Questions tagged [microcontrollers]

For questions concerning IoT applications that use microcontrollers as control units. Almost every IoT device has an embedded microcontroller. Thus, use this tag when the usage, development or constraints of the microcontroller are at the core of the question.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
48 votes
9 answers
10k views

What is the simplest programmable IoT device that can connect to Wi-Fi?

I am trying to build a cheap asset tracker that can be powered by a battery pack. All I need the IoT device to do, is to connect to known WiFi network access points. I have access to the backend ...
rams's user avatar
  • 725
26 votes
6 answers
3k views

Is there a big jump between prototyping on a Pi, and using a microcontroller?

This question asks, amongst other things, if there is a big learning curve between using Python on a Raspberry Pi to prototype an endpoint, and using a microcontroller. Clearly there is a big ...
Sean Houlihane's user avatar
23 votes
4 answers
1k views

Making a smart light switch

I want to make a home automation system, and I need some computer-controllable switches. The reason I can't use relays is that I also need the switches to be switchable manually and not ...
Danya02's user avatar
  • 339
21 votes
7 answers
13k views

Cheap IoT microcontroller with PoE

Can anyone recommend a simple micro-controller with some I/O (<8) that can be powered using PoE, something cheap like Raspberri Pi Zero. The requirements are: Support PoE integrated. No power ...
Snake Sanders's user avatar
21 votes
3 answers
4k views

What do I need to create my own personal cloud for IoT devices?

This is a subject I have been thinking of for a while, especially because the "IoT" concept has been floating around a lot lately. I will start with what I mean when I say "IoT". I know that the term ...
m4l490n's user avatar
  • 545
19 votes
2 answers
4k views

Selecting a microcontroller for a battery operated data collection project

I am planning to measure water level in a well, which is about 10 m deep with maximum water level up to 5 m. My plan is to use ultrasonic sensor HC SR04 to measure depth, transmit it via ZigBee to a ...
Raj's user avatar
  • 403
19 votes
4 answers
649 views

What factors to consider when selecting an integrated wifi MCU for a low powered edge device?

The motivation for this question comes from the fact that some time ago I created a simple proof of concept (PoC) IoT edge device using a microcontroller and a CC3100 Wifi network processor. One of ...
Mahendra Gunawardena's user avatar
16 votes
2 answers
7k views

How can I implement MQTT on an STM32F030K6T6?

The controller in question is an STM32F030K6T6, which has an ARM® 32-bit Cortex® -M0 low power core, 32 kB Flash memory and 4 kB SRAM. It interfaces an SIM808 for Internet connectivity. The resources ...
Bence Kaulics's user avatar
14 votes
3 answers
900 views

What is the power implication of encrypting my sensor traffic?

Considering a typical type of application, a battery powered sensor taking readings (32 bit value) every 10 minutes, what is the likely impact on battery life if I choose a simple un-encrypted on-air ...
Sean Houlihane's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
2k views

Which microcontroller and programming language should I use for an Internet-enabled weather display?

I am a newbie in IoT and want to start my career in IoT. As I search on Google for startups in IoT, I found many blogs. And I found the languages used in IoT like C#, Java, Node.js, and the ...
Jigarb1992's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
934 views

Power reduction for Raspberry Pi GPS/GSM tracker

I've recently built a fully functional IoT GPS/GSM tracker with a Pi Zero for a college project and now that it's finished and done with, I would like to minimize the current draw of the entire system ...
sryan2580's user avatar
  • 121
12 votes
2 answers
646 views

Use a Particle Electron with Wi-Fi while in development

Totally new to IoT, here. I got the new Particle Electron cellular IoT device. I used up 5 Mb in like three hours. I have no idea what took up all that data. That is the monthly limit so no I have to ...
Sam's user avatar
  • 121
12 votes
1 answer
238 views

Cryptographic algorithms for PIC16 microcontrollers

I'm planning to implement my own home automation system. In will contain the central Raspberry PI server and a number of sensors and switches based on 8-bit PIC16 microcontrollers which are ...
Boris Brodski's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
640 views

Is it possible to run and train a neural network on an 8-bit microcontroller?

I've recently read about neural networks in constrained environments (in particular, A Neural Network Implementation on an Inexpensive Eight Bit Microcontroller) and their applications to IoT devices (...
Aurora0001's user avatar
  • 18.1k
12 votes
1 answer
405 views

Can I implement ZigBee with generic hardware?

As I understand ZigBee is only a specification of a data transfer protocol. So I was expecting to find some library that implements this protocol to use it with my MCU and RF transceiver. Instead, I ...
rattrapper's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
873 views

How can I do incremental updates with a flash that can only be erased block-wise?

Scenario I want to update a low cost IoT device over-the-air with new firmware updating the device's microcontroller(s). The microcontroller memory is flash memory in the 32k to 128k range (every ...
Helmar's user avatar
  • 8,220
11 votes
2 answers
171 views

Why don't we have more 3G+ modem options available?

Spiritually similar to the question here Embedded modem options Why is there such an enormous barrier to getting into something like a Snapdragon 410 with onboard LTE? After extensive research, LTE-...
Malachi's user avatar
  • 213
11 votes
3 answers
4k views

A low cost alternative option for ZigBee stack in mesh network of sensors

We're in the step of making design decision for a wireless mesh network of individual sensors which is going to be low cost. At first research I decided to use MQTT for application layer and global ...
IMAN4K's user avatar
  • 211
9 votes
5 answers
481 views

Are there any ready cloud services or frameworks for firmware update over the air?

I have prototype of the resource constrained-device (8-bit MCU with no-OS firmware), interacting with a web server. I wonder are there any solutions, frameworks or cloud services for updating my ...
Vadimchik's user avatar
  • 143
9 votes
3 answers
235 views

Calculate velocity and direction on microcontroller or on remote server?

Assume that I have a device attached on a car which includes an MCU, and a SIM908 module. The SIM908's function is to receive GPS data from satellites and then send them to the remote server through ...
juggernaut156's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
905 views

Embedded C—check internet connection

Is there any way to check if actually my embedded device has a working connection (i.e. can reach the WAN)? My device has no RTOS, so I cannot rely on OS functionalities like ping. I can see that the ...
panc_fab's user avatar
  • 311
9 votes
1 answer
364 views

Is this architecture feasible and flexible?

I'm having a but of trouble making sure my project really is feasible. What I want to archive: Control my Senseo coffee machine via internet. It boils down to simply controlling 2 buttons. First ...
Etsitpab Nioliv's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
499 views

What will happen if I use Class 4 SD card, instead of recommended Class 10 for Intel Galileo?

I could not find any relevant information on this, sites just recommended class 10. I want to know if it is okay to use Class 4, 8 GB SD card, for making a bootable Linux drive for Intel Galileo, or ...
nj2237's user avatar
  • 259
8 votes
3 answers
952 views

IoT device (siren) with RESTful APIs

I am fairly new to the IoT world, so I need help designing a system. Scenario: I have an application that sends messages to a Service Bus/ Message Queue in Azure. The messages can be classified into ...
abc's user avatar
  • 81
8 votes
2 answers
486 views

What is difference between a mote and a microcontroller equipped with sensors and connectivity?

Reading some papers about IoT and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) I came across mote devices and have seen there are lots of them. I have understood that they are the leaves in an IoT system and that ...
Francesco Boi's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
262 views

ESP12-E Video Streaming window, text and buttons are not displayed as expected

I have an arducam mini 2MP camera connected to an ESP8266 (12-E) module and I am trying to implement video streaming inside a window with some text and control buttons around it, all in the same ...
Sparky's user avatar
  • 189
8 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is the difference between MCU, VM, firmware and Kalimba DSP in the CSR8675 chip? [closed]

This question is about understanding the internal workings of the CSR8675 Bluetooth audio chip These four terms keep popping up while working with the CSR8670/8675 chip VM (Virtual machine) ...
user17915's user avatar
  • 385
8 votes
2 answers
431 views

MSP430F5529 + CC3100 IOT test device only responds to some test websites

Recently I have been working on an IoT project using a MSP430F5529 microcontroller and CC3100 network processor both from Texas Instrument. For evaluation I am using the MSP430F5529 launch pad and ...
user8055's user avatar
  • 385
8 votes
2 answers
634 views

What right hardware to use for Home Automation using MQTT?

I have been working on a home automation project lately. It is complete to the extent of switch control and getting the readings of temperature, humidity. I am using a Raspberry Pi 3 as MQTT broker. ...
Rohit Mathur's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
235 views

Cheap PoE board with TCP/IP support

I have a small IoT project where I want a network enabled electrical relay. I do not need full network plug nor linux on it. It just should be small and cheap. I feel smart enough to write a small ...
rekire's user avatar
  • 303
7 votes
3 answers
645 views

Is a simple UDP messaging a good idea for IoT Sensor?

I am working with NB-IoT Modem - Quectel BC95 that will be used in a simple IoT sensor that will periodically (Once per hour) send measurements to our server. Because of the restriction in place by ...
Oli Řeháček's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
580 views

Creating indirect (managed) connection between audio source and sink in CSR bluecore VM

After looking around this site and the meta (for example, here and here), I am assuming this question is on topic here (but let me know if it's not) I am using CSR8675 Bluetooth chip with ADK4.0.1 (...
user17915's user avatar
  • 385
6 votes
3 answers
837 views

How can I push data from car-mounted microcontrollers to a remote server?

Firstly, I'm a newbie in the IoT field. Hardware parts are quite new to me. I want to make a small project. That is creating a box attached into a car that can keep track its location and temperature....
juggernaut156's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
736 views

Website on a microcontroller

I want to create a simple web server on a SAM4E. I have found a example but I would like to change the website. Now it's just plain html code: if(( NULL != pcRxString) && ( !strncmp( ...
Dylan's user avatar
  • 61
6 votes
1 answer
570 views

WiFi communication between PC and embedded system on LAN

I'm here asking some support for a newbie in embedded communication. My situation is the following: embedded device: STM32L4xx microcontroller + ATWINC1500 wifi module WiFi management code (driver) ...
panc_fab's user avatar
  • 311
6 votes
0 answers
487 views

How do I create a smart alarm clock? [closed]

I have an old, broken alarm clock (speaker burned out) that I'm trying to make into a smart version. Can I use something like an Arduino or Raspberry Pi for this? What screen should I use? I would ...
anna328p's user avatar
  • 169
5 votes
1 answer
424 views

File Transfer from ESP8266

How can I download / access a file contained in the ESP8266 SPIFFS memory over the internet and not only on a local wi-fi? Can it send a complete file contained on its SPIFFS memory to a website or to ...
Nagesh Naik's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
827 views

ESP8266 with Dual Relay AND STM8S103

I'm looking for an ESP8266 board with a dual relay for one of my projects. Yes a Sonoff Dual - quite answers all my needs, beside the part of messing around with soldering and the for need more GPIO's ...
guyd's user avatar
  • 751
4 votes
3 answers
157 views

Choosing low power microcontrollers to run with a solar panel

I am starting a project which will control a small motor, some LEDs for illumination and read some analog sensors and I need to power it via a solar panel. I am looking for the best option on ...
daniel castellanos's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
433 views

Is it okay to use the 4 pin USB TTL cable instead of the recommended 6 pin USB TTL cable for Intel Galileo?

I have only the 4 pin USB TTL cable which has the Rx, Tx, Vcc and GND pins. The 6 pin includes the CTS and RTS pins also, and is specified for use with Intel Galileo board. My question is if I can ...
nj2237's user avatar
  • 259
4 votes
1 answer
217 views

How to get stepper motor to rotate smoothly and continuously?

I'm trying to build my own motorised roller blinds based off this project. It uses the Stepper_28BYJ_48 library. The problem I'm having is that the motor is either very slow and jittery, going forward ...
jampez77's user avatar
  • 331
4 votes
1 answer
199 views

Programming of change of keys on full numbering of CSR bluecore chips

Who can tell how you can change the key values for the full numbering of SCR bluecore chips. The built-in function only modifies the user keys from 0 to 49. I tried to change the first digit of the ...
Игорь Крючковский's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
71 views

How to decide how to select an endpoint device

This question is intentionally rather open ended, and potentially opinion based, but it is intended to act as a catch-all for the questions on how to select a device for a sensor/endpoint. Any ...
Sean Houlihane's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
278 views

NodeMCU - create public webserver

How would I go about creating a public web server so that I can control my NodeMCU v3 from anywhere in the world? I was thinking about flashing espruino on my board since I have more experience with ...
Stuart Fong's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
618 views

I2C transfer to Thunderboard Sense microcontroller never completes [closed]

I am using a Thunderboard Sense microcontroller, plugged into my desktop (Windows) with a USB, and the Simplicity IDE with the coding language C. I am trying to write to a register using the ...
The Impossible Squish's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
383 views

Using CSR's 2-mic bluetooth headset program without actually placing a telephone call [closed]

I am asking about the CSR 8675 Bluetooth audio chip (the solution to this problem will be similar in the other related chips in the same family) and I am using ADK4.0.1 The CSR 8675 contains VM (...
user17915's user avatar
  • 385
3 votes
2 answers
106 views

How secure connection between modem and microchip

My board has a separate Quectel MC66 modem and STM32 microchip. The communication between modem and microchip is AT Commands. If a hacker connected a wire between modem and microchip, he could have ...
behroozbc's user avatar
  • 153
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Distance calculation based on RSSI value

I want to calculate the RSSI value of a Bluetooth module (HC05) and from the derived RSSI value I want to calculate the distance of the surrounding devices. I'm using an Arduino Uno r3 as a controller ...
Arockia Jegan's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
68 views

Finding the time interval between two events using CCP on PIC18f4520

I'm trying to calculate the time elapsed between two events using the CCP on PIC18F4520. The events are triggered by two sensors that are on the ccp1 and ccp2 ports. I've assigned a prescalar of 8 to ...
Souvik Saha's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
130 views

Are there Arduino boards that can be used as a small web server, supporting HTTPS?

I would like to control a relay from over the internet. I was thinking of making this using an Arduino and some wifi/ethernet shield. Searching the internet, I see a lot of shields and modules that ...
user2190492's user avatar