General conceptual questions about the Internet-Of-Things

Cloud
1

I’d love to add internet to my existing microcontroller board (rs-232)… allowing the user to control the led and display status on a web page real-time! But writing a tcp/ip stack or learning enough web/socket programming to implement a web server seems like a huge task!

However, with so many “cloud” platforms
(spark.io, xively,nimbits, iobridge, thingspeak,pinoccio, electricimp,opensense, smartthings, etc)

and so many wifi and wired modules
(Redpine, Wiznet, Roving Networks/Microchip (ZG2100MC), TI (CC3000, RDK-S2E), lantronix (xport), etc)

that it’s hard to tell what all the differences are, or if all these address different problems.

So In general, is the idea these modules encapsulate a web server so that all a user’s microcontroller does is push new web pages, and retrieves new data that the user has entered on a form or clicked?

If so, once implemented are you tied to the particular platform solution forever? I.e. Could I install a CC3000 on custom board (non-arduino) and have it talk directly to a computer on the network (without using any cloud services)?

2

Hi @blipton,

Good Question! With the Open Source Hardware and Software on the Spark Core and Cloud, you can flash firmware and control your projects through the Cloud, as well as directly with your own TCP / UDP software. You aren’t tied to using our infrastructure, and we hope you’ll build project and products based on the Core and the awesome community. :slight_smile:

The core makes it easy to expose specific variables, functions, and events from your core to your software on the internet through the API. You can also write any kind of custom software you like, users have already written a variety of servers and clients. Using a Core would be much easier than installing a bare CC3000, since you could just focus on big picture stuff, and you don’t have to worry about being locked in to anything.

In your case if you just want a small chunk of software to listen on port 80 and send http like responses, that would be no problem on the Core.

Thanks!
David