Recently launched on Kickstarter, the Wino is an Arduino-compatible board with built-in Wi-Fi that is designed to help bring IoT ideas to life in a cost-effective manner. $11 to be exact.
Boasting a much smaller form factor and lower price tag than other Arduinos on the market today, the Wino is built around the Atmel | SMART SAM D21 — the same chip at the heart of the Zero. This gives users more speed, space and several new features, all while consuming minimal power. The unit runs at an operating voltage of 3.3V, includes 15 digital I/O and seven analog I/O pins (six 12-bit ADC, one 10-bit DAC), 16KB of RAM and 128KB of Flash memory. Meanwhile, its on-board Wi-Fi module comes with a simple web-based setup that makes the device accessible from just about anywhere.
The layout combines an uber small size (26.6mm x 18.6mm) with a 27-pin stackable header, enabling Makers to easily upgrade the Wino with functions like relay and power measurement, battery supply, temperature monitoring, DC and servo motor control, motion sensing, as well as USB which allows a user to program their board by opening a web browser and selecting a Wi-Fi network. Once connected, a Maker can communicate with the module from any TCP/IP device, whether that’s a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop PC.
Those Makers just starting out will appreciate that Wino comes with pre-installed, open source software, thereby eliminating any prerequisite programming skills. What’s more, the board supports the highly-popular Arduino IDE, giving users the ability to upload existing Arduino codes or employ one of the countless libraries available.
“Since over a year the design of the board was constantly improved and optimized. The goal was to create a hardware which combines als necessary features which makes it a perfect basis for connected devices. And this a a very small size,” its team writes.”The main task was provide the board at a minimum price which makes it easy to use the board even in low cost applications (like wireless switches). We are very confident that we found a good solution that combines functionality, small size, performance and costs.”
Interested in devising a home automation, multimedia or fitness IoT project? You may want to head over to Wino’s official Kickstarter page, where German startup IAN is currently seeking $28,019. Delivery is slated for November 2015.