Platform for Distance Learning of Microcontrollers and Internet of Things

Due to the increasing technological development in embedded systems and the Internet of Things (IoT), devices based on microcontrollers are increasingly applied in various areas of knowledge. In this context, online educational platforms and products are considered virtual remote laboratories because students can access the physical devices anywhere as long as they have an Internet-connected computer system. In this sense, this work describes the design and development of a platform with four online educational products for teaching microcontrollersand IoT. These educational products are based on pen-source software, allowing their free online distri bution and can be accessed from a cloud server. The open-source and multiplatform (Linux, Windows®, and Mac OSX) approach allows more significant user interaction and accessibility. The online educational products make possible the programming of ESP32 firmware remotely via OTA (over the air) and Linux embedded systems based on Raspberry Pi (Rpi), en- abling virtual microcontroller laboratory applications. In addition, online educational products allow the manipulation of GPIO pins via the Internet through a graphical interface of the ESP32 and ESP8266 micro controllers and the Rpi. In this context, the proposed online platform, running on a cloud server, was tested, and the four online educational products of distance learning and actual application of microcontrollers and the Internet of Things have been validated and worked as designed.