{"id":8029,"date":"2021-08-01T13:06:51","date_gmt":"2021-08-01T17:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=8029"},"modified":"2023-04-12T07:25:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T11:25:46","slug":"arduino-iot-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/arduino-iot-cloud\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with the Arduino IoT Cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Download \u00a0\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the Arduino IoT Cloud, a platform for building IoT devices using Arduino and other microcontrollers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll see how to get set up with a cloud account and how to use it with a few different microcontrollers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Internet of Things has opened the door to a number of great projects for makers. Being able to build remote sensors and devices is both entertaining and useful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allowing IoT devices from different manufacturers to interact with your own creations can really open up a number of useful applications, some that you may not have previously considered building.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many ways to build IoT devices, some of them more complex than others.\u00a0 Many experimenters make use of cloud platforms such as Blynk, or \u201croll their own\u201d solutions with protocols like MQTT and development applications like IBM Node-Red.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we will look at another way of putting together IoT applications using microcontrollers and the Arduino IoT Cloud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arduino IoT Cloud<\/span><\/h2>\n

On February 6th, 2019 Arduino announced the public beta of the Arduino IoT Cloud.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Arduino<\/p>\n

The Arduino IoT Cloud was, in many ways, similar to the existing Blynk product. It allowed you to create IoT applications for Arduino microcontrollers and connect them to a cloud service, to control them or to interface them with existing IoT devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The initial implementation of the cloud was a bit limited in the number of Arduino boards it supported. It had both a free and paid tier, and made use of the existing Arduino online sketch editor.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of 2020 Arduino made a number of improvements to the IoT Cloud, and changed its account structure. The free tier remained, and was enhanced with the ability to use selected third-party boards. Other features like API and data retention were reserved for the paid tiers, of which there are now three.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Arduino IoT Cloud allows you to leverage your existing Arduino expertise and create your own IoT devices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to make use of the cloud, you\u2019ll first need to understand a bit of its unique terminology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Things<\/span><\/h3>\n

The basis of all Arduino IoT Cloud projects is the \u201cThing\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>Thing<\/span><\/i> is a virtual object that resides within the cloud. It is used to securely hold variables and information regarding connected devices and networks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Arduino<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll build a Thing for every project you create inside the cloud, using an online Thing editor.\u00a0 Your thing will consist of a mixture of Variables, a Device, network information, and a Sketch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Networks<\/span><\/h4>\n

You will need to configure your Thing with your network connection information. For most devices, this will be your WiFi credentials, your SSID, and password.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some third-party devices will also require an additional \u201csecret key\u201d, which will be generated by the Arduino IoT Cloud editor when the device is added.\u00a0 This secret key is entered along with the network information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Devices<\/span><\/h4>\n

Devices are simply microcontrollers that connect to the cloud.\u00a0 These can be certain Arduino microcontrollers, as well as a few third-party boards like the ESP32 and ESP8266.<\/span><\/p>\n

As of this writing (July 2021), the list of supported devices is as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n