A couple of days ago a crowdfunding campaign began for a new development platform called WeIO. Taglined as the “Platform for Web of Things” WeIO aims at dramatically simplifying the process of developing new devices, in terms of both hardware integration and software programming. In fact, according to WeIO’s creators — a team of engineers and designers from France and Lithuania — making physical objects with this new board should become as easy as developing a website.
Comparison with web development is not random as the board will be programmed natively using HTML5 (Javascript, CSS, HTML) and Python Web languages. More than that, a WeIO IDE is served locally by simply accessing the board from any browser on any device through the local network. Coding can start right away, as no software installation is required on the computer nor downloaded from cloud services.
Hardware-wise the board is fully equipped with a WiFi module — compatible with AP and STA modes, making the board accessible immediately after power up, IO modules with digital and analog interfaces, USB host, micro SD card slot and even an Ethernet interface. Real-time IO monitoring and routines are possible thanks to a dedicated ARM Cortex-M0 coprocessor, and multitasking is also possible.
WeIO is powered by OpenWrt Linux, running a Tornado web server, and offering services such as Websockets, SSH, SMB and Bonjour zeroconf. Arduino compatible API allows for easy integration with other boards.
All things considered, we could safely assume that the WeIO platform could be the next big thing in terms of rapid prototyping and ease of use, offering good integration with well established platforms such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi.
WeIO’s creators say that mass production should start as soon as the crowdfunding campaign is over, and shipping will start right after this stage. The WeIO platform project is also backed by French company NoDesign and Lithuanian company 8devices.
WeIO specifications
- Main processing unit: 400 MHz AR9331 WiSoC (wireless SoC)
- Coprocessor: LPC11xx ARM Cortex-M0
- Memory: 16MB flash, 64MB DDR2 RAM
- Storage: MicroSD card
- Interfaces:
- GPIO – total of 32
- UART – 1
- SPI – 2
- i2c – 1
- ADC 10bit – 8
- PWM 16bit – 6
- USB host (for webcams, storage, etc.) – 1
- MicroUSB FTDI serial to USB adapter – 1
- Ethernet – 1
- RGB LED
- LM75 digital thermometer
- 3.3V operating voltage, 5V tolerant GPIO except ADC
- 5V external power supply
Resources
- WeIO campaign on Indiegogo
- WeIO website
- WeIO repository on GitHub