MicroPython tutorial at SciPy 2020 conference
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:57 pm
I'm planning to submit a MicroPython tutorial to the SciPy 2020 Conferece @ Austin-TX, USA, July 6-12th 2020.
See the :
- SciPy 2020 Tutorial page, where we see that the submission deadline is February 15th (next Saturday), there is a stipend of US$1000 for the team of instructors, the tutorial takes half-day (4h with some 15-20 minutes break), etc;
- the SciPy 2018 Tutorials, when the "Scientific MicroPython on Microcontrollers" tutorial was presented using live hardware (Pycom LoPy boards with sensors) :
* MicroPython tutorial at SciPy 2018 @ GitHub, with documentation and MicroPython code;
* YouTube video - Scientific MicroPython on Microcontrollers | SciPy 2018 Tutorial | Roberto Colistete Jr
I call the help from the MicroPython community :
- as it is better to have 2-4 instructors instead of only one, so I need 1-3 other MicroPython instructors other than me;
- to have suggestions about the choice of MicroPython board and other hardware. In 2018 it was LoPy4 + Expansion Board + LoRa antenna + sensors (BME280, MPU6050);
- to have suggestions about the tutorial content, like dealing with sensors (reading and processing data), using WiFi and/or LoRa, publishing sensor data on local web server and/or IoT Cloud, etc.
In MicroPython tutorial @ SciPy 2018 :
- I was the only instructor and due to the interactive aspect of the MicroPython tutorial I've spent a lot of time dealing with USB connection bugs on Windows/Mac OS/Linux of attendees computers, explaining how to use the IDE softwares and tools, connect the sensors, etc;
- so the last 3 topics, "Reading and scientific data processing of an accelerometer sensor", Publishing sensor data on a local web server" and "Publishing sensor data on IoT (Internet of Things) Cloud" were not covered due to lack of time;
- there were 30 kits of LoPy4 + Expansion Board + LoRa antenna + sensors + cables for 30 attendees, plus 3 for the instructor (1 main and 2 as backups). 12 kits of LoPy4 + Expansion Board + LoRa antenna were lent by Pycom. The logistics were not simple at all...
- for 2/3 of the attendees, it was the first time they used a microcontroller, almost nobody has used MicroPython before, the same for any sensor board.
From the lessons learned from 2018, the goal is to organize a better MicroPython tutorial at SciPy 2020 :
* with more instructors (1 talking and the others helping the attendees);
* including new scientific MicroPython modules, like ulab ("micro" NumPy), etc;
* maybe with new hardware;
* etc.
See the :
- SciPy 2020 Tutorial page, where we see that the submission deadline is February 15th (next Saturday), there is a stipend of US$1000 for the team of instructors, the tutorial takes half-day (4h with some 15-20 minutes break), etc;
- the SciPy 2018 Tutorials, when the "Scientific MicroPython on Microcontrollers" tutorial was presented using live hardware (Pycom LoPy boards with sensors) :
* MicroPython tutorial at SciPy 2018 @ GitHub, with documentation and MicroPython code;
* YouTube video - Scientific MicroPython on Microcontrollers | SciPy 2018 Tutorial | Roberto Colistete Jr
I call the help from the MicroPython community :
- as it is better to have 2-4 instructors instead of only one, so I need 1-3 other MicroPython instructors other than me;
- to have suggestions about the choice of MicroPython board and other hardware. In 2018 it was LoPy4 + Expansion Board + LoRa antenna + sensors (BME280, MPU6050);
- to have suggestions about the tutorial content, like dealing with sensors (reading and processing data), using WiFi and/or LoRa, publishing sensor data on local web server and/or IoT Cloud, etc.
In MicroPython tutorial @ SciPy 2018 :
- I was the only instructor and due to the interactive aspect of the MicroPython tutorial I've spent a lot of time dealing with USB connection bugs on Windows/Mac OS/Linux of attendees computers, explaining how to use the IDE softwares and tools, connect the sensors, etc;
- so the last 3 topics, "Reading and scientific data processing of an accelerometer sensor", Publishing sensor data on a local web server" and "Publishing sensor data on IoT (Internet of Things) Cloud" were not covered due to lack of time;
- there were 30 kits of LoPy4 + Expansion Board + LoRa antenna + sensors + cables for 30 attendees, plus 3 for the instructor (1 main and 2 as backups). 12 kits of LoPy4 + Expansion Board + LoRa antenna were lent by Pycom. The logistics were not simple at all...
- for 2/3 of the attendees, it was the first time they used a microcontroller, almost nobody has used MicroPython before, the same for any sensor board.
From the lessons learned from 2018, the goal is to organize a better MicroPython tutorial at SciPy 2020 :
* with more instructors (1 talking and the others helping the attendees);
* including new scientific MicroPython modules, like ulab ("micro" NumPy), etc;
* maybe with new hardware;
* etc.