Planet Arduino

If you are looking for a solution to learn and experience the Internet of Things, there are two popular choices: the Explore IoT Kit and the Oplà IoT Kit . But which one should you pick? Here‘s a handy guide.

The kits share a very similar set of hardware and are in the same price range; moreover, they both offer a free one-year subscription to the Arduino Create MKR Plan, Arduino premium coding platform.

That is where the similarities end though! The Oplà IoT Kit is designed for individuals to use to add connectivity to devices around the home or in the office. Whilst the Explore IoT Kit is an educational kit developed for students to learn how to control objects remotely using digital dashboards and learn the fundamentals of the Internet of Things. Moreover, they offer different online platforms, different projects, in other words, a completely different experience. 

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We’ve created a super simple guide to help you decide which is the right kit for you and your projects! 

Both kits include: 

And now, let’s explore  what you can do with the Explore IoT Kit and the Oplà IoT Kit

Explore IoT Kit

The Explore IoT Kit teaches you fundamental concepts to control objects remotely.

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This educational kit includes 10 online student activities that adopt a learning-by-doing approach.               

Step-by-step, students will acquire knowledge by constructing fully functional solutions including experiments, challenges, and building real-life applications. Students also learn to control objects remotely using a digital dashboard – the Arduino IoT Cloud. 

Oplà IoT Kit

The Oplà IoT Kit adds connectivity to your home, office appliances, and applications. 

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This kit comes with a complete set of 8 Internet of Things projects ready to turn everyday appliances into ‘smart appliances’ e.g. thermostat.

Suitable for more advanced users so they can create their own connected devices and IoT applications through the open programmable platform providing ultimate control. 

We’re excited to announce the launch of the Arduino Oplà Kit, the first open programmable IoT platform that allows you to add smart connectivity to the devices around your home or workplace and build custom IoT devices. 

The Oplà IoT Kit contains all the hardware necessary to create eight connected applications, access to an online platform with assembly instructions, and a 12-month subscription to the Arduino Create Maker Plan. This kit is perfect for beginners with basic DIY experience, while more advanced users can leverage it to customize and hack their smart applications and devices, with full control of their data and processes. 

Eight out-of-the-box projects to connect your home or workplace

The projects included in the Oplà IoT Kit enable users to turn everyday appliances into smart appliances, which can be controlled remotely on a mobile phone: 

• Remote Controlled Lights — Change color, light modes, and switch on/off
• Personal Weather Station — Record and monitor local weather conditions
• Home Security Alarm — Detect motion and trigger warnings
• Solar System Tracker — Retrieve data from planets and moons in the solar system
• Inventory Control — Track goods in and out
• Smart Garden — Monitor and manage the environment for your plants
• Thermostat Control — Smart control for heating and cooling systems
• Thinking About You — Send messages between the kit and the Arduino IoT Cloud

Create, connect, control. The Internet of Things has never been so easy! 

No soldering is required with the Oplà IoT Kit, which is based on a MKR IoT carrier with an OLED color display, on-board environmental sensors and capacitive touch buttons. The kit also includes a MKR WiFi 1010 board, a circular plastic enclosure and supporting accessories, such as two cables, a motion sensor, a moisture sensor, and a USB cable. 

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To build applications, users can rely on the Oplà online platform. Each project includes goals, an intro to the components, step-by-step instructions with illustrations and videos to guide you through assembling the product and building the code. 

Finally, the kit acts as the physical interface of the Arduino IoT Cloud and comes with a 12-month subscription to the Arduino Create Maker Plan, offering unlimited compilation time and extended access to all the features of the Arduino IoT Cloud. 

“When creating the Oplà IoT Kit, we wanted to design a platform that would allow anyone to gain a complete experience of what the Internet of Things has to offer around the home or workplace and I really believe we have achieved this. It is a great kit for users to build custom devices and enjoy being creative, no matter your level of experience,” says Arduino CEO Fabio Violante. “With this launch, we take yet another step towards lowering the barrier to entry for IoT development and cannot wait to see the projects created by users embracing connected devices both in their homes and at work.” 

The Oplà IoT Kit is available on the Arduino online store.

This week we are launching our  Arduino Explore IoT Kit, which allows high school and college students to take their first steps in building connected devices. Educators can make a complex subject simple – explore the Internet of Things right now with Arduino Education. 

Aimed at the beginner,  there is a complete set of easy to follow online projects providing students with a  gateway into the digital world of connected objects and how people work together.

The kit comes complete with a complimentary 12 months subscription to the Arduino Create Maker plan, meaning it’s quicker and easier than ever to learn how to monitor, manage and control devices using the cloud – with the new Arduino IoT Cloud Remote app you can now do this ‘on the go’ via your mobile.

We recently spoke to Sara Willner-Giwerc, (a PhD candidate at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, US) about her amazing work using the Internet of Things in education – helping to show just how useful the new Explore IoT Kit will be.

“By leveraging the Internet of Things, students are able to build more powerful systems that are no longer limited to only the resources they physically possess. This technological capability presents a cool opportunity for students to experience how they can be more powerful when they connect and collaborate with others than they can be on their own. “

“Especially now, in this time of social distancing and remote learning, the ability to communicate with devices that aren’t physically near us has become even more essential than it was previously. I’m really excited about the idea of using IoT to help students think about designing for more global systems.” 

Read the full article about Sara here

Here’s what a student had to say about the new Explore IoT Kit, when he got the chance to try out an advanced version:

“I would describe it as a very beginner-friendly way to get started with the Internet of Things, and a kit that you will be able to expand upon with your own ideas and components.”

“…the getting started section got me really excited to actually get started because it inspired all these thought streams of what I could potentially create with the kit.” Oliver Kempel – Danish High School Student 

The kit features 10 activities for students to develop a complete understanding of IoT:

• Using the IoT Cloud and connected devices: Control physical objects, such as a displays or lights, remotely with the Arduino IoT Cloud

• Collecting, processing, and storing data: Store data locally, wirelessly, and remotely for analysis and backup

• Graphing and visualizing data and understanding its meaning: Use different tools and techniques to graph data and interpret the information collected

• Serial communication, APIs, JSON, and web servers: Learn the essentials of how APIs (application programming interfaces) work, how to access remote web servers, and how to store the incoming data in JSON objects to create devices that can access all sorts of data from all over the world, and display it locally

• Network security considerations: Understand how software developers protect devices and information from unauthorized access

• Different sensors and how to use them: Investigate the environment using temperature, humidity, and light sensors, collect data about movement using an accelerometer, pressure, and motion sensors, take care of your plants by following the data from moisture and light sensors

• Actuators and how to use them: Use lights, sound, display, and relays: electronic components used to activate high power devices, to visualize data, and control external devices

The Explore IoT Kit is available to buy now from our Education Partners locally or from the Arduino Store for only €99 / $114.

N.B. In addition to the Explore IoT Kit,  a second kit the “Oplà IoT Kit” will also be coming soon, targeting makers and professionals alike who are after an out-of-the-box IoT experience. The Oplà IoT Kit will enable users to instantly add connectivity to devices for the home and workplace – available to buy from early October onwards.

For years, the open-source philosophy of Arduino has been the inspiration to robots, drones, medical and space research, interactive art, musical instruments, 3D printers, and so much more. Now, Arduino is on a mission to radically simplify the way you build smart devices. Introducing ESLOV, a revolutionary plug-and-play IoT invention kit.

ESLOV consists of intelligent modules that join together to create projects in minutes with no prior hardware or programming knowledge necessary. Just connect the modules using cables or mounting them on the back of our WiFi and motion hub. When done, plug the hub into your PC.

ESLOV’s visual code editor automatically recognizes each module, displaying them on your screen. Draw the connections between the modules on the editor, and watch your project come to life. From there, publish your device to the Arduino Cloud and interact with it remotely from anywhere (including your phone). The Arduino Cloud’s user-friendly interface simplifies complex interactions with sliders, buttons, value fields, and more.

The ESLOV modules and hub can also be programmed with the wildly popular Arduino Editor — you can use either the online editor or the desktop-based IDE. With the provided libraries, you can customize the behavior of the existing modules, enhance the hub’s functionalities, as well as modify the protocols of both the hub and the modules.

With a total of 25 modules — buttons, LEDs, air quality sensors, microphones, servos, and several others — the possibilities are endless. Sample applications include everything from a monitor that lets you know if your baby is safe, to a washing machine notifier that tells you when your laundry is finished, to a thermostat that you can adjust while out of the house.

In line with the core values of the Arduino community, ESLOV’s hardware and software are open-source, enabling you to produce your own modules. Additionally, Arduino will welcome third-party modules from partners and other certified programs.

To accelerate its development in the open-source spirit, ESLOV — which began as part of a three-year EU-funded PELARS project — is now live on Kickstarter and needs your support.

The toolkit is offered in a variety of sizes, depending on the number of modules. Prices range from ~$55 USD to ~$499 USD, with multipacks and other opportunities available as well. Delivery is expected to get underway in June 2017.

In terms of hardware, the main hub is currently equipped with a Microchip SAM D21 ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU at 48MHz and built-in WiFi (just like the MKR1000). Each of the modules are small (2.5 x 2.5cm), low-power (3.3V), single-purpose boards featuring the same processor found at the heart of the Arduino/Genuino UNO: Microchip’s ATmega328P.

The modules can be reprogrammed via I2C bus or with an external programmer. ESLOV’s hardware includes firmware from our factory, dedicated to the specific function of each module.

The ESLOV connector has five pins (one more than standard I2C) for automatically configuring the module and handling the sleeping states to boost battery life. Tests can be performed on your computer via USB. The modules’ firmware and the hub’s software can be updated both using the USB cable and over-the-air (OTA).

Those heading to World Maker Faire in New York on October 1st-2nd can learn more about the kit inside the Microchip booth in Zone 3, as well as during Massimo Banzi’s “State of Arduino” presentation on Saturday at 1:30pm inside the New York Hall of Science Auditorium.

Want to learn more or back ESLOV for yourself? Check out its Kickstarter page!