Intel Edison Projects

Avirup Basu

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781787283626
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Hardware
• Index: Computer Science

Build powerful Robots and IoT solutions using Intel EdisonAbout This Book• Learn to build advanced level robots with Intel Edison and Arduino• Efficiently build and program home automation and IoT projects with Intel Edison• Master the skills of creating enticing projects with Intel Edison.Who This Book Is ForIf you are a hobbyist, robot engineer, IoT enthusiast, programmer, or developer who wants to create autonomous projects with Intel Edison, then this book is for you. Prior programming knowledge would be beneficial.What You Will Learn• Program your device using the Arduino processor language, Python, and Node.js• Interface different sensors with the Intel Edison• Build a home automation system using MQTT, Android, and WPF• Perform face detection using Intel Edison• Develop a high-speed line follower robot• Control a robot using a PC application and an custom controllerIn DetailChange the way you look at embedded electronics with Intel Edison. It is a small computing platform packed with a set of robust features to deliver hands-on performance, durability, and software support.This book is a perfect place to kickstart development and rapid prototyping using Intel Edison. It will start by introducing readers to the Intel Edison board and explaining how to get started with it. You will learn how to build a mini weather station, which will help you to acquire temperature and smoke level and push it to the IoT platform. Then you will see how to build a home automation device and control your appliances using an Android app. Furthermore, we will build a security system using a webcam to detect faces and perform voice recognition. Toward the end, the book will demonstrate how you can build two robots, which will be based on different line sensing sensors and can be controlled by a PC.The book will guide the readers through each and every step of execution of a project, using Intel Edison.Style and approachA project-based guide that will take the readers through various domains of projects like robotics, IoT and so on.

Intel Edison and IoT (Home Automation)

In Chapter 2, Weather Station (IoT), we dealt with transferring data from Edison to the cloud platform. Here, in this chapter, we'll be doing just the opposite. We'll be controlling devices using the Internet. When we talk about IoT, the first thing that usually comes to mind is home automation. Home automation is basically controlling and monitoring home electrical appliances using an interface, which may be a mobile application, a web interface, a wall touch unit, or more simply, your own voice. So, here in this chapter, we'll be dealing with the various concepts of home automation using the MQTT protocol; then, we'll be controlling an electrical load with an Android application and a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application using the MQTT protocol. Some of the topics that we will discuss are:

• The various concepts of controlling devices using the Internet MQTT protocol

• Using Edison to push data and get data using the MQTT protocol

• LED control using the MQTT protocol

• Home automation use cases using the MQTT protocol

• The controller application in Android (MyMqtt) and in WPF (to be developed)

This chapter will use a companion application named MyMqtt, which can be downloaded from the Play Store. Credit goes to the developer (Instant Solutions) for developing the application and uploading it to the Play Store for free. MyMqtt can be found here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.tripwire.mqtt.client&hl=en

We are going to develop our own controller for PC as a WPF application that will implement the protocol and control your Edison.

To develop the WPF application, we are going to use Microsoft Visual Studio. You can download it at https://msdn.microsoft.com.

Controlling devices using the Internet - concepts

When it comes to control devices using the Internet, some key factors come to play. Firstly, is the technique to be used. There are lot of techniques in this field. A quick workaround is the use of REST services, such as HTTP GET requests, where we get data from an existing database.

Some of the workarounds are discussed here.

REST services

One of the most commonly-used techniques for obtaining the desired data is by an HTTP GET call. Most of the IoT platforms that exist in the market have REST APIs exposed. There, we can send values from the device to the platform using an HTTP POST request, and at the same time get data by an HTTP GET request. Infact, in Chapter 2, Weather Station (IoT), where we used dweet.io to send data from a device, we used an SDK. Internally, the SDK also performs a similar HTTP POST call to send in data.

Instructions or alerts (present on most IoT platforms)

In certain IoT platforms, we have certain ready-made solutions where we just need to call a certain web service and the connection is established. Internally, it may use REST APIs, but for the benefit of the user, they have come up with their own SDK where we implement.

Internally, a platform may follow either a REST call, MQTT, or Web Sockets. However, we just use an SDK where we don't implement it directly, and by using the platform's SDK, we are able to establish a connection. It is entirely platform-specific. Here, we are discussing one of the workarounds,where we use the MQTT protocol to control our devices directly without the use of any IoT platforms.

Architecture

In a typical system, the IoT platform acts as a bridge between the user and the protocols to the controller, as shown in the following figure:

Architecture of the IoT system for controlling devices

The preceding image depicts a typical workflow or architecture of controlling devices using the Internet. It is to be noted that the user may directly control the controller without the use of an IoT platform, as we do here. However, normally a user will use the IoT platform, which also provides more enhanced security. The user may use any web interface, mobile application, or a wall control unit to control the device using any standard protocol. Here in the image, only REST, MQTT, and Web Sockets are included. However, there are more protocols that can be used, such as the AMQP protocol, the MODBUS protocol, and so on. The choice of the protocol depends mainly on how sensitive the system is and how stable the system needs to be.

MQTT protocol overview

The MQTT protocol is based on the publish-subscribe architecture. It's a very lightweight protocol, where message exchange happens asynchronously. The main usage of the MQTT protocol is in places of low bandwidth and low processing power. A small code footprint is required for establishing an MQTT connection. Every communication in the MQTT protocol happens through a medium called a broker. The broker is either subscribed or published. If you want the data t...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Credits
• About the Author
• About the Reviewer
• www.PacktPub.com
• Customer Feedback
• Dedication
• Preface
• Setting up Intel Edison
• Weather Station (IoT)
• Intel Edison and IoT (Home Automation)
• Intel Edison and Security System
• Autonomous Robotics with Intel Edison
• Manual Robotics with Intel Edison