Spark Core: Wi-Fi for Everything (Arduino Compatible) | Hacker News Reader

Spark Core: Wi-Fi for Everything (Arduino Compatible)

kickstarter.com

56 pointszsupalla20 comments

Oh cool, someone else has made the project on which I was working...

Edit: they made it way cooler than I ever dreamed of making mine.

It's understated on the kickstarter, but it looks like this is a vehicle for a new cloud development environment:

You can program your new software in our web development environment or in your favorite text editor, and with a single click, Spark Flash delivers updated firmware to your project over the web.

Hopefully it'll mark the shift away from USB and PCs as the main development connection and platform, and towards wifi and tablets.

Yes, reprogram your coffee maker while your car drives you to work.

I hope that you are joking, but I can't tell these days.

Pretty awesome! Arduino + BT4.0 next, please!

This could (or would have in my case) been very handy for prototyping wearables. BT4.0 is better for battery usage and phone connectivity in production-ready wearables though.

RFDuino also just got funded: http://www.rfduino.com/

This is very similar to the ElectricImp project: http://www.electricimp.com

What's new about this? Just that you don't have to buy an arduino and wifi separately?

It also looks like it will be well-integrated and I think that's where the real value is.

There's an incredible amount of value in "well-integrated". I wasted weeks trying to get an Arduino to have enough control over an Xbee to get it to even see wifi networks. And Xbees were designed to work over existing wifi frequencies...

This is much smaller than most Arduinos (certainly smaller than the official Arduinos).

Processor-wise I guess it should be comparable to the Arduino Due (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardDue) which has an 84 MHz Cortex-M3 (the Spark Core runs at 72 MHz). The Core seems to have more code space, with a 2 MB external flash.

Uploading sketches via wifi is a unique feature, isn't it?

That's brilliant. Is there any way to get a wifi module like this on the Raspberry Pi? All the ones I've found require external power (i.e. a USB hub)...

There are compatible USB wifi modules, like this one: http://www.adafruit.com/products/814

Hmm, that one says it might need a hub too. I have a similar one, if not that one, and the Pi was freezy without a hub, when using the adapter.

I've used both of these without a hub without any problem. I use an old Samsung cell charger (I think 700ma). I don't generally have anything else drawing power from the USB port though.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037G2BMY/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LPY204/

I recommend this one:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=105&c...

It worked with zero extra setup on my Pi. Plugged directly into Pi - no hub.

I'll give it a shot, thanks! It's possible that my USB adapter doesn't supply enough power, though, so I'll try a bigger one first.

glad to see more arduino compatible wifi alternatives getting out there

I'm holding out for WiMAX.

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