Company
Date Published
Author
Michael Carroll
Word count
3244
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

With the increasing popularity of the maker movement and Arduino's open-source, microcontroller-based kits, many software engineers are exploring hardware hacking, but the C-based language Sketch can be a barrier for web developers. This tutorial introduces web developers to using Arduino with Node.js and the JavaScript-based Johnny-Five robotics framework, enabling them to prototype Internet of Things (IoT) applications. It guides users through setting up Arduino, creating a simple "Hello World" blinking LED project, and advancing to an IoT project using PubNub's JavaScript APIs to control an RGB LED via a web interface. By leveraging Johnny-Five and PubNub, developers can control hardware devices from anywhere, transforming them into IoT devices. The tutorial emphasizes the potential for web developers to apply their existing JavaScript skills to hardware projects, encouraging experimentation with other microcontrollers like Raspberry Pi and ongoing learning through resources like Adafruit and GitHub.