There will come a moment in your experimentation when nothing will be working and you will have to figure out how to fix it. Troubleshooting and debugging are ancient arts in which there are a few simple rules, but most of the results are obtained through careful work and paying attention to details. More important… Continue reading Introduction
Author: haroon
Internet Connected Fistbump: The Web Page
The web page consists of two files: index.html and sketch.js which contains the code which will detect a click and then send a message to the MQTT broker. The index.html file is quite trivial; it loads two libraries (p5.js and an MQTT library) and the sketch.js JavaScript code (which does all the work), enclosed by the… Continue reading Internet Connected Fistbump: The Web Page
Internet Connected Fistbump: Arduino code
The code below is commented fairly heavily, so I’ll only describe it here in general terms: The setup() function does 4 things: The loop() does the following: Note the first thing in setup() will cause the program to loop forever until the serial port is opened. This is to give you time to turn on the serial monitor, so that you… Continue reading Internet Connected Fistbump: Arduino code
Internet Connected Fistbump: MQTT Broker on Shiftr.io
As mentioned earlier, Shiftr.io provides a free public broker which anyone can use. This broker is accessed at public.cloud.shiftr.io. Note that anyone else can potentially access your messages or even send you a message. If you want a private broker, you need to set up an account on Shiftr.io. To connect to the public broker we… Continue reading Internet Connected Fistbump: MQTT Broker on Shiftr.io
Internet Connected Fistbump: The hardware
The circuit for this project is trivial, consisting only of a hobby servo motor. You will also need a solderless breadboard and some jumper wires1. In Driving Bigger Loads (Motors, Lamps, and the Like) in Ch. 5, you learned how to control a simple DC motor. This type of motor is designed to turn continuously rather quickly,… Continue reading Internet Connected Fistbump: The hardware
Introducing MQTT: the Message Queueing Telemetry Transfer protocol
Communicating on the internet utilizes a stack of protocols. The lowest level protocols interface directly with the hardware, while protocols higher up interface with those below them. This allows a variety of protocols to be developed without having to re-implement the lower levels. In terms of data, the lower level protocols handle individual bytes, slightly… Continue reading Introducing MQTT: the Message Queueing Telemetry Transfer protocol
An internet connected “fistbump”
Hopefully by the time you read this the COVID pandemic will be well under control, but at the time of writing, social distancing is very much still necessary and we have all gotten used to giving gentle “fistbumps” (if that) rather than hugs or shaking hands. This project will allow someone to send you a… Continue reading An internet connected “fistbump”
Introduction
As mentioned earlier, one of the wonderful things about these powerful ARM based Arduinos is the ability to handle complex networking protocols. We’ll show you how to make a simple internet connected project based on the MKR WiFi 1010. As the name suggests, this board has a build-in module that allows you to connect to a… Continue reading Introduction
Things to Try on Your Own
This is a complex project with many different components. There are endless things you can do differently. Here are a few suggestions:
Testing the Finished Automatic Garden Irrigation System
NOTE Always test your projects in modules individually at first, in whatever way the project allows you to do this. Start by testing the Arduino and Proto Shield without the two power supplies connected. This means that your computer is providing power to the Arduino. As before, use the Blink example to test each digital… Continue reading Testing the Finished Automatic Garden Irrigation System