Making your Own IoT Projects in Minutes with Arduino Opla IoT Kit
IoT is everywhere. don’t believe me? Look around you! It’s literally everywhere. In a very general sense, IoT refers to a broad range of internet-connected devices that are capable of communicating with other devices and networks.
For example, door locks that are controlled by your mobile phone, Smart Heating system, Automatic Plant Watering System, Home Safety monitoring System, Smartwatch, etc. Pretty cool right? What if you could make an IoT system. Actually, you can. Now. It’s time for you to start building your own IoT ecosystem even without previous experience.
Opla IoT Kit by Arduino
Yes, you read that right! Arduino has launched the Opla IoT kit, the first open programmable IoT Platform which will enable you to build your own custom IoT devices. Using this kit, you can connect your home devices to the internet and control them from anywhere around the world. Basically, you can convert any device in your home into a smart device.
The best part is Arduino has some cool examples on their website which will help you get started with this kit right away. Check it out if you are interested in getting one.
Last week, We were really excited to know that Arduino has gifted me one of these kits for my projects. We have been waiting for this for a few days and here it is! So let’s see what it looks like!
When I opened the box, there was a note from them. Here is what it said.
Arduino Team, if you are reading this, thanks a lot guys. This really means a lot to me.
Arduino IoT Opla Kit Components
Arduino IoT Carrier Board
The main features of this board are the Round OLED Display and the 5 Capacitive touch buttons spread across its perimeter. The carrier has a temperature sensor, humidity sensor, pressure sensor, and light sensor. It also contains a gesture and proximity sensor, IMU, and an RGB color sensor which is more than enough for most of your IoT requirements.
In the future tutorials, we will be going through each and every sensor separately and will show you how to make different smart devices with this Opla Kit.
Another thing about this carrier board is that it contains two 24V relays that can be connected to devices like lamps or door locks which enables you to control them using your mobile phone. Also, it contains 5 RGB LEDs which can be used for indication purposes and to make your project look cooler!
Arduino MKR1010
Next, we have an Arduino MKR WiFi 1010. We have been using this board for the past few months, and let me tell you guys, this is an AMAZING board you can work with for your internet-connected projects and piconet applications!
MKR1010 is an updated version of the classic Arduino MKR1000, it has almost all the same features, like hardware security and battery management but it uses a new WiFi module from ublox which enables BLE capability in this board.
Other Components
Then, we have this capacitive moisture sensor which we will be using for our automatic plant watering system, a PIR sensor, Micro USB cable as well as a plastic enclosure.
How to Connect Arduino MKR1010 to the Carrier Board?
Now, let’s connect the Arduino MKR1010 to the carrier. To do that, all you have to do is align the pins on both boards and simply push it.
How to Activate a 12 Month Subscription to Arduino Create Maker Plan?
Another thing about this kit is, it includes The Arduino Create Maker Plan for 1 year which will give you unlimited compilation time and access to all the features of the Arduino IoT Cloud. Now, I will show you how you can access the 12-month subscription of your maker plan.
Inside the box, you will see a code that can be applied at the checkout portion of the maker plan. Once you go to the console, you will see these Plans. From here, select this Maker Plan. At this point, add this code to this box at the checkout. Don’t worry if it asks for billing information, since you are using this code, you won’t be charged.
In the next page you should be seeing the above message. That means 12 months subscription has been activated and you are good to go.
Getting Started with Opla IoT Kit
In the next post, I will be showing you how you can get started with this kit. I will show you how you can set up the device, add this device to the IoT cloud, and upload your first code to your OPLA kit.
Check out this Arduino Opla IoT Kit Tutorial to upload your first code to your Opla Kit.
