Why OhioIoT Exists
My trip down this road started the day I found out about the Arduino on the Internet. Within days, the coffee table was covered with LEDs and relays. I was blown away. But what really got me was the existence of a WiFi module that could make that little computer talk to the Internet. Unfortunately, I never got that first WiFi module to work. But to be fair, AI didn't exist at the time either.
When it came time to attach to the cloud, I got nowhere. What I was looking for may have been there, but if it was, I couldn't find it because I didn't speak the language. Like any other maker who is picking up an Arduino in the first place, I thought that maybe I should build my own system. .. which of course led to many lessons in humility.
But with time and revision it did come together. And maybe others could make use of a cloud platform designed around the struggles that most people experience when they start learning about maker hardware.
The Platform
So here it is. After enough time in the trenches, this is my take on the set of tools you need to start building your IoT project without years of ingesting new concepts and reading documentation.
It is really just the system that I wanted, so I could get to work building the projects I wanted to build. Hopefully you find that it helps get you off the ground as well.
Agenda-Free Tutorials
In conjunction with this IoT platform, I will, for the foreseeable future continue to publish agenda-free tutorials on the OhioIoT YouTube channel. These tutorials focus on the general art of building IoT systems using ESP32's (Arduino C++) and Raspberry Pi's (NodeJS JavaScript) connected by an MQTT broker. They will not be used to sell you into using this new system.
Where This Is Going
This platform will morph and add features as I get feedback from users. The YouTube channel will create new videos based on feedback I get from watchers.
If there's something you're needing and not seeing, tell me. Let's keep building IoT systems together.
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