The Internet of Things(IoT) and its devices have been utilised by ‘DIYers’ and ‘Makers’ to connect projects to the internet and take advantage of the worldwide network we have created. Some might say a sentence with “sophistication” and “DIY” is often considered oxymoronic. Enter the Pycom WiPy 3.0, A Micropython enabled development board based around the powerful ESP32.
Pycom Wipy: Major features
With an Espressif ESP32 at its heart, the Pycom WiPy is certainly at the bleeding edge of IoT technology. As its name suggests, the WiPy is aimed at Wi-Fi connectivity, boasting an impressive 1Km range and supports the 802.11b/g/n standards with a 16mbps connection. In addition, the WiPy features the recent Bluetooth 4.2, for the most robust and versatile Bluetooth connection available to makers.
By choosing micropython as its development platform Pycom offers makers the ability to port their knowledge of python directly to developing IoT devices and take advantage of the connected world, shortening the learning curve and cutting down development time. You no longer need a degree in embedded systems to begin steps towards completing your dream IoT device.
MicroPython was created by the Australian programmer Damien George
Pycom has implemented in their WiPy the latest low energy developments available, dropping power consumption to as low as 850µA while still connected to Wi-Fi, and down to 25µA when in deep sleep mode, this means for example, with the WiPy the connected to Wi-Fi and running on a standard 3400maH 18650 cell, the board will be powered for up to 4000Hrs or 166 days.
When coupling the performance of the WiPy with the Pycom Expansion Board 2.0, Pycom Pysence or Pycom Pytrack charging your battery will be as simple as plugging in a micro USB cable. Pycom has developed these expansion boards to be compatible with its numerous IoT devices adding battery charging and protective circuitry, a micro SD card slot and an FTDI adaptor making development and programming even simpler allowing each Pycom board to connect through serial to your computer. Pycom introduces many more features such as GPS and Temperature data with its Pysence and Pytrack boards
Pycom Wipy with the Pycom Pytrack board and an external antenna
Interfacing with the microcontroller is often a deciding feature for what platform a project is built around. With its ESP32 the Pycom WiPy board has extremely versatile interfacing. Including up to 24 GPIO pins multiple UART and SPI interfaces, both I2C and I2S, any project will be hard pressed to saturate the microcontrollers interfaces. Additionally, the WiPy can have up to 8 analogue inputs with an accuracy of 12 bits. For a full view of the WiPy IO see the pinout diagram below.
Pycom Wipy Pin function description
