OTA programming is finally here! That amazing technology allows to upload new firmware to our IoT devices “Over the Air” or to be more precise, through the internet, solving a lot of problems when it comes to keeping device firmware up to date, being able to renew SSL certificates, patch bugs or simply upgrade IoT products after they are deployed.
That’s why this functionality has been very much pursued by IoT developers in the last years, and from Thinger.io we wanted to contribute with our particular style, creating an extremely easy to use OTA tool, based on the best development tools like Visual Studio Code, PlatformIO for Arduino framework and of course, on our IoT server Thinger.io, which is responsible for managing the connection between the IDE and the devices.
The process requires just a few configuration steps and just a couple of code lines, the detailed explanation of the process can be found in the platform documentation. You will find that it is very intuitive, really within anyone’s reach. After that, uploading a new code is a matter of selecting the device and launching the process of compiling and sending the new firmware.
OTA for all!
In the first release of our OTA technology we have covered the most common devices in the IoT prototyping and development environment, devices that any of us might have in a desk drawer such as:
- ESP32
- ESP8266
- Arduino Nano 33 IOT
- Arduino MKR WiFi 1010
- Arduino RPI2040 Connect
- Arduino MKR NB 1500
In the near future, we will add support for more devices, even in other frameworks like Linux / Raspberry-pi or Low Power devices like LoRaWAN, Sigfox or NB-IoT, even more after realiced that the VS Code extension has already had more than 500 installations in only one month.
And just one more thing….
Actually the OTA programming tool is not the only new feature, because we are releasing a Remote Console, which is a unique Thinger.io feature that allow remote access on your devices. It allows to create web terminals to interact with the device like in a serial interface. It also provides features to create interactive terminals on any Arduino compatible device.
This feature is specially useful for remote diagnosis, show logs on devices, manage device configuration, or any other functionality, as the console can be easily extended to include new commands.
We will soon release another feature that will improve the remote console allowing access to the file system stored on the devices, it will certainly be an interesting tool to continue improving the management of the deployed devices.
Ready to start building your IoT product with Thinger.io?
If you wish to contact our sales team to receive personalized information about the Thinger.io Platform, do not hesitate on using this link to request a demo.
