Nikhil Agnihotri

Home automation is quickly becoming mainstream, letting residents easily connect with and remotely control appliances or security systems. To support these efforts, there are several popular “smart” home systems available, such as Amazon Hub, Google Nest, Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit, Hue Smart Hub, and others. For the hobbyist or do-it-yourselfer (DIY), customized home automation systems…

Connecting embedded microcontrollers to the internet is a crucial task in modern applications. The embedded controllers, particularly in consumer devices and wearables, now essentially require ping online. This is more important as the devices are getting smarter. Connecting to the internet is not just crucial but a hefty task as well. The typical TCP/IP stack…

The communication technologies used by IoT devices to communicate data with each other are called IoT networks. Some the examples of IoT networks are cellular networks like LTE-M and NB-IoT, WiFi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Sigfox, LoraWAN, Zigbee, RFID, and Ethernet. IoT devices are usually connected via wireless communication technologies. In some rare cases, you may…

Robots are a perfect example of how electronics can precisely and accurately perform mechanical jobs. Over the past decades, the scope and definition of robots has extended far from the realms of mechanical tasks. Now, robots are imagined to automate everything possible, including communication and intelligence. A cause behind this is an attempt to replicate…

3D printing has never been so affordable, with printer costs as low as $200 to $1500 for home use. This lets hobbyists delve into various electronics and robotics projects that require 3D-printed parts. For example, many open-source humanoid robot projects use 3D parts. However, the printing requirements differ per project. A desktop gamer might want…

Power consumption of the embedded controller is a primary concern in low power design. Arduino boards are often used in devices that rely on battery or solar charging. Such devices often deploy far from the power line to have periodic battery replacement or are mobile devices designed for periodic charging cycles. In such a case,…

MicroPython is one of the best microcontroller firmware that supports a variety of embedded platforms. The WiFi development boards like ESP8266 and ESP32 are among the MicroPython-supported ports. With MicroPython, it is extremely simple to implement top-notch IoT applications.  MicroPython has wide support for network programming along with implementing all basic hardware functions. It combines…

Since 3D scanners have become more affordable, 3D scanning has changed the world of custom 3D printing. Once, 3D scanning was only used in military equipment and spacecraft parts production. With desktop and handheld 3D printers available for a few hundred dollars, 3D scanning has found a place in home fun and hobby projects. You…

Integrated circuits (ICs) are synonymous with electronics. Wherever there are any electronics, there are definitely one or more ICs. There are no electronics without ICs. Electronics became so popular, widely acceptable, and ubiquitously applicable, all due to the invention of integrated circuits. Integrated circuits are miniaturized integration of complete electronic circuits on a single semiconductor…

A real-time clock (RTC) is a computer clock to keep time and is one of the more popular microcontroller features. Microcontrollers without a built-in RTC require an external RTC chip for keeping time. Typically, mid-segment to high-end microcontrollers have a built-in RTC because time-keeping is necessary for several embedded applications.  RTCs count seconds, minutes, hours,…

A watchdog timer is an internal or external timer that monitors a microcontroller’s program to ensure the application remains operative without failure. It serves as a safety feature in critical applications by monitoring the microcontroller’s output signal. The watchdog can operate in two modes:  Timeout mode – the timer establishes the microcontroller is not working properly if it…

According to The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) — a non-profit organization of semiconductor product companies and source for industry statistics — the electronic design automation (EDA) market was valued at $11.57 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $21.36 billion by 2026. EDA refers to using computer-aided tools and services for the design,…

Many IoT applications are controlled with the help of a webpage or an HTML website running within a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Some examples of such IoT applications include home automation, office automation, and smart farming. The HTML webpage or website controlling the things is hosted on a microcomputer…

MicroPython is an implementation of Python 3 for microcontrollers. It’s an awesome firmware that combines the powerful features of Python programming language with the low-level access of microcontrollers. Following is a list of microcontrollers supported by the MicroPython framework. Arch Mix, Actinius icarus, Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, Arduino Primo, B_L072Z_LRWAN1, B_L475E_IOT01A, blueio_tag_evim, C3 mini, CERB40,…

ESP8266 and ESP32 are popular WiFi development boards. These single-board microcontrollers are supported by the MicroPython framework and are often used for the internet of things (IoT). Using MicroPython, ESP8266 and ESP32 can connect to the internet via WiFi and Ethernet. The MicroPython ports use Ethernet or the wireless local area network (WLAN). In this…

You’ve likely heard about SSD1306 or SSD1315 organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. These monochrome screens are typically in a similar price range as character displays, providing a more aesthetic appeal. More significantly, they provide a truly graphical interface for an embedded device. The OLED displays are available in ready-to-use breakout boards that can easily push…

Networking applications consume a lot of power. If such applications are battery-powered, there’s a risk the battery will exhaust because of the high power demands of networking functions. Frequently, power is also wasted in non-essential microcontroller activities. For example, the power might remain on for various built-in peripherals irrespective of their use or relevance in…

Timers are one of the common hardware features in all microcontrollers. Timers and timer interrupts are of great use in microcontroller applications. The timer interrupts are often used when precise timing is required without a fraction of error. All MicroPython ports have one or more timers. Some of these timers may be reserved for specific…

The majority of sensors have an analog output.  Few sensors come with a built-in controller and can stream the output measurements over a digital protocol. That is why analog to digital conversion is one of the basic features that every microcontroller/port has. The other basic features include digital input/output, analog output, PWM generation, and serial…

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a simple messaging protocol often used in IoT applications. The protocol is based on a publish-subscribe system where both types of devices that publish and subscribe MQTT messages are called MQTT clients. The exchange of messages between the publishers and subscribers is done with the help of a broker,…