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Quick Start Guide

In this Quick Start Guide we'll connect the IoT RedBoard - ESP32-P4 to a computer and then use a Python script to connect it to a network (wired or wireless depending on the version you have) and pull data from a website that tracks how many astronauts currently on the ISS along with their names. This guide assumes users have a basic understanding of using development boards and using Python. If you're not familiar with these concepts or want to learn more about the IoT RedBoard - ESP32-P4 we recommend reading through the rest of this guide.

Basic Assembly​

All we'll need for this example is a connection to a computer over USB-C via the RedBoard's Serial/JTAG USB-C connector and, if you're using the PoE version, connecting an Ethernet cable to the MagJack. The photos below show both versions connected.

Astronauts in Space Example​

This Python example connects the IoT RedBoard to

  • Copy the code below into your preferred Python interpreter. You can also find the example in the GitHub Repository.
  • Depending on which version of the IoT RedBoard you have, comment/uncomment the lines for network_if to select the correct network type. LAN for the PoE and WLAN for the WiFi/BLE.
  • If you're using WLAN (WiFi), enter the network SSID and password in the example.
  • Select the IoT RedBoard - ESP32-P4 and the port.
  • Click the "Run" button if you're using an interpreter like Thonny.

The example includes serial printouts for each step and also cycles the RGB LED from Red while connecting to the network, Blue while downloading the data and Green to indicate success. Once the download finishes, the code prints out the number of astronauts on the ISS along with their names.

This example also includes an option to have the serial print out to a connected serial LCD display.

Python Code​

################################################################################
# Configure the example using the settings below before running it!
################################################################################

# Select 'LAN' for Ethernet or 'WLAN' for Wi-Fi
network_if = 'LAN'
# network_if = 'WLAN'

# If you're using WLAN (Wi-Fi), set your SSID and password below
wlan_ssid = 'your-ssid'
wlan_password = 'your-password'

# Select whether to use the serial LCD display. To install with mip, run:
# mpremote mip install github:sparkfun/qwiic_serlcd_py
use_serlcd = False
# use_serlcd = True

################################################################################
# Configure the example using the settings above before running it!
################################################################################

# Import necessary modules
import network
import urequests
import time
import neopixel
import machine

# Set up the NeoPixel LED and LCD (if used)
led = neopixel.NeoPixel(machine.Pin.board.NEOPIXEL, 1)
if use_serlcd:
    import qwiic_serlcd
    myLCD = qwiic_serlcd.QwiicSerlcd()

# Set the LED to red while connecting
led[0] = (255, 0, 0)
led.write()
if use_serlcd:
    myLCD.setBacklight(255, 0, 0)

print("Waiting for connection...")
if use_serlcd:
    myLCD.clearScreen()
    myLCD.print("Waiting for")
    myLCD.setCursor(0,1)
    myLCD.print("connection...")

# Connect to the network
if network_if == 'LAN':
    net = network.LAN(
        phy_addr = 0,
        phy_type=network.PHY_GENERIC,
        mdc=22,
        mdio=21,
        crs_dv=28,
        rxd0=29,
        rxd1=30,
        tx_en=33,
        txd0=34,
        txd1=35,
        clk_out=23,
        clk_in=32,
    )
    net.active(True)
elif network_if == 'WLAN':
    net = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
    net.active(True)
    net.connect(wlan_ssid, wlan_password)

# Wait for the connection to complete
while not net.isconnected():
    time.sleep(1)
    print('.', sep='', end='', )

# Print IP address of the device
print('Connected! IP address:', net.ipconfig('addr4')[0])
if use_serlcd:
    myLCD.clearScreen()
    myLCD.print(net.ipconfig('addr4')[0])

# Set the LED to blue while downloading data
led[0] = (0, 0, 255)
led.write()
if use_serlcd:
    myLCD.setBacklight(0, 0, 255)

# Download the list of people currently in space
downloaded = False
while not downloaded:
    try:
        people = urequests.get("https://corquaid.github.io/international-space-station-APIs/JSON/people-in-space.json").json()
        downloaded = True
    except:
        print('Failed to download, retrying...')
        time.sleep(1)

# Set the LED to green to indicate success
led[0] = (0, 255, 0)
led.write()
if use_serlcd:
    myLCD.setBacklight(0, 255, 0)

# Print the number of people and their names
number = people['number']
print('There are', number, 'people in space.')
for i in range(number):
    print(i+1, people['people'][i]['name'])

# Display the number of people in space on the LCD if used
if use_serlcd:
    # Get the button to use for cycling through people in space
    btn = machine.Pin.board.BUTTON
    btn.init(btn.IN)

    # Show the initial number of people in space on the LCD
    myLCD.clearScreen()
    myLCD.print(net.ipconfig('addr4')[0])
    myLCD.setCursor(0,1)
    myLCD.print(str(number) + " ppl in space!")

    # Cycle through the people in space when the button is pressed
    idx = 0
    while True:
        # Wait for the button to be pressed and released
        pressed = False
        while btn() == 0:
            pressed = True

        # Update the display with the next person in space
        if pressed:
            # Increment index, wrapping around if necessary
            idx += 1
            if idx > number:
                idx = 1

            # Display the next person in space on the LCD
            myLCD.clearScreen()
            myLCD.setCursor(0,0)
            myLCD.print("Person #" + str(idx) + "/" + str(number))
            myLCD.setCursor(0,1)
            myLCD.print(people['people'][idx-1]['name'])


Code to Note​

Remember to adjust these lines to match the network conneciton type:

# Select 'LAN' for Ethernet or 'WLAN' for Wi-Fi
network_if = 'LAN'
# network_if = 'WLAN'

When connecting to a WiFi network, make sure to replace your-ssid and your-password with your network's SSID and password in these lines:

# If you're using WLAN (Wi-Fi), set your SSID and password below
wlan_ssid = 'your-ssid'
wlan_password = 'your-password'