UIFlow is a Web based IoT programming platform using Blockly and Python. With UIFlow, you can build your project faster and easier, as well as learn python.
Currently UIFlow has been updated to 1.4.0 (beta), introducing the new features.
Now you can use UIFlow to access SD card, read and write files to it.
Map is the commonly used dictionary function, to easily create or edit a dictionary and to find or create keys and values in it.
Handling JSON is often used for network data processing and the new UIFlow version comes with blocks help simplifying the process.
ESP NOW (from Espressif) can establish a low power local network (peer to peer) connection for non-Wi-Fi based control and data collection.
Now an HTTP request link can be sent easily to get network data by just ‘drag and drop’ of a single block, no longer needing to write the POST and GET request codes.
These set of blocks can be used to create UI (User Interface) Dashboards to visualize data and control the core remotely through MQTT.
Go Visit UIFlow Here
In this week, we updated some new function for M5StickV.
Provide an online object recognition model training service.
Shoot 35 pictures and you can train your own classifier model on M5StickV! End to end AI model maker.
More information pls click the link to view:
https://docs.m5stack.com/#/en/related_documents/v-training
August is here, and the time arrived for us to go to Tokyo Makerfaire. Japan is our biggest market and so we were excited to see what our users had been making with M5Stack.
On our first day we paid a visit to Switch Science our distributor in Japan. We had a tour of their well organized warehouse, STEM education department and workshop facilities. In our meeting with Switch Science we discussed the popularity of Stick C and Stick V which had been selling out in less than an hour in both Switch Science's online store and from vendors stores in Akihabara electronics markets.
We had a productive meeting with Shimojima San founder of Ambient Data Inc. He plans to release a book entitled “M5Stack for Everyone” a detailed guide intended for beginners into the world of IoT which currently stands at around 300 pages. The book is set to be released around late September early October.
In the evening we were taken to the offices of Omron who had kindly sponsored the venue for our meet up. 100+ Makers, some coming from as far as Kumamoto (South West Japan) came to present their projects and meet with other M5Stack users.
The presentations covered such varied topics as programming the M5Stack with Javascript, The release of Soracoms new 3G M5Stack Module, Creating guitar pedals with M5Stack and one users journey of making multiple custom M5Stack modules.
There were projects of all kinds including, self-balancing vibration robots, a Stick C controlled pendulum clock, Traditional Japanese demon mask with LED lights, and even one fan designed his own 3G stack. Prof. Shimojima presented awards for the top 3 projects.
On the first day of the Makerfaire we got to the site around 10am to set up. Although gates didn't open to the public until 12am many of the makers arrived early to set up and take a look at the projects from other booths. The Venue was laid out in an L shape and our booth was on the corner with Switch Science.
Many fans came to greet Jimmy and also brought their projects along to display in our booth. The booth was always busy on both days, thankfully we had a lot of help from Switch Science with translation and Switch Science sold out of Stick V and Stick C within 30 mins.
Many projects in the Makerfaire used M5Stack. The projects were mostly focused on IoT with sensors reading temperature, fetching data from cloud platforms and controlling fans or other household appliances. Some projects that stood out were the train themed projects of Ogimotoki a father with a handicapped son, who uses technology to improve the quality of his sons life.
There was also a POV globe which used a stripped down M5Stack inside a 3D printed orb with LEDs on. Soracom and Obniz had demos in their booths using M5Stack to show off the benefits of their respective platforms.
The day after the Makerfaire we paid a visit to Sony HQ and the Sony Creative Lounge. Mesh project founder Takehiko Hagiwara, who is a fan of M5Stack gave us a tour. The Sony Creative Lounge is a Makerspace on the ground floor of the Sony building. Sony employees and referred friends can use the facilities for as little as 2000 yen a month. Facilities include 3D printers, Laser Cutter, CNC, UV printer and more.
In the afternoon we went down to Akihabara to visit Tokyo’s famous Electronic market and hub of Otaku culture. Although much smaller than Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei there is a lot more on offer than just electric components. The Maywa Denki store with it's carefully curated Radio Super product gallery was a feast for the senses with wacky and wonderful products of all kinds.
We visited a number of stores which were selling or displaying M5Stack products. The products were all neatly displayed with an additional sticker on each product giving detailed information in Japanese. Switch Science told us that these stores want to order larger quantities of M5Stack goods.
Soon the time came for us to say goodbye to Tokyo. The trip left us buzzing with excitement after seeing the passion of the Japanese makers and spurred us on to improve the quality and usability of our products so that more aspiring inventors can make their dream projects a reality.
Technological solutions are becoming increasingly sought after. Today, everyone from the learned individual to members of the worlds largest tech companies are churning out new products year upon year. It seems that this rush of production is only growing. But a spike in any market often means a dip in quality output. As capitalism becomes more cultural, consumers are enticed by glossy marketing strategies and encouraged to purchase products that offer no real improvement to their daily lives. Many commodities promise improvements in productivity, utility, or quality that are never realized. In fact, the word ‘value’ is now so overused that, ironically, its value as a marketing term has been undermined.
This is not to say that the tech market is void of a valuable commodity. One only need look at the iPhone, first released in 2007, to appreciate how a single product can shift the face of the global tech landscape. Allowing the mass public to interact with the portable web, the iPhone single-handedly revolutionized the mobile phone market and made app development a widespread movement. This one product opened the gate for tech development, making the days of an exclusive and unapproachable market a thing of the past.
Yet many of the most valuable commodities on today's market are not targeted towards the mass-population. Many works to fulfill specific and personal demands. GPS, for example, changed the face of personal navigation, but it is of less appeal to those utilizing public transport. Today, a new product mirrors the GPS system’s success at tapping into a niche market, having gained progressively wider appeal since its release in 2015.
The M5Stack is a modular developer kit that aspires to satisfy the growing demand for personal tech solutions, playing to the increasing accessibility of a tech landscape that is making self-made success possible. While these successes undeniably vary in their scale – with some going on to form the worlds largest tech companies, and others simply continuing as hobbyists – the target market for developer kits continues to grow at a record pace. The M5Stack fills a gaping hole in this market, extending the growing approachability of tech development by making personal tech solutions easy to carry out.
The products sleek design allows users to stack different boards on top of one another, from a basic core to joystick and fingerprint attachment modules. This makes customization and familiarisation easy, whilst retaining portability with an impressive aesthetic that rivals professional development devices on the current tech market. The extent of customisability that is offered by the M5Stack makes it a key player in drawing together the previously disparate worlds of small and large scale tech production. Such mixing of markets is invaluable in today’s extensive tech landscape.
Quan Gan was one of many to notice the potential of the M5Stack, launching his California company, ZTAG, in 2016 following its initial release. As both a hobbyist and an entrepreneur, Gan recognized the need to draw a link between both worlds and recognized M5Stack’s ability to achieve just this. Gan’s children also helped him to realize M5Stack’s potential in helping young people to engage with one another. As smartphone technology seems intent on expanding, physical interaction between children and adults has taken a hit. M5Stack is not only capable of drawing together the personal and professional worlds of tech, but also the physical and technological landscapes of humanity.
In this context, Gan was able to utilize the M5Stack, realizing that it’s compact design allowed it to be worn on the wrist. Gan combined this portability with M5Stack’s proximity sensors and mimicked a game of tag that could be enjoyed amongst his young children, generating the foundation of ZTAG. This not only highlights the endless possibilities offered by M5Stack, but also that its technological benefits can be applied in the physical world of interactive play.
The business benefits that M5Stack has afforded individuals as Gan extends across the tech community. M5Stack has helped multiple other individuals to propel their own businesses. The easily adjustable and customizable technology enables software startups to construct their own hardware products, one utilizing M5’s blockchain program to create Bitcoin wallets. With a growing list of business clientele, M5Stack demonstrates its value as a product of revolutionary means, capable of benefitting both the private and professional individual. This product is propelling the tech landscape to new heights whilst aiding the success of other entrepreneurs, and driving technological advancements available for wider public consumption. As such, M5 has established itself as the key tool supporting self-startup companies. This consequently underlines M5’s integral role in the contemporary landscape, not just in technological terms, but in the broader field of capitalist business.
As ZTAG proved the M5Stack could appeal to a whole range of age demographics, global interest has been generated. M5Stack’s adaptability and various add-ons mean that this singular product can be used for a multitude of purposes, a benefit that Gan’s initiative helped to promote within broader corporate audiences. The device’s expansive target market is mirrored in its price point, with basic core’s starting at prices as low as $25. The option to purchase additional elements for the mainframe enables consumers to pick and choose to suit their specific demands, whilst refraining from breaking the bank. With built-in Bluetooth, wireless and non-wireless optional settings, M5Stack continues to break the boundaries of tech development software.
With the help of figures like Gan, its audience continues to grow and its ease of use is promoted. Just as the iPhone transformed modern life for billions, M5Stack reflects the explosion of tech in the mainstream community – and plays to it. From replacing inefficient smart home devices, to customizing a child’s video game, M5Stack proves time and time again that it can be shaped to fill any gap in the market. Tech hobbyists see value in its versatility, while entrepreneurs see value in its efficiency.
The aspiring tech developer was once recognizable as a member of the high school A/V club, an avid computer specialist. Yet in today’s world, their commonality has made them harder to identify. Tech development has become a dream of the every-man, and M5Stack’s accessible design has finally made this a dream worth following.
From the OpenBusinessCouncil
M5STACK announces the further expansion into the AIOT(AI+IOT) edge computing market with the K210 RISC-V 64 AI Camera— an innovative machine vision and machine learning programmable camera that’s competitively priced to meet the needs of a rapidly growing AI market.
AI cameras help engineers quickly implement machine learning, image recognition, and speech recognition functions, and the K210 RISC-V 64 AICamera supports OpenMV and MicroPython to make programming on easier while delivering the maximum efficiency and flexibility needed for advanced level big data computation.
M5stick-V AI Camera features its integration with machine vision capabilities, featuring the unprocessed acceptability to AI Visioning with high energy efficiency and low cost. We co-oped with Sipeed providing the MicroPython environment makes programming on M5stickV easier.
Made with the incredibly powerful machine learning AI chip ‘K210’— Kendryte K210 -an edge computing system-on-chip (SoC) with dual-core 64bit RISC-V CPU and state-of-art neural network processor. a high-performance hardware accelerator that offers superior low power vision processing speed and accuracy— K210 RISC-V 64 AI Camera comes with numerous built-in advantages over its competition.
From its KPU high performance convolutional neural network (CNN) hardware accelerator, powerful calculation capabilities, and relatively low cost high-performance AI core to its exclusive hardware package with camera, horn, microphone, screen, gyroscope, battery, wireless communication and complete enclosure, K210 RISC-V 64 AI Camera was built from the inside out to be a powerful, ready-to-use product-level AI application terminal.
The module comes with the OmniVision OV7740 sensor, using the OmniPixel®3-HS technology, providing a best-in-class low light sensitivity, making it ideal for machine vision. In addition to an OV7740 sensor, M5stick-V features more hardware resources such as a speaker with built-in I2S Class-D DAC, MEMS Microphone, IPS screen, 6-axis IMU, 200mAh Li-Po battery, and more.
More than the visioning, M5stick-V also features the embedded APU – Audio Processor. With its hardware beam-forming support and dual 512-point FFT units, the M5stick-V is also capable of a series of machine hearing works like voice wake-up to speech recognition.
K210 RISC-V 64 AI Camera provides built-in image processing model libraries for advanced real-time facial and objects recognition that makes it perfect and ready-to-use for:
Kendryte K210 provides individuals users, business users, and enterprise users with enhanced flexibility, affordability, and freedom by use.
While most major AI chips contain product and design flaws, the K210 rises above Google Edge TPU, Movidius/Intel, Huawei Hess, Beaten, and others by offering a zero-threshold solution with efficient, stable, and reliable high-performance MCU that can be quickly deployed and customized directly by users.
M5Stack recently launched a development board designed for IoT education. It helps teach developers how to carry out experiments and conduct research. Until now, there hasn’t been a similar product on the market offering all the learning possibilities of M5Stacks' Dev Board.
The board is a combination of all of their previous top-ranked products. It’s fully open-sourced and entirely compatible with other related products, making it the holy grail for IoT development by opening up endless possibilities.
M5Stack doesn’t follow, and that was clear from their first product on. They’re committed to a mission of opening the world of IoT to the future generation of makers, encouraging innovation.
The new product is aimed at seasoned students and researchers that already have some coding background, in order to understand the principles and basic functioning schemes. For those that are hungry to test and discover new IoT products, this development board is a wonderful tool. It’s great for B2B platforms that are looking for heavy duty IoT development boards in the “all-in-one” format.
M5Stack believes in building the next generation of IoT developers. To make it more tangible, they went all in by creating an IoT Lab in a college in Chinas Anhui province. All the hardware and software, including a training platform and robotic vehicles, were supplied by M5Stack.
M5Stack is also developing a channel to regularly provide STEM-related videos. The channel will offer inspiration, education, and guidance to the young generation of IoT developers so they can have a full circle support system, from software to hardware. They aim to become a reliable source to count on when makers get stuck or need guidance.
Armed with M5’s new development board, makers can bring to life their most ambitious projects.
It will allow them to create smart devices that will make our lives easier, add convenience, save energy, make our homes and offices more efficient and improve our quality of life. Somewhere, a bright developer has already in mind the next big thing in IoT and only waiting for the right tool to build it, test it, and bring it into the world.
M5Stack encourages developers worldwide to try their development board and see where their imagination takes them.
Article from Dzone by Tim Spann
Maker Fashion Edu was held on May 26th at the Nanshan District Cultural and Art Center in Shenzhen.
"Maria" from Shenmei International School is wearing a well-designed dress and is equipped with the "Butterfly" launcher sponsored by M5Stack. It is eye-catching at this technology fashion event.
M5Stack's custom-designed Butterfly emitter uses a simple and reliable mechanical fixing structure. The rubber band and the steering gear control the launch and fixation of the butterfly model. The base is embedded with programmable RGB LEDs and the acrylic base with good light transmission.
Using M5Core as the control core, you can easily implement button control, attitude control, and even network control transmitter activation with a simple servo program editing!
In the M5Stack system, there is a visual effect branch, which aims to bring developers cool product decoration effects.
Using M5Core as a controller can help creators make the lighting design they want, or controllable models, as quickly as possible.
Together with M5Stack, create fashion differently.
Inno Faire 2019, jointly organized by Hongkong maker Club and the Hong Kong Productivity Council, was held at the Productivity Building (HKPC), Kowloon Road, Kowloon, from May 25 to May 26.
Follow the camera and quickly experience the innovative energy!
At the M5Stack booth, the latest DIY M5 Polaroid camera was shown. Just press the shutter and the photo data will be transferred to the thermal printer controlled by M5Core for fast printing via ESP-NOW.
There are also industrial-grade thermal imaging cameras, motion control applications, PM2.5 detection modules, M5 electronic scales and other applications (it's so cool).
The products cover a wide range of application areas, and the programming kit M5GO for STEM education attracts the children immediately to write programs on site!
Many fans brought their M5 works to the exhibition. This M5 robot arm combined with the rocker, button and servo module can realize multi-joint rotation. It can hold items easily. The simple design is really eye-catching.
Monitor soil moisture in real time by using the Earth Unit in the M5 system. (Watering or not, M5 decide！）
During the exhibition, M5 held a workshop of children programming with M5.
Using the graphical programming platform UIFlow developed by M5, even the beginner programmers can enjoy the creation.
This talented child, before the teacher has not fully explained the program, explores it by himself, and judges the acceleration value in the X-Y direction by programming to realize different light color control. (It is really amazing!)
May 17th - May 19th, Maker Faire Bay Area 2019 held at the San Mateo Events Center in San Francisco.
The US Bay Area Maker Faire is the world's largest maker gathering event.
Creative makers, hard-core engineers, enthusiasts, well-known manufactures gathered together from all over the world.
A wide range of M5 applications such as drones, cameras, and robots are on display.
M5Stack built a strategic partnership with the famous Adafruit. M5 is about to expand into the US market. This means that American makers can purchase M5 products more conveniently and quickly.
M5Stack's products have been affirmed by the makers. We literally sold out our inventory!
During the exhibition, M5 held a workshop to introduce the use of M5 hardware to the makers and quickly programmed some interesting functions using UIFlow.
M5Stack will cooperate with Moddable.
Moddable is committed to developing JavaScript open IoT development tools for use on microcontrollers, which means M5Stack can support JavaScript soon!
2019.4.29 | 18:00
Recently we hosted an M5Stack user meet up event in cooperation with Letin Tech at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
In addition to the M5Stack user fans, there were also some teachers and students from schools or educational institutions who came to see how easy it is to program the M5Stack.
The host of the event introduced the origin of the "M5Stack" brand name. The "M stands for modular design", "5 is the standard design size of the module 5x5cm", “Stack” represents the stack-ability of the design.
In the entire M5Stack hardware ecosystem, there are multiple hardware branches, different performance and types: cores, modules, bases, functional units that can be used for external connection and compatibility, and development accessories for various application scenarios.
M5STACK founder Jimmy Lai shared the vision of M5Stack. In his words ”M5Stack provides a series of development hardware with screen, buttons and sensors all in a professional looking case which can be freely stacked or expanded. The purpose is to speed up the development of prototypes and to make prototypes that look more like a finished product.
Luke introduced the web programming platform “UIFlow" Which is a Blockly based independently developed programming tool by M5Stack.
This IDE also supports MicroPython and can push code to the M5Stack device over the network. Even if the device is on the other side of the globe, as long as it is connected to the network it can be programmed.
Luke helped everyone get quickly set up with the UIFlow programming platform by introducing a series of small programming examples. Even though it's the teachers and students first time using the interface they were able to create a variety of programs with ease. Whether your using a computer, tablet or mobile phone, you can use UIFlow to program anytime, anywhere.
After the meetup, M5Stack representatives showed the participants some M5Stack product applications and unveiled some new products, like educational development board, which is especially helpful for university or high-level programming education. The industrial automation system and motion control system designed for the M5Core will provide developers with a reliable and cost-effective industrial development solution.
M5Stack will continue to improve the hardware ecosystem, and in the future will launch more powerful development hardware and high-quality STEM curriculum and documentation resources to aid engineers, makers, and educators.
Mars Summit is the biggest tech conference in southern China. Located in Shenzhen, Mars Summit brings the leaders from the technology industry and leaders from all kinds of businesses who have a passion for applying tech.
2019.3.27|10:00AM：
Under the organization of HAX, the M5 team and the technology giants Mars Summit jointly held a "Creator Hackathon".
Participants team up on their own, the task is to use the various hardware in the M5Stack system within 2 hours to develop a creative product! After the game, the team will demonstrate the product, explain the inspiration and meaning of the project.
The M5 team provided the participants with the core control console "M5GO" and a series of extended function modules. Help them quickly get started with our web programming platform "UIFlow", with the blockly programming language, even for people who have no programming foundation, they can get started quickly.
Building a complete work in 2 hours, "Mission impossible" becomes "everything is possible" with the M5 system support.
Brain Storming Time
Human recognizer
This team made a "human identification device" and couldn't wait to verify whether the friends here are humans.
Intelligent traffic light
By detecting whether someone is waiting on the sidewalk, the traffic light can be automatically changed, completely solving the trouble of waiting for the red light.
Introducing the winner! "Cooker Guardian"
Using the NCIR Unit to achieve temperature monitoring. When placed next to the cooktop, it can detect the temperature of the kitchen or flame. When the set temperature is exceeded, the Neopixel light bar will be illuminated for prompting. The threshold for monitoring the temperature can also be adjusted via the Angle Unit.
This hardcore team spent 3 minutes to design the brand logo, and the product structure made in only 30 minutes!
After the summit, Nathan Rich said "I have contacted many startups. It is very encouraging to see China's technological leadership. In the field of science and technology, China is moving from a dependent state to an innovative one. This is very instructive."
"China is growing at an unprecedented rate in innovation, which makes me proud of being in this trend."
