PocketBeagle IoT

[Adam Lemonade]

Hey all, 

First up – I'm a Beagle newbie. More than that, I have some serious black spots when it comes to tech, coding, etc. But I enjoy the pain of learning, so here I am... 

Basically my question is in regards to a project I'm scoping out involving a PocketBeagle. Essentially, I was to use a Pocket as a wearable device, running a display that will periodically display information from a server. For that, I'll need some kind of IoT connectivity – WiFi or Bluetooth. 

From my initial digging, there's no immediate solution specific to the Pocket. It's very important that the module or board is small enough to embed in a wearable device (in this instance, a baseball cap). 

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance, 

Adam

adamandothers.com

[Daniel Escasa]

Sabi ni Adam noong Monday, November 6, 2017 at 10:01:08 AM UTC+8:

One way to do it would be with a USB breakout board, available from Adafruit, or possibly the HUZZAH ESP8266 Breakout which also shows up in that link. Not having done enough reading, I can't be sure how to interface the HUZZA and the like with the Pocket, let alone if they would work. The USB breakout boards, OTOH, in conjunction with a WiFi dongle, probably will, and in fact show up in a Google search. That does involve a dongle though, which would look kinda odd sticking out of a baseball cap :).

Adafruit has a couple of breakout boards that incorporate not only WiFi but Bluetooth as well. Look into BT for connectivity, as WiFi may be an overkill, depending of course on what you want to do. Also look into GSM breakout boards for cellular connectivity. Prices are low enough to tempt me into switching on experimental mode

[Daniel Escasa]

OK, here's general info on how to interface the ESP8266 with another device: http://rancidbacon.com/files/kiwicon8/ESP8266_WiFi_Module_Quick_Start_Guide_v_1.0.4.pdf -- scroll down to page 3. Caveat: he says that powering the ESP8266 from, e.g., a Beagle, is a bad idea. What I would do is supply power to the former using a YuRobot or similar power supply, an 18650 battery shield, or even a power bank through USB if the ESP8266 you choose supports power-through-USB