and a Raspberry Pi Zero into space to evaluate faster embedded computing options for space-flight.

    The main board included two ESP32s and a Raspberry Pi Zero W, running resinOS / balenaOS, an operating system designed to run parallel Docker containers and optimized for IoT fleet management.

    Read more on HackADay…

    MQTT Security 101

    The internet-of-thing’s favorite low-power protocol, MQTT, doesn’t require any security measures. But it’s 2019 and we should enforce best practices, this article dives into the vulnerabilities, and security measures to take from a broker or client perspective. - Medium

    The ESP32MX-E is a robust ESP32 platform

    Between an active community, a low price-point, and ongoing development, the ESP32 is an attractive choice for connecting internet-of-things projects to the internet. The the esp32MX-E takes the ESP32 one-step further by adding a STMicroelectronics STM32F030F4 and Ethernet support. This project is coming soon, sign up on the project Crowd Supply page to receive updates.

    Scientists tracking eagle’s migration patterns rack up roaming charges

    Russian scientists tracking the migration patterns of eagles suddenly ran out of money when they found the eagles were migrating hundreds of miles away to Pakistan and Iran, racking up thousands of dollars of roaming charges. While this is funny, it’s also a scenario one should consider when building mobile IoT projects. - BBC News

    Track Ocean Currents with the Maker Buoy Kit

    The Maker Buoy Project’s Arduino-based drifting buoy is the “Internet of Things applied to the ocean”. If you’re an oceanographer or marine biologist looking for a robust, open-source, buoy system - look no further than the Maker Buoy’s prebuilt kits. Maker Buoy now offers pre-populated PCBs, complete kits and bare-PCB hardware on their store.

    Adafruit IOT Updates

    New Adafruit IO Block - Multi-line text block

    If you have an Adafruit IO Feed containing a lot of text (tweets, packed data from one sensor, etc.), you can now format and display your feeds on your Adafruit IO dashboard using a multi-line text block. – Visit your Adafruit IO Dashboard to try it out now

    SmartiPi Touch 2 - Stand for Raspberry Pi 7” Touchscreen Display

    If you’re running a smart-home setup and want to build an inexpensive central monitoring display, the SmartiPi Touch 2 is a well-designed stand for the Raspberry Pi 7” touchscreen display. Run Chromium in kiosk mode with the page set to Home Assistant or your Adafruit IO dashboard and you’ll have a touch-enabled smart-thing display - visit the Product Page here.

    Coming Soon - Adafruit Feather STM32F405 Express

    The new STM32F405 Feather (video) that Adafruit designed runs CircuitPython at a blistering 168MHz – our fastest CircuitPython board ever! We’ve tried it out with an AirLift Breakout and it’s incredibly quick. This may be the CircuitPython Feather you want powering your IoT project. The Feather SM32F405 Express is not yet available - sign up to be notified when it is put in stock.

    What is Adafruit.IO?

    Adafruit.io has over 14,000+ active users in the last 30 days and 850+ Adafruit IO Plus subscribers. Sign up for Adafruit IO (for free!) by clicking this link. Ready to upgrade? Click here to read more about Adafruit IO+, our subscription-based service. We don’t have investors and we’re not going to sell your data. When you sign up for Adafruit IO+, you’re supporting the same Adafruit Industries whose hardware and software you already know and love. You help make sure we’re not going anywhere by letting us know we’re on the right track.