The Internet of Things is gaining momentum in the recent years as more embedded computing devices are being connected to the Internet. What does this mean for us web developers? This article will explore two common wireless protocols, Wi-Fi and BLE and will take you through the starting steps in connecting sensors and servo motors to the Internet. Then we will learn how to control these devices and access the sensor data using JavaScript!
The Spark Core is small, low power, and does all the heavy WiFi lifting, but will still let you do all kinds of tinkering to get your IoT project up and running. There’s a backend website platform ‘cloud’ that will let you send and receive data so, rather than having to access everything from your local network or trying to figure out how to tunnel into it, the Spark Core connects out to the Spark.io network for seamless connectivity. You can always set up your own protocols if you want, but you don’t have to. And that’s kind of the point! The Spark Core ships hooked up the cloud, so you can worry about your things and how they integrate, instead of worrying about getting the cloud to work.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
