Other Parts Discussed in Post: CC3100, ENERGIA

Mobile and embedded developers in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas got a chance to learn what the Internet of Things (IoT) is all about at AT&T’s IoT DevLab. These events, hosted in major cities around the United States, gave members of AT&T’s developer program specialized training in topics related to mobile development. A very popular topic among developers is the IoT and integrating hardware devices with smartphone applications.  To facilitate the training, AT&T partnered with Texas Instruments to introduce them to rapid prototyping with TI LaunchPad™ microcontroller (MCU) development kits. To enable a strong hardware experience for connected applications, TI selected the flexible MSP432™ MCU LaunchPad™ Development Kit which can be quickly programmed by the Energia integrated development environment (IDE) or Code Composer Studio™ IDE. Participants also got their hands on the SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® CC3100 wireless network processor BoosterPack™ plug-in module which adds Wi-Fi connectivity to their designs. 

Ernie Flowers, the AT&T Developer Program Manger that runs the DevLabs, was pleased with the record turnout at the events. “Using the TI hardware for these DevLab Coding Workshops gave the developers real-world experience with IoT sensors, which made the labs much more relevant to them. And the ease of using the boards allowed the attendees to focus on the coding, rather than fumbling with the hardware. The collaboration between TI and AT&T made these events much stronger for all involved.”

During the DevLabs, hundreds of developers spent three hours per session with AT&T M2X and TI experts to get a true practical dive into IoT development. Using the M2X data service, developers were able to store data values in the cloud such as sensor data or location information. From these streams of data, M2X activated triggers when values reached a threshold to send calls to other web services. Participants connected their M2X activity with IFTTT (If This Then That) to enable additional capability such as SMS and email notifications. The lab gave a good hands-on demonstration of using custom hardware and a cloud service to create actionable data sets. To further connect the network of devices and services, AT&T Flow Designer can be used to create a graphical representation of data flow.

Mark Easley, TI LaunchPad kit applications engineer, helped to mentor participants in Chicago and Dallas. “The DevLab was a great experience to show off TI technology to a room of developers that may be new to the IoT and embedded hardware development, and it helped get them ready to start creating new products.” 

Look out for additional IoT DevLabs in your local area, which are free to attend.

Want to try your own hand at AT&T M2X on your LaunchPad kit? Check out examples at www.energia.nu/m2x.  

The DevLab used the MSP432 LaunchPad and the SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3100 wireless network processors BoosterPack module which are orderable on the TI Store or through authorized distributors. 

Additional resources:

  • Order the MSP432P401R LaunchPad development kit.
  • Order the SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3100 wireless network processor BoosterPack plug-in module.
  • Learn more about AT&T’s M2X Data Service.
  • Learn more about the IoT with TI. 

Photos by CloudSpotter.

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