ESP8266 WiFi Module with evive

Introduction

evive has dedicated WiFi headers, which just require you to connect the ESP8266 WiFi module. Communication between evive and the WiFi module occur via serial port 3.

ESP8266 WiFi Module

ESP8266 WiFi Module is a self-contained SOC with integrated TCP/IP protocol stack that can give any microcontroller access to your WiFi network. The ESP8266 is capable of either hosting an application or offloading all Wi-Fi networking functions from another application processor. Each ESP8266 module comes pre-programmed with an AT command set firmware, meaning, you can simply hook this up to your evive and get about as much WiFi-ability as a WiFi Shield offers.

Features:

• 11 b/g/n
• Wi-Fi Direct (P2P), soft-AP
• Integrated TCP/IP protocol stack
• Integrated TR switch, balun, LNA, power amplifier, and matching network
• Integrated PLLs, regulators, DCXO, and power management units
• +19.5dBm output power in 802.11b mode
• Power down leakage current of <10uA
• An integrated low power 32-bit CPU could be used as an application processor
• SDIO 1.1 / 2.0, SPI, UART
• STBC, 1×1 MIMO, 2×1 MIMO
• A-MPDU & A-MSDU aggregation & 0.4ms guard interval
• Wake up and transmit packets in < 2ms
• Standby power consumption of < 1.0mW (DTIM3)

ESP8266 AT Command Set

Example

/*
	This example is used to communicate with peripherals connected to Serial3 Port.
	Messages/Data read from Seripa Port 3 will be sent to Serial Port 0 (connected to USB) and vice-versa.
	
	Just simply change BAUD rate to your desired and open Serial Monitor in Arduino IDE
	
	Note: Make sure you have selected Both NL and CR at bottom of Serial monitor with proper baud
	
	Made by Nihar Shah, Agilo Research
	On 12 October 2017.
*/

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(250000);							// Start Serial 0 (USB) at BAUD rate 250000
  Serial3.begin(115200);						// Start Serial 3 at BAUD here as per the module
  delay(50);
  Serial3.print("AT\r\n");    			// AT to check whether device is connected or not? Typically Replies with OK
}

void loop() {

  while (Serial.available())				//Checks wether any data is recieved on Serial (USB) (Serial Port 0)
  {
    Serial3.write(Serial.read());		//Reads the data from Serial Port 0 and send/write it to Serial Port 3
  }
	
  while (Serial3.available())				//Checks wether any data is recieved on Serial Port 3
  {
    Serial.write(Serial3.read());		//Reads the data from Serial Port 3 and send/write it to Serial Port 0
  }
  delay(100);
}

Conclusion

In this lesson, we discussed how to use the ESP8266 WiFi module with evive. We learned the features of the ESP8266 WiFi module, as well as how to connect it to evive and send and receive data through the serial ports. We also looked at an example of how to send and receive data between evive and the ESP8266 WiFi module. With this knowledge, you should now be able to use the ESP8266 WiFi module with evive to create projects that involve wireless communication.