openSensor

WIP - Using an ESP8266 chip as a web server for home automation purposes.

• This project allows an ESP8266 chip to connect to a wireless network and serve a web server that is accessible within that network.

Requirements

This project requires:

• VSCode
• Node.js
• Yarn

Setup / Getting Started

1. Get the Arduino VSCode extension
2. Add support for the ESP8266 board: 2.1. Open the Arduino Board Manager (cmd+shift+p to open command palette in VSCode and then type 'Arduino: Board Manager') and search for 'ESP8266' and install. 2.2. If you find issues with the previous step, you can have a look at the Arduino VSCode extension page or the ESP8266 community repo README
3. Install dependencies by running yarn
4. Add an enviroment.h file to the /firmware folder. See enviroment variables.
5. You should now be able to 'verify' this project's code by running the Arduino: Verify command (cmd+shift+p to open command palette and then type 'Arduino: Verify').

Environment Variables

• The firmware/environment.h file should have the following format/content:

const char SSID[] = "WIFI_NAME";
const char SSID_PASS[] = "WIFI_PASS";
const char INDEX_HTML[] = "";

Note: Remember to replace WIFI_NAME with the name of a wireless network and WIFI_PASS with the network password. The INDEX_HTML enviroment variable is automatically pre-populated on build.

Uploading firmware to chip

• To upload firmware to the ESP8266 chip, you will need to do some setup with your hardware. You might need to provide a 3.3V DC power supply to your ESP8266 and also use a serial-to-USB converter. Here is an basic wiring diagram, more detailed information can be found in the beginners' guide.
• Once the ESP8266 has a power supply and is connected to your computer (through the serial-to-USB converter mentioned above), you would be able to upload the firmware/code from this project. To do so, open the command palette in VSCode and type 'Arduino: Upload'.

Note: In order to flash the ESP8266 chip, the GPIO0 pin needs to be connected to GND on start-up (when powering ON the chip). After flashing, rebooting the chip with the GPIO0 pin not connected to GND should make the chip start running this project's code/firmware.

Trobleshooting

• TBA

Useful links / resources

1. Beginners' guide to ESP8266
2. Pinout diagram