MicroPython now running on node.IT boards

[SweetPeas]

Hi guys,

My name is Pontus from Electronic Sweet Peas and we've just introduced our support for the MicroPython stack for our node.IT family of boards. The node.IT family are tiny, stackable boards that can be connected together to create small but powerful internet connected devices. The base controller (the bottom board in the picture below), which is based on ESP8266, only measures 27 x 17mm but is also packed with a USB to Serial adapter and a powerful LDO that will ensure that the device operates smoothly in most conditions.


If you click on the image you will reach our Kickstarter page where more information is available.

We really love MicroPython and have committed our selves to extending the feature set and increasing stability to help our users out. We've cloned the MicroPython repo and have already started to add network functionality. The stackable expansion modules (+One modules) that we've created all communicate over I2C so we will also be making efforts and contributions in that area of the code.

What we've found so far is that the architecture is very well laid out which makes it real easy to understand the code and make changes and additions to it. Kudos to the authors.

[blmorris]

Pontus - Good luck with the Kickstarter campaign!

I haven't yet done any work with the esp8266 uPy port, but it looks like you have put together a nice hardware platform for node.IT, I may have to give it a try.
How is it to work on the esp8266 with uPy compared to Arduino? My understanding was that developing for the esp8266 could be tricky in some ways.

Cheers,
Bryan

[SweetPeas]

Bryan,

I have found it very easy to work with ESP8266 based hardware, no matter what framework you might decide to work with it on. I have used the native SDK and Arduino's environment extensively and have had very few problems. The esp8266 Arduino community is very active and responsive and have turned out a very usable framework. Currently we have Arduino Libraries for all of our modules which makes it a snap to develop stuff.

Early on I also did some tampering with nodemcu but it just wasn't stable enough in my opinion. Mind you that was a while ago and could have changed now.

With that experience I was a bit afraid that the Python stack would be similar in experience but not at all. Micropython runs smoothly and with a smaller footprint than nodemcu which, in my book, makes it an ideal companion to rapidly develop small ethernet connected devices.

We've started to extend the eps8266 port with hardware support for the built in hardware blocks and will hopefully be able to create a tag shortly with some basic I2C and SPI functionality.

Thanks for watching
/Pontus

[torwag]

Hi,
I really like that there is a bigger project growing around the ESP8266 and MicroPython, as there are already a few threads and some reports how to use MicroPython on this chip.
I would love to get an idea about the different capabilities of the wipy board and the node.it board. Guess there overlap in a few areas, but I would not see them as competition but rather as complementary wifi-capable units for the MicroPython community.
Since you seem to have a lot of experience with MicroPython and the ESP8266, could you consider writing a small tutorial how to run micropython on the esp8266? There are a few sources but it seems there are still some pitfalls (starting already with the baud-rate confusion for different esp8266 modules).

Thanks

[SweetPeas]

@torwag,
Micropython is quite new to me even though I am familiar with Python itself but it seemed a good choice for our node.IT platform to introduce new users to IoT. There is a lot of work that need to be done to make MP as full fledged as it is for the WiPy boards. The file system need to be ported, an FTP server to upload scripts etc. But when we are getting closer to something functional I will definitely write some articles about it. Currently I am still struggling to learn the inner workings of MP to be able to implement the hardware support classes that will be required.

/Pontus

[SweetPeas]

Just a few hours left now on our kickstarter campaign.
Join now to make sure that you get your boards in october.

[blmorris]

Ordered mine, thanks for the reminder.
Looking forward to checking it out, and nice to see another member of the uPy ecosystem!

-Bryan

[mianos]

Would you like to collaborate with me (or me with you) on the ESP8266 port?
I have added ESP based timers, general interrupt driven GPIO and a fully interrupt driven DHT22 driver.
I could probably pull your fork and work my modules into your structure if you want?
https://github.com/mianos/micropython
At the moment the DHT driver is in the same file as the GPIO but I could split it into two and make a module for each?
Email me if you are interested in pull requests. mianos@gmail.com

If only the wifi was stable this board would be so so so good.
- Rob

[SweetPeas]

mianos,
We definitely should work together. At the moment We're quite busy completing the Kickstarter but work on MicroPython should start again after that. We should keep a common structure for the ESP and if you feel OK with our structure then just go ahead and grab it.

The best thing would be if we could work both against the micropython repo but I'm not sure they are keen on taking in these changes while they are redefining the hardware API's. But Pull requests towards our repo is also OK.

We should also get involved in the redefinition of the hardware API's. Did you see this thread https://github.com/micropython/micropython/issues/1430 and this article https://github.com/micropython/micropyt ... rdware-API

Regards
Pontus

[pfalcon]

The best way to work on ESP8266 is to work against mainline repo, submitting small, clean pull requests adhering (as a baseline) to Code Style and Contribution Guidelines (https://github.com/micropython/micropyt ... ENTIONS.md , https://github.com/micropython/micropyt ... IBUTING.md). Thanks.