The Internet of Things (IoT), or Internet of Things, refers to the process of connecting common household objects or more complex systems to the Internet.

That is, IoT refers to any system of physical devices that receive and transfer data over wireless networks with little human intervention. 

How is this possible? Through the integration of simple computing devices - the microcontrollers for the internet of things - with all kinds of objects.

In this article we highlight 5 microcontrollers for IoT, including esp32, to develop your projects!

 

The ESP8266 module

 

ESP8266 module is a WIFI module, developed by Espressif, which quickly became popular in the IoT world.

Its main feature? It allows you to control, receive and manage information, just like an Arduino, but with the possibility of communicating this information to the internet via WIFI.

Designed for small spaces, it allows you to incorporate Wi-Fi in other devices. 

 

We present two options of integrated boards with IoT ESP8266 microcontrollers:

 

Nodem-Based Esp8266 Development Board	Esp-Wroom-02 Wlan Shield

 

A Esp8266 Nodem-Based Development Board is a development board with 10 GPIO pins, which allow it to be used by PWM, I2C and 1-Wire.

It contains two buttons, a LOAD (BOOT) button and a RESET (EN) button, an LED and the programming/power is done through a micro USB port. 

A low cost, size and low consumption solution.

The plate Esp-Wroom-02 Wlan Shield< /a> is a Shield that contains a soldered ESP8266 and is aimed at the Arduino Uno/Mega 2560.

Contains a reset button and a programmable button. 

This is the ideal solution for anyone looking to add Wi-Fi to a project with an Arduino.

 

O Arduino® Nano 33 IoT Headers 

The Arduino NANO 33 IoT board is a development board capable of communicating both via WIFI and Bluetooth.

It has the Cortex-M0 as a 32-bit processor, which allows it to have a good performance in terms of processing and, at the same time, low consumption.

Contains 14 GPIO pins with the possibility of communication via SPI, UART and I2C.

There is a reset button, programmable status LED, and power can be via micro USB.

 

The ESP32 module

 

Espressif's ESP32 development boards are an improved version of the previous ESP8266. 

In addition to greater processing (since this card is dual-core), they have more RAM memory, more GPIO pins, allow connection via Bluetooth and allow the following interfaces: Spi, I²s, I²c and Uart. 

 

We present two integrated boards with the ESP32 microcontroller:

 

Esp32 Development Board	Esp32 Wearable Development Board

 

Both microcontrollers are very versatile in terms of programming and allow using Arduino IDE, Visual Studio, microPython and others.

However, there are some differences. 

 

The Esp32 Development Board is a development board, with 28 GPIO pins, which allows to have a great connectivity with various sensors.

This module allows connection via Bluetooth 4.1. It has a 3.3V voltage regulator, Serial-USB (Micro USB) interface. At the hardware level, it contains an internal LED and two buttons: a LOAD (BOOT) button and a RESET (EN) button. 

Finally, the Esp32 Wearable Development Board, which stands out for its small size.

Developed and aimed at smart clothing projects, nothing prevents it from being used in other types of projects. 

Another feature of this board is the possibility of using 4 pins for capacitive touch, again thinking about smart clothing projects. Contains a JST connector to receive a 3.7V lithium battery (not included).

 

In summary

All these boards allow you to give wings to the most varied projects, from the control of a lamp to a complex system with several sensors and diversified communication protocols.. 

In addition, there is a lot of information on the WEB with various examples and tutorials for the success of your project.

Discover all our microcontrollers for IoT or talk with us: we are available to advise you.