Hi3861 based HiSpark WiFi IoT development board supports LiteOS and HarmonyOS

HiHope HiSpark WiFi IoT development board features Hisilicon Hi3861 microcontroller with 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and supports Huawei LiteOS as well as HarmonyOS.

Equipped with 2MB flash and 384KB SRAM, the board targets smart home applications, and ships with a baseboard to help with development.

HiSpark board specifications:

• MCU – Hisilicon Hi3861 32-bit microcontroller @ up to 160 MHz with 352 KB SRAM and 288 KB ROM, 2 MB flash memory, and WiFI 4 connectivity; QFN-32 5x5mm package
• WiFi
  • 802.11b/g/n standard up to 72 Mbps @ HT20
  • 2.4 GHz frequency band (ch1-ch14).
  • Station (STA) and access point (AP) modes with up to 6 clients for the latter
  • WiFi mesh with up to 256 nodes
  • Security – WPA, WPA2 personal, and WPS 2.0
  • PCB antenna
• USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming via CH340 chip
• Expansion – 2x headers with up to 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 3x UART interfaces, 15x GPIO, 7x ADC inputs, 6x PWM interfaces, 1x I2S
• Misc – Reset and user buttons, jumper to select boot mode
• Power consumption for Hi3861 chip
  • Ultra deep sleep mode: 5 μA @ 3.3 V
  • DTIM1: 1.5 mA @ 3.3 V
  • DTIM3: 0.8 mA @ 3.3 V
• Dimensions – 5×2 cm
• Temperature Range – –40°C to +85°C

HiSpark board appears to be an official development platform for Huawei OpenHarmonyOS since there’s a dedicated device page on HarmonyOS website.

The specifications do not mention the type of microcontroller core used in Hi3861, but the software development workflow shows a Windows workstation to edit the code and Linux server which relies on a GCC RISCV-32 toolchain to build the code. So it must be a 32-bit RISC-V core despite some other websites mentioning a Cortex-M4 core. If you don’t plan on modifying the firmware, you can also program the board with Python.

As noted in the introduction, HiHope also provides a baseboard for HiSpark board with an NFC port, what looks like Arduino compatible headers, a battery header, a jumper to select USB or battery power, and an on/off switch.

Besides the device page on the HarmonyOS website, you’ll find code samples on Gitee, and a subforum on Elefans where developers share their experience (Chinese language only).

I could also find an unboxing box on Elefans, where somebody purchased a complete kit with HiSpark board, the baseboard and various modules include an OLED display, NFC, PIR, etc…

HiSpark board is sold for 56 RMB ($8.4) on HiHope Taobao store, while the devkit goes for 399 RMB ($59.5). There are also two other HiSpark devkits for HarmonyOS including HiSpark AI camera (Hi3516) and HiSpark DIY IP camera (Hi3518).

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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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