Internet of Things Stack Exchange
Internet of Things Stack Exchange

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.

For the purposes of this site, you should use to refer to any embedded processor which does not run a full linux (or similar) operating system. Formally, this typically excludes devices without an MMU (or maybe MPU). For generic questions about processors in Single Board Computers (such as the Raspberry Pi), use . A microprocessor is likely to be used in a hub or router.

81 questions
49
votes
9 answers

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 system that manages the WiFi access points. I…
rams
  • 745
  • 1
  • 5
  • 8
26
votes
6 answers

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 improvement in power consumption (at the cost of reduced…
Sean Houlihane
  • 10,524
  • 2
  • 26
  • 62
24
votes
4 answers

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 programmatically (because I don't want the light to get stuck…
Danya02
  • 349
  • 1
  • 4
22
votes
3 answers

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 IoT could mean different things and that…
m4l490n
  • 575
  • 4
  • 10
22
votes
7 answers

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 battery maintenance. Support TCP/UDP communication few…
Snake Sanders
  • 961
  • 1
  • 6
  • 12
20
votes
2 answers

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 Raspberry Pi inside my home. As discussed in my …
Raj
  • 433
  • 3
  • 7
20
votes
4 answers

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 the problems with this prototype was that the…
Mahendra Gunawardena
  • 1,550
  • 11
  • 30
17
votes
2 answers

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 are quite limited regarding the memory. Is it…
Bence Kaulics
  • 7,843
  • 8
  • 42
  • 90
15
votes
3 answers

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 protocol, compared with an encrypted…
Sean Houlihane
  • 10,524
  • 2
  • 26
  • 62
14
votes
4 answers

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 microcontrollers like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Intel,…
Jigarb1992
  • 259
  • 1
  • 8
13
votes
1 answer

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 communicating to the central Raspberry PI over the radio…
Boris Brodski
  • 401
  • 3
  • 10
13
votes
1 answer

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 (e.g. regression for predicting things based on…
Aurora0001
  • 18,520
  • 13
  • 55
  • 169
13
votes
1 answer

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 only have found specific ZigBee devices (e.g.…
rattrapper
  • 233
  • 1
  • 4
13
votes
2 answers

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 wait another month to use it or spend more money…
Sam
  • 131
  • 3
12
votes
3 answers

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 cent counts). This cheap memory has one major…
Helmar
  • 8,450
  • 6
  • 36
  • 84
1
2 3 4 5 6