Intel Edison IoT: How to Choose the Intel Edison for Your IoT Prototype

What is the Intel Edison IoT Platform?

The Intel® Edison development platform is a tiny computing platform built for prototyping and producing IoT and wearable computing products. Each Edison is a full-featured development board with built-in wireless, integrated Bluetooth LE, and a 70-pin connector to attach a veritable universe of shield-like “Blocks” which can be stacked on top of each other.

Some key features of the Intel Edison include:

22nm Intel SoC that includes a dual-core, dual-threaded Intel Atom CPU at 500MHz and a 32-bit Intel Quark microcontroller at 100MHz
Integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
1GB LPDDR3, 4GB EMMC
USB 2.0 OTG controller
40 GPIOs via a 70-pin connector

Advantages of Using Intel Edison for IoT Prototyping

There are several advantages to using the Intel Edison platform for IoT prototyping:

Small Form Factor: The Intel Edison is incredibly small, about the size of a postage stamp, making it ideal for wearables and other space-constrained applications.
Fully Integrated: The Edison includes integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, memory, and storage, so no additional components are required.
Versatility: The 70-pin connector and ecosystem of stackable “Blocks” allows you to quickly add capabilities like sensors, battery power, LCD displays, and more.
C, C++, Python Support: The Edison supports development in C, C++, and Python, giving you flexibility in choosing a language.
Arduino Compatibility: The Edison is pin-compatible with Arduino shields, giving you access to a huge collection of existing Arduino libraries and projects.
Low Power: The Edison is designed for low power applications, with sleep modes under 1mW.

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Use Cases for Intel Edison IoT

The small size and low power capabilities of the Edison make it well-suited for a variety of IoT applications, including:

Wearable devices
Home automation and IoT
Robotics
Sensor networks
Remote monitoring

Some example projects could include:

A smartwatch with an e-paper display
A network of Environmental Sensors for monitoring air quality
A robot controlled remotely over WiFi
A home security system with motion sensors and a camera

Getting Started with Intel Edison IoT

To get started developing on the Intel Edison, you’ll need a few things:

An Intel Edison board
A development PC (Windows, Mac, or Linux)
A USB cable
An external power supply (optional, for standalone operation)
Intel Edison Blocks or other shields/hardware (optional, depending on your project)

There are a few different options available when purchasing an Intel Edison:

Option	Description	Price
Intel Edison Board	Just the Edison board itself, with no additional Blocks. Useful if you plan to design a custom daughterboard or carrier board.	$50
Intel Edison Kit with Breakout Board	Includes the Edison along with a breakout board that makes it easy to prototype by giving you access to all the GPIO, analog input, UART, I2C, and SPI on screw terminals.	$80
Intel® Edison Kit for Arduino	Includes the Edison along with an Arduino-compatible daughter board. Lets you use existing Arduino shields and take advantage of the Arduino software libraries and IDE.	$90

Once you have your hardware, follow these steps to set up your Edison:

Assemble your Edison and any Blocks/shields you are using
Download the Edison software from Intel’s website
Connect the Edison to your PC via USB and run the setup tool to flash firmware
Set up a serial terminal to connect to the Edison’s console (PuTTY on Windows, screen on Mac/Linux)
Connect to the Edison’s WiFi access point and configure it to connect to your network
Update the time and date on the Edison by running configure_edison --setup and following the prompts
Install dependencies and tools for your preferred programming language (C, C++, Python, Node.js, etc.)

You’re now ready to start developing! Create a new project in your favorite IDE or text editor and start writing code to interact with the Edison’s GPIO, I2C, SPI, and other interfaces.

Example Project: Environmental Monitoring with Intel Edison and Grove Sensors

Let’s walk through a quick example project to demonstrate the capabilities of the Edison for IoT prototyping. We’ll build a small environmental monitoring system using an Edison and some sensors.

Hardware Required

Intel Edison with Arduino breakout board
Grove Base Shield
Grove Temperature Sensor
Grove Humidity Sensor
Grove Air Quality Sensor
Grove OLED Display
Grove Pushbutton

Wiring Diagram

Here is how the components should be connected:

[A wiring diagram showing the sensors and display connected to the Grove shield on the Edison Arduino board]

Arduino Sketch

Here is the code for reading the sensors and displaying the data on the OLED screen:

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include "Seeed_AMG8833_driver.h"
#include "SeeedOLED.h"
#include "Air_Quality_Sensor.h"
#include "DHT.h"

#define DHTPIN 2 
#define DHTTYPE DHT11
DHT dht(DHTPIN, DHTTYPE);

AirQualitySensor sensor(A0);

AMG8833 sensor;

const int pinButton = 6;

void setup() {
  Wire.begin();
  SeeedOled.init(); 

  dht.begin();

  if (sensor.init()) {
    Serial.println("AMG8833 initialized.");
  } else {
    Serial.println("AMG8833 initialization failed.");
    while(1);
  }

  pinMode(pinButton, INPUT); 

  SeeedOled.clearDisplay();
  SeeedOled.setNormalDisplay();
  SeeedOled.setPageMode();
}

void loop() {
  float temp = dht.readTemperature();
  float hum = dht.readHumidity();
  int air = sensor.slope();

  SeeedOled.setTextXY(0,0);
  SeeedOled.putString("Temp: ");
  SeeedOled.putFloat(temp);
  SeeedOled.putString("C");

  SeeedOled.setTextXY(1,0); 
  SeeedOled.putString("Hum: ");
  SeeedOled.putFloat(hum);
  SeeedOled.putString("%");

  SeeedOled.setTextXY(2,0);
  SeeedOled.putString("Air Quality: ");  
  SeeedOled.putNumber(air);

  if (digitalRead(pinButton)==LOW) {
    float pixels[AMG88xx_PIXEL_ARRAY_SIZE];
    sensor.readPixels(pixels);

    SeeedOled.clearDisplay();

    for(int row=0; row<8; row++) {
      for(int col=0; col<8; col++) {
        SeeedOled.setTextXY(row,col);
        SeeedOled.putFloat(pixels[row*8+col]);
      }
    }

    delay(5000);
    SeeedOled.clearDisplay();
  }

  delay(1000);
}

This sketch reads the temperature and humidity from a DHT11 sensor, the air quality from a Grove air quality sensor, and displays the values on the OLED screen. Pressing the button will display the latest thermal camera image from the AMG8833 sensor.

Upload this sketch to your Edison and you should see the sensor data displayed on the screen, updating once per second. The thermal camera image will be shown when you press the button.

This is just a simple example, but it demonstrates how easy it is to wire up sensors and displays to quickly prototype an IoT device with the Edison. Of course, you could make this project wireless by using the Edison’s built-in WiFi and Bluetooth to send sensor data to the cloud or to a mobile app.

Intel Edison IoT Frequently Asked Questions

What operating system does the Intel Edison run?

The Edison runs Yocto Linux, which is a custom embedded Linux distribution. Out of the box it includes Python, Node.js, and C/C++ support.

Is the Intel Edison open source?

The Edison’s software is largely open source, including the Yocto Linux OS and the provided libraries. Some binary blobs are still closed source. The Edison hardware design files are not open source.

What Blocks are available for the Intel Edison?

There is a growing ecosystem of stackable Blocks to quickly add features to the Edison, including:

Battery Block
DSS Block (SD card slot and coin cell battery)
ADC Block
GPIO Block (adds screw terminals for digital GPIOs)
I2C Block
9DOF Block (accelerometer, gyroscope, compass)
Servo Block
LCD Block
Console Block (USB to serial for debugging)

What are the alternatives to the Intel Edison for IoT prototyping?

There are a number of other popular platforms for IoT prototyping and development, including:

Raspberry Pi
Arduino
BeagleBone
ESP8266
Particle Photon

Each has its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of size, cost, performance, and ease of use. The Edison stands out for its very small size and low power consumption. It’s more powerful than an Arduino but smaller than a Raspberry Pi.

Is the Intel Edison still being produced?

No, unfortunately Intel announced the discontinuation of the Edison, Joule, and Galileo compute modules in June 2017 in order to focus on other IoT platforms. So while you can still find remaining inventory of the Edison for sale, the long-term outlook for the platform is uncertain. However, the large existing community and collection of projects means it is still a viable platform for short-term development and prototyping.

Summary

The Intel Edison is a powerful tool for IoT prototyping, offering a unique combination of small size, low power consumption, wireless connectivity, and a wide range of hardware add-ons. Its Yocto Linux OS and support for multiple programming languages make it accessible to a wide range of developers.

Some key considerations when deciding if the Edison is right for your IoT prototype:

Do you need the small size for integration into a wearable or compact device?
Is low power consumption a priority?
Do you want to use Grove sensors or Arduino shields?
Will you be doing a lot of on-board processing vs. sending data to the cloud?
Do you need the flexibility of using multiple programming languages?

If the answer to many of those is yes, the Intel Edison is likely a good fit for your needs. Its versatility and expandability make it adaptable to all kinds of IoT projects. While no longer in production, the Edison is still readily available and remains a solid choice for prototyping Internet of Things devices.