The Adafruit IO Arduino Libraries can connect with Adafruit IO using Arduino. You can connect your projects using a connected-interface of your choosing: WiFi (ESP8266, ESP32, WINC1500, and WICED), Ethernet, or Cellular.
There's a ton of hardware using these interfaces available, but this guide is going to highlight boards Adafruit produces and sells:
You know WiFi - you use it all-day every-day. It’s the standard wireless protocol for connecting to the Internet. It’s available not only at home and work but also in stores, cafes, trains, planes and in most major cities. The worldwide universality of WiFi makes it a common first choice for IoT. - All the Internet of Things
The Adafruit IO Arduino and MQTT libraries are compatible with the following products:
WiFi - AirLift
First up is hardware with AirLift - boards which let you use the powerful ESP32 as a WiFi co-processor. What's AirLift? You probably have your favorite microcontroller (like the ATmega328 or ATSAMD51), awesome peripherals and lots of libraries. But it doesn't have WiFi built in! So lets give that chip a best friend, the ESP32. This chip can handle all the heavy lifting of connecting to a WiFi network and transferring data from a site, even if its using the latest TLS/SSL encryption (it has root certificates pre-burned in). Having WiFi managed by a separate chip means your code is simpler, you don't have to cache socket data, or compile in & debug an SSL library.
We sell standalone AirLift FeatherWings/Shields/Breakouts along with all-in-one AirLift boards such as the Metro M4 Express AirLift and the PyPortal:
WiFi - ESP-based
We offer two ESP8266-based platforms:
- Adafruit Feather HUZZAH with ESP8266 is our take on an 'all-in-one' ESP8266 WiFi development board with built in USB and battery charging. Its an ESP8266 WiFi module with all the extras you need, ready to rock!
- Adafruit HUZZAH ESP8266 Breakout is what we designed to make working with this chip super easy and a lot of fun. We took a certified module with an onboard antenna, and plenty of pins, and soldered it onto our designed breakout PCBs. This version is tougher to use than the Feather because it needs a separate cable, so its not recommended for beginners
The Adafruit HUZZAH32 is our ESP32-based Feather, made with the official WROOM32 module. We packed everything you love about Feathers: built in USB-to-Serial converter, automatic bootloader reset, Lithium Ion/Polymer charger, and just about all of the GPIOs brought out so you can use it with any of our Feather Wings.
Good ol' Ethernet. This ‘ancient’ protocol has withstood the test of time. You almost certainly use Ethernet at home and at work. Ethernet has a standardized connector, the venerable RJ-45. When you need something to "just work," often a wire will do that. (Just because it's "IoT" doesn't mean it's wireless, just that many Things happen to be wireless.) - All the Internet of Things
Our Adafruit IO libraries can also talk to Adafruit IO using ethernet!
Ethernet FeatherWing will let you add quick and easy wired Internet. Just plug in a standard ethernet cable, and run the Ethernet2 library for cross-platform networking. Works with all/any of our Feather boards!
Cell phones can go just about anywhere - there are towers across every country, in almost any place there are people. And cellular towers can be very powerful. When coupled with a high power transceiver on your device, range can easily hit miles away. - All the Internet of Things
The Adafruit FONA is a all-in-one cellular phone module which lets you connect your project using Adafruit IO to a cellular network. This is great for projects which either move around (like a car-interface) or are in remote places (like a data-logger!)
