Best Internet of Things development board

Hi All. After writing my last post I was researching M5Stack company a bit more and I think that I have decided that in my mind M5Stack Core2 development board can be one of the best Internet of things development boards in the market. And here me why?

Almost finish product

M5Stack Core2 is actually more the development board. It is actually a couple of steps from the development board turds finish product in the right direction. Of course, we have the variant of the ESP32 and in this case that is ESP32-D0WDQ6-V3, but much more. We don’t have to worry about linear voltage regulator and USB type C (check out links to my custom ESP32 Dev board project), but that is standard to almost any ESP32 dev board. Buy M5Stack Core2 has even more. Build in 500mAh battery and battery management, microphone, speaker, RTC (Real-Time Clock)… Amazingly, M5Stack Core2 also has a capacitive touch screen and TF card slot.

I’m more interested in the AWS (Amazon Web Services) variant of M5Stack Core2 with in addition has Microchip ATECC608a which is an additional security element for connection to Amazon services. So, an excellent choice if you want to dive deep into IoT that is made easy by AWS (maybe AWS for EduKit is a good place to start)

Modular

Can you imagine that when you get a grip with M5Stack Core2 for AWS you want to extend its functionality? Maybe you have to control CNC plotter with 3 stepper motors. Something like I did for my master’s thesis.

I did it the hard way by designing and fabricating a custom PCB with two l293d motor drivers. First as a prototype and then as a custom PCB fabricated by JLCPCB. You can check that part in my other post PCB design with KiCad.

Buy with M5Stack and Core2 you have different options. You can go to M5Stack official site and the STORE->MODULES. Now you have a list of stackable modules that can be connected directly to M5Stack Core2 and increase its functionality.

First, we can see basic AC-Power and ZigBee Modules that are very interesting and shown in the images above, but I’m more interested in the next module. And that is GRBL and shown in the image below.

From simple look on main product page of this module we have see that this is amazing. We have exactly what we need and that is 3 axis stepper motor drivers and in additional we have 3 limit switches. So, this is all the hardware we need to create Home made DIY CNC plotter of some 3D plotter. And you have that is two 5×5 modules that are ready to go right out the box.

Final words

If this is not a good excuse why do you need to try the M5Stack Core2 development kit I don’t know what is. And yes, maybe the price is a bit high for the development board, but I think it’s worth what you get. Furthermore, as I already stated this is closer to the final product than other Internet of things development boards, and if you have a need for a touch screen then this is a very good deal. What can I say more than that, I had to order and wait for the shipping and hopefully in the future, I will have some posts and videos on M5Stack Core2 or Best Internet of Things development board. See you then.

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