Hands-On Internet of Things with Blynk
Build on the power of Blynk to configure smart devices and build exciting IoT projects
Pradeeka Seneviratne
- 271 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Hands-On Internet of Things with Blynk
Build on the power of Blynk to configure smart devices and build exciting IoT projects
Pradeeka Seneviratne
About This Book
Connect things to create amazing IoT applications in minutesAbout This Book⢠Use Blynk cloud and Blynk server to connect devices⢠Build IoT applications on Android and iOS platforms⢠A practical guide that will show how to connect devices using Blynk and Raspberry Pi 3Who This Book Is ForThis book is targeted at any stakeholder working in the IoT sector who wants to understand how Blynk works and build exciting IoT projects. Prior understanding of Raspberry Pi, C/C++, and electronics is a must.What You Will Learn⢠Build devices using Raspberry Pi and various sensors and actuators⢠Use Blynk cloud to connect and control devices through the Blynk app⢠Connect devices to Blynk cloud and server through Ethernet and Wi-Fi⢠Make applications using Blynk apps (App Builder) on Android and iOS platforms⢠Run Blynk personal server on the Windows, MAC, and Raspberry Pi platformsIn DetailBlynk, known as the most user-friendly IoT platform, provides a way to build mobile applications in minutes. With the Blynk drag-n-drop mobile app builder, anyone can build amazing IoT applications with minimal resources and effort, on hardware ranging from prototyping platforms such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi 3 to industrial-grade ESP8266, Intel, Sierra Wireless, Particle, Texas Instruments, and a few others.This book uses Raspberry Pi as the main hardware platform and C/C++ to write sketches to build projects. The first part of this book shows how to set up a development environment with various hardware combinations and required software. Then you will build your first IoT application with Blynk using various hardware combinations and connectivity types such as Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Then you'll use and configure various widgets (control, display, notification, interface, time input, and some advanced widgets) with Blynk App Builder to build applications. Towards the end, you will learn how to connect with and use built-in sensors on Android and iOS mobile devices. Finally you will learn how to build a robot that can be controlled with a Blynk app through the Blynk cloud and personal server.By the end of this book, you will have hands-on experience building IoT applications using Blynk.Style and approachA step-by-step guide that will help you build simple yet exciting project in no time.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Setting Up a Development Environment
- Hardware platforms, connection types, architecture, ecosystem, and online resources
- Installing Blynk app builder on Android
- Creating a user account with the Blynk app builder to log in to Blynk Cloud
- Creating a new project with Blynk
- Preparing Raspberry Pi by adding SD card, Ethernet cable, Wi-Fi dongle, and power supply
- Writing Raspbian Stretch Lite on Raspberry Pi by flashing image to SD card with Etcher
- Configuring SSH on Raspberry Pi
- Installing prerequisite packages such as git-core and WiringPi on Raspberry Pi
- Using PuTTY to connect with Raspberry Pi with SSH protocol
- Configuring wireless connection on Raspberry Pi for Raspbian Stretch Lite
- Connecting Raspberry Pi with Blynk Cloud by running the sample C++ source file
What is Blynk?
Hardware platforms
- Espressif (ESP8266, ESP32, NodeMCU, WeMos D1, Adafruit HUZZAH, SparkFun Blynk Board, SparkFun ESP8266 Thing)
- Linux (C++) (Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu)
- Arduino (Arduino UNO, Arduino MKR1000, Arduino MKRZero, Arduino Yun, Arduino 101, Arduino Zero, Arduino M0, Arduino M0 Pro, Arduino Nano, Arduino Leonardo, Arduino Due, Arduino Mega 2560, Arduino Mega 1280, Arduino Mega ADK, Arduino Micro, Arduino Pro Micro, Arduino Mini, Arduino Pro Mini, Arduino Fio, Arduino Decimilia, Arduino Duemilanove, Arduino Pro, Arduino Ethernet, Arduino Leonardo ETH, Arduino Industrial 101)
- Particle (particle core, particle photon, particle electron)
Connection types
- Ethernet
- Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth
- Cellular
- Serial
Blynk architecture
- Blynk app builder: Allows to you build apps for your projects using various widgets. It is available for Android and iOS platforms.
- Blynk server: Responsible for all the communications between your mobile device that's running the Blynk app and the hardware. You can use the Blynk Cloud or run your private Blynk server locally. It's open source, could easily handle thousands of devices, and can even be launched on a Raspberry Pi.
- Blynk libraries: Enables communication with the server and processes all the incoming and outcoming commands from your Blynk app and the hardware. They are available for all the popular hardware platforms.