MicroSui (Sui Embedded Framework) is a lightweight, modular, open-source C framework that brings the Sui Network to microcontrollers from low-end 8-bit MCUs like AVR to more powerful 32-bit SoCs like the ESP32.
Wait… What’s the Sui Network / Protocol exactly? It’s a blockchain platform designed for high-speed, scalable, and low-cost decentralized applications, which was introduced in May 2023 by Mysten Labs, a company founded by former Meta engineers. It competes with networks like Solana and Ethereum but with better performance. So far, the Sui Network works with web and mobile applications, but MicroSui aims to expand its usage to resource-constrained embedded devices.
We’re told MicroSui provides support for all core operations such as key management, transaction construction, signing, and broadcast. It is a pure-C library with no OS dependency or dynamic memory usage, so it can be deployed on a wide range of microcontrollers.
Higher-end microcontrollers with Internet access, such as the ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC, can directly build and sign transactions on-device, and send data to the Sui Network over HTTPS or WebSockets. On the other hand, lower-end microcontrollers require a gateway with support for LoRa or BLE using MQTT or CoAP protocol, or even raw data through 433 MHz or NFC. In that case, the MCU only signs messages with the embedded private key (PK), and the gateway handles building and transactions.
Since MicroSui hosts the private key on-device, it can enable offline signature (Blind & Semi-Blind) without Internet access, and the transaction can proceed normally later on when access to the Sui Network is restored. Other potential applications include sensor event-triggered transactions, hardware wallets, smart toll collection, end-to-end transaction flows, timed signing, industry event logging to blockchain, multisig participation, and more. The video embedded below shows an offline signature demo on an ESP32 board.
Some source code can already be found on GitHub with a library, an ESP32 port, and gateway code. The documentation is currently a work-in-progress on the MicroSui website, and one slide shows that additional microcontrollers will be supported with repositories for Nordic Semi nRF52 wireless SoCs, STM32 MCUs, Arduino boards like the Arduino Nano 33 IoT, and some industrial PLCs.
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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