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Internet of Things with Arduino Blueprints
Internet of Things with Arduino Blueprints

Internet of Things with Arduino Blueprints: Develop interactive Arduino-based Internet projects with Ethernet and WiFi

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Internet of Things with Arduino Blueprints

Chapter 2. Wi-Fi Signal Strength Reader and Haptic Feedback

When designing an embedded system with Internet connectivity using Wi-Fi, reading the Wi-Fi connections receiving signal allows the user to determine the available Internet connectivity and signal strength. Most devices show the signal strength to the consumer using a simple bar graph or something similar. In this project, however, we look into how to notify the signal strength level using a different kind of mechanism to the user: the haptic feedback.

Another technique is to send the Wi-Fi signal strength level over the Internet, which allows you to measure signal strength even in unreachable locations. In the previous chapter, you learned about Arduino Ethernet Web server. Here, similar implementations will be used.

In this chapter, you will do the following:

  • Learn about Arduino WiFi Shield basics and stacking with an Arduino UNO board
  • Learn how to read the receiving radio signal strength level using RSSI
  • Learn about vibration...

Prerequisites

To complete this project, you may require some open source hardware, software, tools, and good soldering skills. Let's dive in one step at a time.

Arduino WiFi Shield

Arduino WiFi Shield allows you to connect your Arduino board to the Internet wirelessly. In the previous chapter, you learned how to connect the Arduino board to the Internet using an Ethernet shield with a wired connection. Unlike a wired connection, a wireless connection provides us with increased mobility within the Wi-Fi signal range, and the ability to connect to other Wi-Fi networks automatically, if the current network loses connection or has insufficient radio signal strength. Most of the mechanisms can be manipulated using the Arduino Wi-Fi library, a well-written piece of program sketch. The following image shows the top view of an Arduino WiFi Shield. Note that two rows of wire wrap headers are used to stack with the Arduino board.

Arduino WiFi Shield

Arduino WiFi Shield (top view) Image courtesy of Arduino (https://www.arduino.cc) and license at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The following image shows the bottom view of an Arduino WiFi Shield:

Arduino WiFi Shield

Arduino WiFi Shield...

Wi-Fi signal strength and RSSI

The Arduino WiFi library provides us with a simple way to get the Wi-Fi signal strength in decibels ranging from 0 to -100 (minus 100). You can use the WiFi.RSSI() function to get the radio signal strength of the currently connected network or any specified network. You can read more about Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_signal_strength_indication.

The WiFi.RSSI() function can be called with following parameters:

  • WiFi.RSSI();:This will return the signal strength of the currently connected Wi-Fi network.
  • WiFi.RSSI(WiFi Access Point);: This will return the signal strength of a specified Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi Access Point is the name of the Wi-Fi network. For example, MyHomeWiFi.

Reading the Wi-Fi signal strength

Now we will write an Arduino sketch to get the RSSI value of the currently connected Wi-Fi network.

  1. Open a new Arduino IDE and copy the sketch named B04844_02_04.ino from the Chapter 2 sample code folder...

Haptic feedback and haptic motors

Haptic feedback is the way to convey information to users using advanced vibration patterns and waveforms. Earlier consumer electronic devices communicated with their users using audible and visual alerts, but now things have been replaced with vibrating alerts through haptic feedback.

In a haptic feedback system, the vibrating component can be a vibration motor or a linear resonant actuator. The motor is driven by a special hardware called the haptic controller or haptic driver. Throughout this chapter we use the term vibrator for the vibration motor.

Getting started with the Adafruit DRV2605 haptic controller

Adafruit DRV2605 haptic controller is an especially designed motor controller for controlling haptic motors. With a haptic controller, you can make various effects using a haptic motor such as:

  • Ramping the vibration level up and down
  • Click, double-click, and triple-click effects
  • Pulsing effects
  • Different buzzer levels
  • Vibration following a musical/audio...

Implementing a simple web server

The Arduino WiFi Shield can also be configured and programmed as a web server to serve client requests similar to the Arduino Ethernet shield. In the next step, we will be making a simple web server to send Wi-Fi signal strength over the Internet to a client. This requires that the WiFi shield has 1.1.0 firmware to work. The default factory loaded version 1.0.0 will not work. (See the Firmware upgrading section.)

Reading the signal strength over Wi-Fi

To read the signal strength over Wi-Fi:

  1. Open a new Arduino IDE and copy the sketch named B04844_02_07.ino from the Chapter 2 sample code folder.
  2. Verify and upload the Arduino sketch in to the Arduino board. Type the IP address of your WiFi shield in your web browser and hit the Enter key. The web page will load and display the current RSSI of the Wi-Fi network and refresh every 20 seconds. If you don't know the IP address of your Arduino WiFi shield assigned by the DHCP, open the Arduino Serial Monitor and...

Prerequisites


To complete this project, you may require some open source hardware, software, tools, and good soldering skills. Let's dive in one step at a time.

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

Description

Arduino is a small single-chip computer board that can be used for a wide variety of creative hardware projects. The hardware consists of a simple microcontroller, board, and chipset. It comes with a Java-based IDE to allow creators to program the board. Arduino is the ideal open hardware platform for experimenting with the world of the Internet of Things. This credit card sized Arduino board can be used via the Internet to make more useful and interactive Internet of things projects. Internet of Things with Arduino Blueprints is a project-based book that begins with projects based on IoT and cloud computing concepts. This book covers up to eight projects that will allow devices to communicate with each other, access information over the Internet, store and retrieve data, and interact with users—creating smart, pervasive, and always-connected environments. It explains how wired and wireless Internet connections can be used with projects and the use of various sensors and actuators. The main aim of this book is to teach you how Arduino can be used for Internet-related projects so that users are able to control actuators, gather data from various kinds of sensors, and send and receive data wirelessly across HTTP and TCP protocols. Finally, you can use these projects as blueprints for many other IoT projects and put them to good use. By the end of the book, you will be an expert in the use of IoT with Arduino to develop a set of projects that can relate very well to IoT applications in the real world.

What you will learn

  • Make a powerful Internet controlled relay with an embedded web server to monitor and control your home electrical appliances
  • Build a portable WiFi signal strength sensor to give haptic feedback about signal strength to the user
  • Measure water flow speed and volume with liquid flow sensors and record realtime readings
  • Secure your home with motionactivated Arduino security cameras and upload images to the cloud
  • Implement realtime data logging of a solar panel voltage with Arduino cloud connectors
  • Track locations with GPS and upload location data to the cloud
  • Control a garage door light with your Twitter feed
  • Control infrared enabled devices with IR remote and Arduino

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Oct 27, 2015
Length: 210 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785285486
Vendor :
Arduino
Category :
Concepts :
Tools :

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Product Details

Publication date : Oct 27, 2015
Length: 210 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785285486
Vendor :
Arduino
Category :
Concepts :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
1. Internet-Controlled PowerSwitch Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Wi-Fi Signal Strength Reader and Haptic Feedback Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Internet-Connected Smart Water Meter Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Arduino Security Camera with Motion Detection Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Solar Panel Voltage Logging with NearBus Cloud Connector and Xively Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. GPS Location Tracker with Temboo, Twilio, and Google Maps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Tweet-a-Light – Twitter-Enabled Electric Light Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Controlling Infrared Devices Using IR Remote Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
(3 Ratings)
5 star 0%
4 star 66.7%
3 star 0%
2 star 0%
1 star 33.3%
GreenBeanieGuy Dec 05, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
This book is an excellent project book for intermediate to advanced Arduino users. The projects are clear, well-documented, and include all relevant code (downloadable separately). My principle reason for not giving this five stars is due to the fairly extensive BOM that you will need to build these projects.There are numerous somewhat specialized components required (Power SwitchTail, Arduino WiFi and Ethernet Shields, Adafruit Haptic Controller, liquid flow sensor, Hitachi HD44780 Compatible LCD, etc.), that while relatively easy to source, do represent quite a bit of investment in time and money. The required components are listed as prerequisites, with links to the product URL. It would have been nice to have everything presented as a BOM, with then-current cost and substitutes.Overall it's an excellent book of useful IoT projects for the Arduino.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Francis B. Dec 09, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
I purchased this item directly from the publisher (which gives access to a nicely formatted PDF book). In terms of content, the book offers an impressive collection of hands-on projects, which are very useful for understanding how the Arduino can be used in networking applications. Note that the book is not a beginner's guide, in fact assuming a fair bit of experience in electronics and network programming (however, there are other books, also from Packt, that fulfill this purpose). I am docking one star for the following two reasons. First, the book currently requires specific items to be used, which may not always be available. Perhaps providing guidelines on selecting alternative parts should be more appropriate. Second, Windows is assumed to be the operating system used, which means OSX or Linux users will at times have to cope with surprises and adjustments in the instructions. Perhaps an Appendix detailing modifications needed for other operating systems will be helpful.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Bob Jan 16, 2020
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
Expensive. Didn't like the writing style at all. Lots of handy refrences and very little explanation. Look elsewhere if you want to understand the subject.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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