原创 Check out the Electron--Arduino-like cellular dev kit

Do you know about the Spark Core Kickstarter project from 2013? If not, just to set the scene, the Spark Core is an Arduino-compatible, Wi-Fi enabled, cloud-powered development platform that makes creating Internet-connected hardware a breeze.

As it says on the Spark Core's Kickstarter project page:

This little board packs a punch: with a 72 MHz ARM Cortex M3, the best Wi-Fi module on the market, wireless programming, and lots of pinouts and peripherals, there's nothing you can't build with the Core.

The Spark Core Kickstarter was amazingly successful, raising $567,000+, which is pretty impressive since their original goal was only $10,000. The Spark Core is complemented by the Spark OS and the Spark Cloud -- all accompanied by a suite of intuitive and easy-to-use tools.

After shipping 10,000 Spark Cores to their Kickstarter backers, the folks at Spark IO shipped another 30,000+ to other designers who couldn’t wait to get their hands on these little beauties. This past fall, the folks at Spark IO announced the sequel to the Spark Core -- the Photon -- for which they’ve been taking pre-orders (they’ve already pre-sold more than 10,000).

Since its launch, Spark has shipped to 75+ countries and has been used by tens of thousands of engineers at companies like Google, Disney, and Apple. In addition to boasting the most amazingly useful documentation on the planet, the folks at Spark IO have grown a phenomenal user community. In fact, they currently boast "The largest and most engaged community of engineers and developers in the Internet of Things (IoT)."

And why am I telling you all this? Well, I was just chatting with Zach Supalla, who is the Founder and CEO of Spark IO. As an aside, Zach will be giving a presentation at ESC Silicon Valley in July.

Spark IO recently launched this new Electron Kickstarter project (I just bounced over to take a peak -- they've already raised almost $90,000, which is three times their $30,000 goal, and they've still got 34 days to go!)

Below is a front and back view of the Electron, which -- at 2.0" x 0.8" x 0.3" (0.5" including headers) is about the size of your thumb... unless you have crazy weird huge thumbs.

 

"But just what is the Electron?" you cry. Well, cease your whining; take a deep breath; calm yourself; and I will explain all. The Electron is a tiny, Arduino-like cellular development kit comprising a microcontroller, a cellular modem, and a great big bunch of other useful stuff.

The Electron works like an Arduino. It runs a single application that you can create using Wiring (Arduino's programming language), or C/C++, or ARM assembly, or whatever -- it's open source, it's easy, and it's fun.

For those who want the nitty-gritty details, the Electron boasts an STM32F205 ARM Cortex M3 microcontroller with 1MB Flash and 128K RAM coupled with a U-Blox SARA U-series (3G) or G-series (2G) cellular modem. It also boasts 36 pins total: 28 GPIOs (D0-D13, A0-A13), plus TX/RX, 2 GNDs, VIN, VBAT, WKP, 3V3, and RST.

The key thing about the Electron is that it give you access to an incredibly low-cost cellular capability. Included with the Electron will be a SIM card that will work in the USA, Canada, and Europe, with other countries coming online soon.

Spark IO has negotiated global low-cost data plans for low-bandwidth products. How low-cost? Well, we're talking about $2.99 a month for 1MB of data ($0.99 for each additional MB). Although 1MB may not seem to be much if you're thinking of streaming video on your smartphone, it's not at all bad for a tremendous range of IoT applications. The Electron's messages tend to be 50 bytes or less, so you should be able to send and receive 20,000 messages per month (a bit less than once every two minutes) for less than three bucks.

Also, in addition to transmitting data, the Electron can receive and install over-the-air application updates. Of particular interest is the fact that there's no contract to sign -- you can deactivate your Electron(s) anytime you wish from the Spark IO website.

All I can say is that this is HUGE! The Spark Core is really clever, but it does require access to a Wi-Fi network in order to communicate with the Internet and the Spark Cloud. By comparison, the Electron will be able to perform its magic wherever there's cellular service.

As Zach said to me: "How can you take non-engineers and give them the resources they need to create cellular IoT products and get those products into their customers' hands? The answer is the Electron." I wholeheartedly agree.

The Electron is, of course, of tremendous interest to Makers for their hobby projects; believe me, I can think of a load of my own projects that will take full advantage of this little scamp and I can't wait to get my sticky hands on one. But it's also of interest for commercial and industrial applications -- in fact, I don’t think it's possible to put a number on the range of potential applications for this little rascal.

What say you? What applications might you use an Electron for in your own hobby projects? And what Electron-based commercial and industrial applications can you envisage? Please post your comments below, and let's see if we can come up with something even Zach hasn’t already considered.