Learning Center

Embedded and IoT

Embedded devices run firmware on microcontrollers with limited memory and low-power radios. Learn how ESP32, LoRa, Thread, Matter and Zigbee work, and what encryption and firmware updates require on constrained hardware.

Start with what a microcontroller is Learning Center

Basics

What is a microcontroller?A whole small computer on one chip, built to run one program inside a device.What is firmware?The software stored in a chip that starts the device and runs its hardware.What is a constrained device?Tight limits on memory, code, energy and links, and the IETF classes that describe them.What is an ESP32?Espressif's family of microcontrollers with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios.What is an IoT gateway?The device that connects local sensors and controllers to an IP network or the cloud.What is Meshtastic?Open-source firmware that turns LoRa boards into an off-grid text mesh.

Radios and standards

How does LoRa modulation work?Chirps, spreading factors and bandwidth, and how they trade speed for reach.LoRa vs LoRaWANThe radio modulation versus the network protocol built on top of it.What is Thread?The low-power IPv6 mesh for home and building devices, its roles and border routers.What is Matter?The smart home application standard that runs over Wi-Fi, Thread and Ethernet.How does Zigbee work?Coordinators, routers and sleepy end devices, and the clusters they share.BLE vs Thread vs Zigbee vs LoRaFour low-power radios compared by layer, band, reach and who they suit.What is a radio duty cycle limit?The rule that caps how much of the time a radio may transmit, and how devices comply.What are the ISM bands?The frequencies set aside for microwave ovens and the like, which low-power radios share.

Firmware and security

What is no_std Rust?Rust without the standard library, for code that runs on bare hardware.How do you update firmware without internet?Signed manifests, local delivery paths, anti-rollback counters and fallback slots.How much memory does encryption need on a microcontroller?What library docs state, where flash and RAM go, and how to measure your own build.What is a secure element?A tamper-resistant chip that holds keys and signs for the device, and its limits.

Building

Can a microcontroller run end-to-end encrypted mesh messaging?Memory, entropy, timing, storage and power, and how group encryption can fit.How can an ESP32 send data to a phone without Wi-Fi?Bluetooth LE, a cable, or the board's own access point, and where ESP-NOW fits.