IoT Without a Net: A Practical Guide To Working With Microcontrollers The Open Source Way

Yes, the IoT world is here, but it isn't just Arduinos and RaspberryPis; there are a plethora of open source variants, and exponentially more commercial options (6,879 products at Digikey under the `Embedded Computer category`_ at last count). That said, the typical FOSS vendors like `Adafruit`_ and `Sparkfun`_ are still some of the best places to start exploring low-cost/low-power development or breakout boards. Key factors on the hardware side include the given project/product requirements vs. speed/size, peripherals, power consumption, availability of specs, and cost tradeoffs. Factors on the software side include vendor toolchain/SDK options, as well as the availability and maturity of open source tools and libraries and related developer and user communities (and don't forget documentation). Finally there are potential issues with deployment and debugging tools/interfaces, and the level of support for upgrading any required vendor firmware (including your own code). Examples of all of the above are covered in the context of a handful of specific boards mainly intended for prototyping or experimenting with both the platforms and the tools using available example projects provided by the upstream vendors (and their respective open source communities). Usage of specific tools for the example boards to illustrate the typical development/deploy/debug cycle is also provided. This talk will expose some little-used capabilities and GNU tools for bare-metal embedded microcontrollers, from multiple Arduino architectures to PRUs and FPGAs. Debugging from an ARM Linux host is also a focus for several use cases and even some open source hardware. .. _Embedded Computer category: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/embedded-computers/en .. _Adafruit: https://www.adafruit.com/ .. _Sparkfun: https://www.sparkfun.com/