Electric Imp

SKU: ADA1129 Brand: Adafruit

Retired Product

Replaced by: WRL-11395
This product has been replaced by: WRL-11395
This product is no longer available. This page is only for reference.

What is the electric imp? In essence, the Imp provides an easy, integrated way to connect almost any hardware device both to other devices and to internet services. It's more than just a WiFi card, or even a WiFi module with processing built in - it's an integrated platform that deals with the drudgery of connectivity, allowing you to concentrate on the application instead of the mechanics.

The Imp itself is very small - 32mm x 24mm x 2.1mm - but packs a lot inside.

For starters, there's industry standard 802.11b/g/n WiFi, complete with WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption, along with a great antenna.

Next, there's the processor. A Cortex-M3 core gives great performance combined with low power consumption, allowing the Imp to deal with both maintaining a secure connection to the service and also executing the developer's code in a stable environment.

Finally, there's the I/O. Though there are only six pins available for application use, they're six very capable pins. UARTs, I2C, SPI, analog in and out, PWMs, GPIOs... all selectable under software control.

For more details, see the electric imp hardware page.

Developing for the Imp is quite unlike most embedded development. No SDK to install, no JTAG pods, no long download times... you develop your code in a browser-based IDE and can compile and run your code on the Imp - wherever it is in the world - in under a second. The Imp even sends logging back to your browser.

Software that runs on the Imp is written in Squirrel, a C-like language, with extensions to communicate with the hardware interfaces and the service. As the Squirrel code runs on top of the electric imp OS, you get many big system benefits like buffered I/O and crash recovery - plus you can push updates to devices in the field with a few clicks.

Data passes to and from the service over a TLS encrypted interface, and can take many forms including scalars, strings and tuples. An open API on the server allows devices to communicate with other communications networks (email, SMS, twitter, etc), web pages (displaying data and controls), APIs to communicate with other services (RESTful API, TCP pipes) and of course soft nodes, that can perform server-side processing on data that would be inconvenient to do device-side.

This innovative wifi controller has a few things that you'll want to watch for. Although it is shaped like an SD card it will not work in a device that uses SD cards for storage. It won't damage the imp or the device, but it wont work at all. Instead, a project that uses the imp is supposed to use an SD socket in a unique configuration with an Atmel ID chip. The SD shape just makes it easy to find matching sockets, the ID chip is so the imp knows 'where it is' and what program to download into its memory - so that you can swap in a new imp at any time and it will change its behavior based on the socket. If you're starting out, We suggest picking up an April breakout board - it takes care of the ID chip, socket and power supply, letting you get on with the project!

PLEASE NOTE: The April board is not included!

Technical Details

This product is listed in:

Retired

Product Comments

Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).

Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).

We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):

  • $3+ for Stamped Mail (typically 10+ business days, not tracked, only available on selected small items)
  • $6+ for Standard Post (typically 6+ business days, tracked)
  • $10+ for Express Post (typically 2+ business days, tracked)
  • Pickup - Free! Only available to customers who live in the Newcastle region (must order online and only pickup after we email to notify you the order is ready). Orders placed after 2PM may not be ready until the following business day.

Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.

Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.

International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:

  • $11+ for Pack and Track (3+ days, tracked)
  • $16+ for Express International (2-5 days, tracked)

If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.

Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):

Unit 18, 132 Garden Grove Parade
Adamstown
NSW, 2289
Australia

Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.

Have a product question? We're here to help!

Write Your Own Review

Guides

The Maker Revolution

The Maker Revolution celebrates the creation of new devices and the modification of existing ones - ...
The Maker Revolution celebrates the creation of new devices and the modification of existing ones - ...

Projects

Raspberry Pi Video Looper Display Installation | Overshare Video Festival

IntroductionA suspended ceiling display of forty repurposed screens and displays, each screening cr...
IntroductionA suspended ceiling display of forty repurposed screens and displays, each screening cr...

Mailbox Delivery Notification System

Introduction During the Covid lockdown, I needed something to do. The Postman or woman does not de...
Introduction During the Covid lockdown, I needed something to do. The Postman or woman does not de...

PiicoDev Schematic System

Introduction: Hi everybody. Over the past few weeks, I have been working on an intuitive system th...
Introduction: Hi everybody. Over the past few weeks, I have been working on an intuitive system th...
Feedback

Please continue if you would like to leave feedback for any of these topics:

  • Website features/issues
  • Content errors/improvements
  • Missing products/categories
  • Product assignments to categories
  • Search results relevance

For all other inquiries (orders status, stock levels, etc), please contact our support team for quick assistance.

Note: click continue and a draft email will be opened to edit. If you don't have an email client on your device, then send a message via the chat icon on the bottom left of our website.

Makers love reviews as much as you do, please follow this link to review the products you have purchased.