ESP8266-The Gateway to IoT

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The ESP8266 is a low-cost Wi-Fi microchip with full TCP/IP stack and microcontroller capability produced by Shanghai-based Chinese manufacturer Espressif Systems. It’s a fantastic piece of add-on or as a standalone hardware that can be used for starting working in IoT domain. It basically comes in multiple forms but the 2 most common forms are :

  • ESP 8266 Wi-Fi  chip: This is a small chip with an in-built microcontroller and Wi-Fi and can be used as a peripheral with existing microcontroller boards, for instance, arduino or as a standalone chip. When used with Arduino or any other microcontroller board, it will grant the board with wireless connectivity using Wi-Fi. 
ESP8266(ESP-x) version

  • ESP 8266 Board: This is a complete board quite similar to arduino with different types of pins as well as micro usb port so that it can be attached directly to the computer. It's also a microcontroller unit with Wi-Fi capability. Thus, it can also be used standalone for IoT applications.
ESP 8266 Dev. Board
Both the chips datasheet and guide can be found online and both chips are wonderful platforms for getting started with IoT. For a complete development board, ESP 8266 board is preferred as it is totally standalone. ESP 8266 chip is also standalone but it has few pins and will require additional component for connection with PC as well as external power supply to power up. Thus, it is generally used along with arduino or other microcontroller boards.

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