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Arduino SRL Turns Focus To New Connected Boards (hackaday.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the doing-it-better dept.

szczys writes: Arduino has driven a tidal wave of embedded development over the last decade. But last year a rift formed in the shape of two companies — Arduino LLC and Arduino SRL — who are suing each other over trademark. While that is ongoing, each company is trying to outdo the other in terms of new hardware. Arduino SRL is now focusing on producing connected boards and will soon have several new offerings available. The Uno WiFi is a traditional Arduino with an ESP8266 WiFi chip on board. The Tian has a MIPS processor with 2.4 & 5 GHz WiFi making it a Linux single board computer with support for low level pin driving. And the Lei is somewhere in between the other two and only for the Chinese market (it would need FCC certification to be sold in the US). From the user side the trademark dispute looks like a waste of energy, but if it drives the companies to produce more boards and fight for followers on price and quality that may be the silver lining.

67 comments

  1. Is Arduino dead? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 2

    With the Raspberry Pi Zero available for only 5 U.S. dollars, is the Arduino obsolete?

    1. Re:Is Arduino dead? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2

      Doubt it - the Pi Zero needs bolt-ons to be very useful. (http://makezine.com/2015/11/28/chip-vs-pi-zero/) As another poster mentioned, the marketing strategy seems to be "flood the education market" kind of like Apple did back in the day - people actually building anything will probably steer clear of the Pi Zero.

    2. Re:Is Arduino dead? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      No. Next question.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    3. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are times when you need to run something for weeks/months on a single PP3 battery (or comparable). Good luck doing that with the Pi (any version).

    4. Re:Is Arduino dead? by silas_moeckel · · Score: 2

      Nope the PI is a much higher level board running a multitasking operating system. You're not going to bit bang any but the most simple and slow interface reliably on that. Sure if your making LED blinky lights it's fine. Decode or send some proprietary RF coms not so much. Pretty much it's unsuitable for anything but realy basic relay type work.

      Mind you the useful uno clones are about $5 as well. ESP8266 also about $5 and the new ones are breadboard friendly as well thats a huge upgrade in CPU umph.

      --
      No sir I dont like it.
    5. Re: Is Arduino dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When the Pi gets as many analog/digital inputs as an Arduino Mega, and runs without crashing for months on end, and has a 5V line, let me know.

    6. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      Arduino is closer to RealTime (think Analog) than PI. It all has to do with what the application is that you decided. If you need automated and precise controls you're gonna go Arduino, but if you don't , Pi would function well. And if you can keep your Pi clean, it might suffice even for some rudimentary near RealTime controls.

      Having had this discussion with my FIL this weekend, it is easy to "get one of each" and see which one works best.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    7. Re:Is Arduino dead? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      With the Raspberry Pi Zero available for only 5 U.S. dollars,

      Most humans can not get their hands on a Pi Zero for 5 or even ten U.S. dollars.

      is the Arduino obsolete?

      No, especially since I actually can get one in my hands for about $3.50.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:Is Arduino dead? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Don't know, do you make phone calls with your phone or with your PC?

      The Arduino and the Raspberry Pi are two different things with two very different purposes. One is a chip which can be programmed to perform actions in real time, the other is a ridiculously scaled down computer. Sure you can scale one up and the other down, but as always when you push something outside it's primary purpose you end up with something completely different.

    9. Re:Is Arduino dead? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      a controller is not a multi-user time-sharing computer and vice-versa.

      next question, please?

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    10. Re:Is Arduino dead? by EmperorOfCanada · · Score: 1

      I am willing to bet that in Canada I would be impressed with someone who could get a single zero shipped to their door for much less than $30. ($22 USD). Then to top that off if you ship USP from the states there is a good chance of being hit with a $40 fee. Most of the Raspberry sellers use UPS. Thus the $5 zero could literally be over $70 delivered.

      Yet if I order a Chinese Arduino, it will be delivered in 2-3 weeks for $2-3.

      On an interesting note about their fighting. There is a saying in science, "Science proceeds one funeral at a time." With many situations where there is a single worshipped founder their complacency can bring all progress to a halt. I see this when I have posted videos of arduinos(Chinese) in use and people will comment, "Support arduino you asshole."

      Well now we have this interesting situation where if either of the Arduino companies sit on their ass they will die. I love it. I hope they get the most lethargic inefficient, indecisive, judge in judicial history. Neither of them can just issue diktats that go against what people want sending the faithful into fits when they are disobeyed.

      Now if someone would just redo the Arduino IDE in something other than Java.

    11. Re:Is Arduino dead? by EmperorOfCanada · · Score: 2

      I make most of my calls with my PC. I either use skype, or I can get my apple to use my iPhone to make telco calls. I have a great headset so it is far more pleasant to use.

      But I agree, the arduino can be pushed surprisingly hard but I use it as basically a really cool IO port for something with a bigger brain that is easier to program.

    12. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Very different markets. Raspberry Pi is high end 32 bit with lots of memory. Arduino is very tiny 8 bit system. Raspberry Pi has linux and a full system ready to go. Arduino is dumbed down if you use their programming environment, intended for people with little hardware or software experience. Both are intended for hobbyists and are popular for being popular, rather than existing eval boards.

    13. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      "Nope the PI is a much higher level board running a multitasking operating system. You're not going to bit bang any but the most simple and slow interface reliably on that. "

      You are kidding, right? How do you suppose Linux manages it? It seems you have never heard of interrupts. :-(

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    14. Re:Is Arduino dead? by sjames · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not even close, though it may see reduced application.

      Arduino (AVR) can operate at a wide range of voltages and doesn't need terribly close regulation. It can go down to extremely low power if the regulator and power LED is removed (The pro-mini offers a solder link that can be cut to do that easily). It is more robust than the Pi.

      Where more computation power is wanted and the above aren't as important, the Pi comes into play.

      They both have their place.

    15. Re:Is Arduino dead? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Arduinos are also the controllers for many 3D printers.

    16. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Yonder+Way · · Score: 1

      You're comparing apples and pancakes. They occupy completely different device categories.

    17. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > With the Raspberry Pi Zero available for only 5 U.S. dollars, is the Arduino obsolete?

      If analogue ports are required then an Arduino (Nano are ~$3) is a good way to get them as an add on to a Raspberry Pi.

    18. Re:Is Arduino dead? by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      I got mine from Micro Center for $5.40 (tax) retail. I ordered it on their webstore for in-store pickup, and picked it up on my way home from work. I assume that the channel will fill up soon enough and they will be ubiquitous and cost MSRP for everyone.

      --
      Good-bye
    19. Re:Is Arduino dead? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      It would be nice to hae a real-time option for the rpi, but soft rt can be made to work well enough in many cases where something physically is being controlled (car, rocket, sprinkler). Mostly because solutions can be calculated much faster than available processing time. So you calculate a control law in soft real time and spit out the control signal based on a hard rt clock. I haven't tried it with the rpi, but works very well under windows.`

    20. Re:Is Arduino dead? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      A ridiculously scaled down computer that is equivalent to a mainframe computer a few years ago.

    21. Re:Is Arduino dead? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      It has been in much of my experience. vxWorks for example.

    22. Re:Is Arduino dead? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I assume that the channel will fill up soon enough and they will be ubiquitous and cost MSRP for everyone.

      I look forward to that, and would even be willing to pay a reasonable shipping fee to get a couple of them in my hot little hands, if only that were possible.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    23. Re:Is Arduino dead? by silas_moeckel · · Score: 1

      And you have never heard of interrupt latency, You're not going to bit by bit decode anything of any significant speed on any multitasking OS. Interrupts are great but PC devices all have some sort of buffer. 80's parallel port uses a latch / ack setup, I'm old enough to remember 8250 UARTS and not being able to get past 9600 baud reliably. Try turning off interrupt coalescing on a 10gb nic, receiving min sized packets at line rate and watch any OS cry. To my knoledge linux does not bit bang any common device for any significant amount of time. There were some interesting used for LPT ports in the 90's they were neither realy high speed or very reliable.

      --
      No sir I dont like it.
    24. Re:Is Arduino dead? by silas_moeckel · · Score: 1

      Things like the ESP8266 with a much higher clock rate realy fill that in between niche. Wifi and IP stack and enough ram and excess CPU to make them useful while still being dirt cheap at $5 for a complete breadboard friendly design but without OS overhead.

      --
      No sir I dont like it.
    25. Re:Is Arduino dead? by silas_moeckel · · Score: 1

      There have been attempts. Simple robotic controls etc are not that hard, the rpi breaks down when trying to do things that need tight and continuous timing. It's pretty easy to use a dedicated micro for anything that timing sensitive and connect it up to a rpi for higher level logic.

      --
      No sir I dont like it.
    26. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1
      Throwing around terms such a latency, propagation delay, rise time, fall time, set-up time, undershoot and overshoot, jitter, etc. (though I'm sure you haven't even heard of a couple of them) doesn't make you sound smart, when your assertion is absurd.. Ultimately, there is absolutely no reason why you can't reliably generate and receive signals in a timely fashion. Bitwise or bytewise; it's all the same and I have written numerous device drivers for a number of different multi-tasking OSs. I assure you it is not difficult to do at all. If you couldn't pull it off, that is because you lack the skill, not because it is difficult.

      " To my knoledge linux does not bit bang any common device for any significant amount of time"

      You hit the nbail on the head. It is your lack of knoledge (sic) is the issue. Also, who cares if it is a common device or not? That being said, SPI is just one of many bit-banging scenarios that Linux does just fine.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    27. Re:Is Arduino dead? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Don't know, do you make phone calls with your phone or with your PC?

      I make calls with my Arduino, you insensitive clod!

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    28. Re:Is Arduino dead? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1
      Yup. That's why you ave to write a lot of the software at the driver level.

      I used to write software for a couple of the rt linux variants about 15 years ago. It's not that difficult for a large class of problems as there are many things that do not need to be rt, eg, memory allocations, hd or network access. You can run those things as background tasks and trigger/signal them from a fg rt task for writing/reading.

      It takes some systems knowledge and analysis, but not particularly difficult IMO. The one thing I never figured out (or tried really) was a rt window manager. I know there's Quark, and played with it but never looked at it's capabilities. I really think that a rt window manager could significantly cut down hardware requirements. But to be conspiratorial about it, one of my old managers (at a hardware company) told me that hardware vendors like to sell hardware. The way hw/sw is done now to provide adequate response is to brute force things with faster (and energy hungry) hardware rather than looking at the problem and deciding what parts need to be fast (typing/mouse movements/button clicks and acknowledgements vs things that people don't care about. Simple example - closing a window.. Click the x, the net video frame refresh remove the window from being drawn (z buffer?) and do all the closing stuff out of site vs the other way around. That way closing a window would take 1/70th of a second regardless if you had a quad core i7 or an i386. It may take dozens of seconds under the 386 for resources to free up but that's not a problem for most users.

    29. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Adding on. Arduino is a microcontroller prototyping platform. If you will transition to a custom board, the Arduino makes more sense in all the ways a microcontroller makes sense over a processor, for example, lower power, lower complexity in software AND hardware design. Any engineer knows that complexity sucks, and you only want to tolerate the complexity that is absolutely required.

    30. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

      Zero__Kelvin,

      The OP does have some valid points. His scenario involves bit banging in the application, not the OS. Task switching delays, swapping, non-granular timers, and other delays can lead to very odd behavior.

      Your example of the SPI device driver is not exactly valid - it represents an SPI master device. SPI master mode is not timing sensitive, so delays in bit-banging the clock out don't matter. You could delay the clock transitions randomly and as long as the data is present and you don't exceed the max clock speed, the SPI interface will work.

      And before you claim I'm talking nonsense, I used to be a lead dev for a multi-user, multitasking hard realtime OS that was written entirely in assembler (close to a million lines). We guaranteed interrupt latency figures to your application, not just the OS.

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
    31. Re:Is Arduino dead? by silas_moeckel · · Score: 1

      You do realize that SPI master is very easy to implement, after all you never have to react to a clock. Take a quick look for people trying to bit bang a SPI slave under linux not so much success. Yes their are bitbanged drivers find one that has to follow a clock and do that for a non trivial protocol at an appreciable speed. Now sow me something that does this in userspace. The marginal cost to do it "right" for a hobby project is trivial, hell the ESP8266s are cheaper than you can add a network connection to a $5 rpi. You're assuming they are going to write kernel code, compile it for a rpi etc etc etc thats a lot more involved that your typical maker with a rpi is capable of. A more reasonable case for a rpi is userspace code python or whatever.

      Since you seem to like links here goes https://pypi.python.org/pypi/R... yup they say flat out entirely unsuitable for anything thats timing critical, use an arduino.

      Sure you can use just about anything to do gpio work that does not make it optimal. So an rpi is not realy a reasonable replacement for an arduino, in fact the work together rather well.

      --
      No sir I dont like it.
    32. Re:Is Arduino dead? by umafuckit · · Score: 1

      With the Raspberry Pi Zero available for only 5 U.S. dollars, is the Arduino obsolete?

      No. Because the Arduino is a microcontroller and the Pi is a small computer that runs a fully fledged OS. There is a big difference.

      --
      soylentnews.org
    33. Re:Is Arduino dead? by sjames · · Score: 1

      Yes. An AVR microcontroller has very few requirements for support circuitry.It makes transitioning to a custom board much easier.

    34. Re:Is Arduino dead? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Doubt it - the Pi Zero needs bolt-ons to be very useful.

      That's not necessarily true. If what you're doing can be done with 3.3 volt digital logic, then you don't need to add anything but a power supply to the Pi Zero to make it do things. If you were using it, say, to control a drone, you wouldn't need anything out of the ordinary. You'd need an ESC with a linear regulator (even cheap ones often have that, like the $10 XXD 30A ESCs) and you'd probably need to use a voltage divider for your PPM input, since it's 5V. But if you can live without voltage monitoring then you can do it without any D/A, since the gyros etc interface via I2C.

      I have a CHIP on preorder, and I will also be buying a couple of Pi Zeros when they are actually available without exorbitant shipping fees. I don't live near a Micro Center. They're both useful, for different jobs.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    35. Re: Is Arduino dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I press X I want to know when the task ended, not clear my desktop.

    36. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      "Since you seem to like links ..."

      Holy fucking shit. You are a complete fucking moron. Off you go now ....

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    37. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      "The OP does have some valid points. His scenario involves bit banging in the application,"

      Well, I really can't help it if he is an idiot who doesn't know where hardware interface code belongs, now can I?

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    38. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

      There goes Mr. Superior, spouting his rhetoric. Get over yourself, dude.

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
    39. Re:Is Arduino dead? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Just remember who your Superior is and we'll get along fine.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  2. Usurper! by Dracos · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Remember, kids: SRL is the usurper Arduino that secretlyfiled the Arduino copyright and started dicking Banzi and Co (arduino.cc) out of royalties. This issue from April 2015 ("Rename this fork and use less confusing versioning") had its most recent comment 17 days ago.

  3. Why is Slashdot advertising for Arduino SRL? by NimbleSquirrel · · Score: 5, Informative

    This article completely brushes over the Trademark dispute, where if the facts were published it would become clear that ArduinoSRL (formerly Smart Projects) has been attempting to hijack the Arduino brand. ArduinoSRL/Smart Projects produced boards under license from Arduino.cc. In 2008 they sneakily registered the trademark in Italy just before Arduino.cc pursued registering the trademark internationally. Arduino.cc found out and tried to negotiate for the trademark that was rightfully theirs. Subsequently, Smart Projects stopped paying royalties to Arduino.cc, changed their name to ArduinoSRL, and have declared themselves the real Arduino. Funny thing is that the code they distribute to run their hardware is still from Arduino.cc

    1. Re: Why is Slashdot advertising for Arduino SRL? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the way AMD gotcthe right to make x86 processors. Does anybody want AMD to not have become what it is?

    2. Re: Why is Slashdot advertising for Arduino SRL? by sjames · · Score: 3, Informative

      That is absolutely NOT what AMD did. AMD negotiated in good faith with Intel when Intel needed there to be a second source for x86 in order to make some big government sales.

    3. Re:Why is Slashdot advertising for Arduino SRL? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Funny thing is that the code they distribute to run their hardware is still from Arduino.cc

      Really? Because ArduinoSRL maintains it's own code base and it's a version ABOVE Arduiono.cc /end snark remark.

      You only covered the trade mark issues. There's also the issue of forking the program, calling it the same thing as the original program, and giving the fork version a minor increase. On the scale of dick moves this is the surgically augmented porn-star scale of dick moves.

  4. Arduino SRL deserves no support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They have tried to hijack the arduino trademark from the rightful owners. EOF

    1. Re:Arduino SRL deserves no support by sectokia · · Score: 2

      It would be interesting to know which of the two have pocketed all the money. I have done AVR boards nearly identical to arduino over the last decade+, and in 10k volume a avr board has about $1.20 in parts, a few dollars to assemble and individually package. Yet they were able to sell them for $30!! And people think Apple has big margins.... The avr Chips in volume are at least a hundred times cheaper than raspberry pi Chips. Arduino has made a fortune (i think SRL?). By tying the scoring language to the arduno name, they can sell boards that should be a few bucks for $30+. You can make a good living selling shield boards on kick starter for $20 a pop that are produced for a few bucks.

  5. ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only $2 by mmiscool · · Score: 3, Informative

    The esp8266 is already arduino compatible using the board manger in the arduino IDE. https://github.com/esp8266/Ard... Why go through the trouble making a board that has 2 microcontrollers on it when the ESP8266 has wifi, runs at 80 MHz and commonly comes in packages with 1,2 or 4 mb of flash memory for your program. Seems to me to be to little too late. http://www.banggood.com/NodeMc... http://www.banggood.com/ESP826... http://www.banggood.com/3Pcs-E... I feel like there needs to be a whole article on the ESP8266 on here.

  6. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by mmiscool · · Score: 2

    http://slashdot.org/submission...

  7. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    So can you just order the very cheapest ESP8266 breakout ($2) and use it as an Arduino? Or do you need a fancier one?

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. IoT Security by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

    Every time I see slashvertisements or articles for this type of equipment I cringe at the fact that there is no easy end user solution for security with all these devices. How can your grandma put these devices in a dmz where security compromises don't impact her online banking or whatever? For most people, the limit of their home network security is their wifi pass phrase-- once that is known little is protected.

    1. Re:IoT Security by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every time I see slashvertisements or articles for this type of equipment I cringe at the fact that there is no easy end user solution for security with all these devices. How can your grandma put these devices in a dmz where security compromises don't impact her online banking or whatever? For most people, the limit of their home network security is their wifi pass phrase-- once that is known little is protected.

      And every time I see moronic ill informed shit like this, I keep hoping someone will bring in retroactive abortion.

      If granny is using wifi Arduinos, she knows far more than you do, so get her to explain it to you.

  9. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by mmiscool · · Score: 1

    Yep. The cheapest ones will need a usb to serial convert to be programmed. The more expensive ones have this built in to the board.

  10. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    That is fascinating and exciting. Even 512kB of flash is a lot, frankly, for that kind of money.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  11. A lesson in how not to manage your IP by accessbob · · Score: 1
    You must protect your brand identity when your business is based on open source hardware and/or software, it's all you've got.

    That's an incredibly expensive business but you've got to do it.

  12. Yun, Tian, Lei? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's with the Chinese names?

    Yun = cloud,
    Tian = sky,
    Lei = tired?

    So the Chinese market is getting a (re)tired board to play with. Go for it, guys!

    1. Re:Yun, Tian, Lei? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      We could ask Apple the same thing: what's with the California names?
      Mavericks
      Yosemite
      El Capitan

  13. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by Lurks · · Score: 2

    It's difficult to overstate the importance of the ESP8266. It was marred a bit in the first place with the $5 modules that only had a serial interface and a firmware that spoke in AT-commands. This is paradoxically how these stupid AVR+ESP8266 boards work. They're worthless. The AT/serial firmware is buggy and unreliable and a complete waste of time.

    The thing that made the ESP8266 lift off is the breakout boards with USB serial onboard allowing direct programming of the device. For about $10 you can get one of these from China and then flash the NodeMCU firmware and write Lua on the thing. NodeMCU isn't universally loved, largely because it kind of sucked until more recent versions, but just imagine a scripting language with low-level hardware GPIO, I2C, SPI and of course WiFi. Proper IoT shit for $10 and they draw about 30mA when running flat out and sleep at much less. It's amazing.

    If Lua doesn't cut it, there's a really nice port of Arduino so you upload C code directly to the board with shitloads (but not all) of the Arduino support libraries you might want. For me, there's really only one usage case for 8-bit AVRs. That's the ATtiny85s run for about $3 on a board with USB (digisparks).

  14. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    For me, there's really only one usage case for 8-bit AVRs. That's the ATtiny85s run for about $3 on a board with USB (digisparks).

    I have a digispark, I'm trying to get USB and a PS2 controller interface to work at the same time with no success so far...

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  15. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by Lurks · · Score: 1

    Interesting. Are you using the software USB serial library (CDC or something?). Uses up half of the flash and most of the RAM but it does work. It's just really really tight. Presumably you're using the arduino library for PS2 controllers? Looks like it's bit-banging, might well expect the AVR to run at a particular speed. Might want to look at that?

  16. Wired is king by Xenna · · Score: 2

    In my experience wifi is a bit too unreliable to run your IoT applications on. Wifi links can be unreliable and anyone could DDOS your IoT application from a (relatively) safe distance and it's a real bummer if you can't enter your house when you need to because the rfid reader/finger print scanner can't contact your door latch. Therefore (been there done that) I prefer a good wired ethernet solution. Personally I use the openpicus flyport ethernet for such applications. Small, cheap and rock solid. But I'd prefer a compact wired Arduino so I can run my state machine library on it.

    I guess competition is good, but the Arduino trademark stuff is a bit annoying.

  17. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have started using ESP boards as a direct replacement for Arduino/Atmel chips in certain projects, they are a little bit limited in that they arent as flexible on voltage, everything needs to be 3.3v, and have less IO pins than a full uno or mega board, but you get a huge amount of program space, wifi built in, and they are immediately usable as a microcontroller thats a 32bit instruction set and way faster than an ATmega.

    Pretty much all arduino code/libraries that dont embed any assembly language will work, even some that did like adafruits neopixel library now support it, as adafruit also sell an esp based board. Note that the wifi libraries do eat up a large chunk of that program space, about 200kb of it i think, plus about half the ram. but thats still a heck of a lot of space remaining, you also get a chunk of the remaining space made available as a file system. https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/blob/master/doc/filesystem.md

  18. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I'm trying to use the USI serial hardware built into the attiny85. The USB part works. The PS2 part is just an SPI interface, there's an additional line but you can ignore it. I think the USB stuff is also using USI, maybe, so it's complicated. Maybe I need to save some registers aside before I do my SPI communications, and then restore them before I run the function to do the USB stuff. I might have to go ahead and just implement SPI without USI... ugh

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  19. ESP is not a 1:1 replacement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love the ESP but sometimes you need that ATmega.
    Making an input device and need to present it as a USB HID device? Forget about the ESP; you need a Leonardo (AT32U4) or reflashed Uno for that.
    Need more than one ADC input (without the 1V max)? ATmega.
    That's all I have for now. Check out the upcoming ESP32, it's got Bluetooth LE which is pretty exciting.

    1. Re:ESP is not a 1:1 replacement by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Making an input device and need to present it as a USB HID device? Forget about the ESP; you need a Leonardo (AT32U4) or reflashed Uno for that.

      Wrong. I mean, yes, that works, and I've done it. But it's not the only way to get USB HID out of an Arduino. You can use V-USB, a zener diode and a couple of resistors for that. You need either a 12 MHz, 15 MHz, 16 MHz 18 MHz or 20 MHz crystal or an AVR with a 12.8 MHz or 16.5 MHz internal RC oscillator. Digispark for example uses an attiny85 which has the 16.5 MHz internal clock.

      The question for would-be ESP users, of course, is whether the ESP can run V-USB. I'd guess no. But maybe I'm wrong.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  20. Re: ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am assuming the creators don't speak English natively. The spelling errors and grammar on their website is awful. It looks like a 10 year old wrote it.

  21. Re:ESP8266 is already Arduino compadible and only by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Well, I got my ESP-01s, I have some ESP-03s coming as well. And the other thing you need is an external power source for flashing, because the USB to serial converters won't have enough 3.3 volt as a rule since it's coming out of the PL2303 chip. Apparently the Arduino Nano gets its 3.3 from the same place, so that's no solution... I guess I could bring some 3.3 out of my PC :p I've got a WS2812 array here I would like to drive with this one. I've got a buck converter coming to drive the ESP-01. The 3.3 volt output on my PL2303 board has enough current for me to read the MAC address with esptool, so at least I know I have connected it correctly. I also have some level shifters coming for other projects.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"