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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Golioth expands its free tier for developers with unlimited IoT devices, OTA updates, 1GB bandwidth

Golioth expands its free tier for developers with unlimited IoT devices, OTA updates, 1GB bandwidth

Golioth IoT platform unlimited devices

When we first wrote about the Golioth IoT development platform with ESP32 and nRF9160 devices support in 2022, we noted they offered a free Dev Tier account for up to 50 devices, 10 MB of LightDB data with a 7-day retention policy, and other limitations. The company has now decided to remove many of the limitations from the free developer tier without any limit to the number of IoT devices and also added other benefits: Unlimited Device Connections: Empowering developers to scale projects without constraints. Over-the-air (OTA) Device Firmware Updates (DFU) with 1GB monthly bandwidth 1,000,000 Monthly Log Messages up to 200MB Free data retention Time series – 30 days Logs: 14 days The main limitations compared to paid plans are that only one project can be created and a single seat (single loading) is available, so it’s not possible to have a team of users with different permissions like […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Arduino Cloud Editor update brings the classic Arduino IDE experience to your web browser

Arduino Cloud Editor update brings the classic Arduino IDE experience to your web browser

Arduino Cloud Editor

Arduino has updated the Arduino Cloud Editor – which started as Arduino Create several years ago – to bring the web-based code editor closer to the appearance and functionalities of the “classic” Arduino 2.0 IDE. Arduino says the Cloud Editor simplifies the getting started process without having to go through the setups or maintenance required by the Arduino IDE installed on your computer and you can access your sketches easily from the cloud wherever you are. Considering the Arduino Cloud Editor has been around for a few years what has changed exactly? First, the Cloud Editor and the Arduino IDE now have a unified design (sort of), although the way the company frames it is a bit abstract: Traditionally, Arduino Cloud had two separate editors: an embedded simple one and the full editor. Users have long awaited a unified editor that gets the best of each one. The new Cloud […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on SparkFun launches ESP32-based “Arduino IoT Weather Station” with Arduino IoT Cloud integration

SparkFun launches ESP32-based “Arduino IoT Weather Station” with Arduino IoT Cloud integration

Sparkfun Arduino IoT Weather Station

SparkFun’s Arduino IoT Weather Station is a complete weather station kit leveraging the company’s MicroMod ecosystem with an ESP32 Processor Board and various sensors and developed in collaboration with Arduino for integration into their IoT Cloud service. Most people will check the weather on the Internet or watch the weather forecast on TV, but if you live in a remote area with a micro-climate or just want to have fun building your own weather station, the latest SparkFun kit will allow you to monitor temperature, air and soil humidity, wind speed and direction, lightning, and rainfall data at home and monitor the data from anywhere using a web browser. Arduino IoT Weather Station kit content: MicroMod ESP32 Processor module MicroMod Weather Carrier Board with a BME280 temperature, pressure, and humidity sensor and an AS3935 lightning detector only. The optional VEML6075 UV sensor is NOT included. The Weather Meter Kit with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on ZPE Nodegrid mini SR Intel Linux cloud gateway targets IoT and OT applications

ZPE Nodegrid mini SR Intel Linux cloud gateway targets IoT and OT applications

ZPE Mini SR IoT gateway

ZPE Systems Nodegrid Mini SR is a compact cloud-orchestrated gateway designed for the secure management of Internet of Things (IoT) and Operational Technology (OT) infrastructures. Power by a dual-core Intel processor, the Linux-based device is equipped with 4GB RAM, a 16GB encrypted storage device, and whose hardware looks to be very similar to the Compulab Fitlet2 mini PC with two Gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, and optional support for WiFi 6 and 4G LTE. ZPE Nodegrid mini SR specifications: SoC – Unnamed Intel x86 64-bit dual-core processor, most likely Intel Atom x5-E3930 dual-core Apollo Lake processor (upgrades can be provided) System Memory – 4GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB Self Encrypted Disk (SED), MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI Connectivity 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports with PoE Optional 802.11ax WiFi 6 and Bluetooth with two external antennas Optional 4G LTE cellular connectivity with a single SIM card […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on ESP-Hosted simplifies adding WiFi connectivity to legacy Linux or MCU-based products

ESP-Hosted simplifies adding WiFi connectivity to legacy Linux or MCU-based products

ESP-Hosted

Most of the ESP8266 and ESP32 projects and products we cover here use the Espressif microcontroller as the main chip, but ESP8266 started as a WiFi module meant to be controlled with AT commands from a host device. But there are still “legacy” products that may benefit from connecting to the cloud, and Espressif introduced the ESP-Hosted for that purpose in 2020, and recently released a next-generation ESP-Hosted solution (ESP-Hosted-NG) specifically for Linux hosts. The solution is available in two variants: ESP-Hosted-FG (First generation) exposing an Ethernet interface to the host and suitable for microcontrollers and Linux hosts, and the ESP-Hosted-NG presenting an 802.11 network interface and designed for Linux hosts only. Both solutions include ESP32 firmware and a host driver running on the legacy system. Espressif Systems recommends using ESP-Hosted-FG on an MCU host, and ESP-Hosted-NG on a Linux host in order to benefit from Linux user space applications/services […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Golioth ESP-IDF SDK connects ESP32 boards to the Golioth Cloud

Golioth ESP-IDF SDK connects ESP32 boards to the Golioth Cloud

Golioth ESP32 ESP-IDF

Golioth have released an open-source “ESP-IDF SDK” to let ESP32 hardware connect to their Golioth Cloud, extending existing support from the existing Zephyr SDK. We previously covered the Golioth IoT development platform with a Zephyr SDK supporting nRF9160 and ESP32-C3 (officially), as well as over 100 other platforms, that aims to make it easier for hardware developers to connect things to the internet without needing to know how to use AWS IoT, Azure IoT, or the other cloud services. While in theory, it would be possible to keep using the Zephyr SDK on ESP32 hardware, the ESP-IDF framework is the main tool of Espressif Systems, and they will release new code to that ecosystem first. So even though Espressif Systems have another team that is bringing many of the same features to Zephyr, the changes will be implemented in the ESP-ID framework first. The Golioth ESP-IDF SDK will be able […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on Is your Smart Home product being shutdown? Just buy the company!

Is your Smart Home product being shutdown? Just buy the company!

users buy Insteon smart home company

With Smart Home products connecting to the cloud, if a company decides to end support for a product or is required to close due to final troubles, there are few courses of action. The easiest one is to give up, and switch to another brand, or promise yourself you’ll never use one of those “Internet of Shit” products. The second one is quite more time-consuming and you’d have to work with the community to reverse-engineering the product and give it a second life, but obviously, this does not solve the supply issue since the product will not be manufactured anymore. Today, I learn about a third one: simply gather a small group of users, and buy the company! That’s basically the story of Smartlabs’ Insteon Smart Home products. Smartlabs was in bankruptcy proceedings. its cloud turned off, and products not working since April 14. Some members of Home Assistant community […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Home Assistant gives new life to Insteon Smart Home products following Smartlabs bankruptcy

Home Assistant gives new life to Insteon Smart Home products following Smartlabs bankruptcy

Insteon Home Assistant

Smartlabs used to sell Insteon Smart Home products, but the company is now in bankruptcy proceedings, its cloud has been turned off, and users have reported their products not working since April 14. Going to Insteon website confirms the problem: …the company engaged in a sales process in November, 2021. The goal was to find a parent for the company and continue to invest in new products and the technology. The process resulted in several interested parties and a sale was expected to be realized in the March timeframe. Unfortunately, that sale did not materialize. Consequently, the company was assigned to a financial services firm in March to optimize the assets of the company. IoT and Smart Home products going offline are nothing new, either because the company is going bankrupt or the product is not profitable anymore. It happens to me with Weloop Hey 3S smartwatch which I still […]

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