Create your own Internet of Things (IoT) device. Design and build a simple IoT device in just six courses.
Suggested by: Coursera (What is Coursera?)
No prior knowledge required
No unnecessary risks
The rapid growth of the “Internet of Things” is changing our world, and the rapid decline in the prices of common IoT components is allowing people to innovate designs and products at home. In the first lesson of this specialization, you will learn about the importance of IoT in society, the current components of typical IoT devices, and future trends. Topics such as IoT design considerations, limitations, and connections between the physical world and your device will also be covered. You will also discover how to trade off hardware and software transitions. In addition, we will cover key network components to ensure that students understand how to connect their device to the Internet. Please note that this course does not include discussion forums.
Arduino is an open-source hardware/software platform for building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control the physical world around them. In this class, you will learn how the Arduino platform works in terms of the physical board, libraries, and IDE (integrated development environment). You will also learn about “skeleton” – small boards that connect to the main Arduino board to perform additional functions such as sensing light, temperature, GPS tracking, or providing a user interface. The course will also cover programming the Arduino using C code and accessing the pins on the board through software to control external devices. Please note that this course does not include discussion forums.
Arduino senses its environment by receiving input from other devices such as sensors, and can control the world around it by adjusting lights, motors, and other actuators. In this lesson, you will learn how and when to use the different types of sensors and how to connect them to the Arduino. Since the outside world easily uses analog signals and digital hardware, you will learn how these signals are converted back and forth and how to take this into account when programming your device. You will also learn about using Arduino-specific shields and shield software libraries to integrate with the real world. Please note that this course does not include discussion forums.
The Raspberry Pi is a small, inexpensive board computer that you can use to design and develop fun and practical IoT devices while learning about programming and computer hardware. You will also learn how to set up the Raspberry Pi environment, run a Linux operating system, and write and run some basic Python code on the Raspberry Pi. You will also learn how to use Python-based IDEs (integrated development environments) for the Raspberry Pi and how to locate and debug Python code on the device. Please note that this course does not include discussion forums.
The Raspberry Pi uses a variety of protocol-based I/O devices such as HDMI, USB, and Ethernet to communicate with the outside world. In this class, you will learn how to use these protocols with additional external devices (sensors, motors, GPS, orientation, LCD screens, etc.) to make your IoT device communicate with the real world. Most physical devices use analog signals; however, computer hardware is digital, so in this class you will learn how these signals are converted back and forth and how to take this into account when programming your device. The basic design of a sensor-and-actuator system will also be covered in the course. You will also learn how to build more advanced hardware systems using Raspberry Pi expansion boards to create fun and exciting IoT devices. Please note that this course does not include discussion forums.
In this capstone course, you will design a microcontroller-based embedded system. As an option, you can also build and test a system. The focus of your project will be to design the system so that it can be built on a low budget for a real-world application. To complete this project, you will need to use all the skills you learned in the course (microcontroller programming, system design, integration, and more). The project will include some basic requirements, but will leave room for your creativity in approaching the project. Ultimately, you will create a unique final project, suitable for demonstrating to potential future clients. Please note that for the three required assignments, you do not need to purchase software and hardware to complete this course. There is an optional fourth assignment for students who wish to build and demonstrate their system using Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Please also note that this course does not include discussion forums.
