Open source IoT platform based on low power processor

With Hexiwear’s low-power yet versatile hardware, compatible smartphone and iOS apps, and cloud connectivity, developers can prototype and build devices such as cloud-connected edge nodes, wearable devices, or complex controllers for industrial IoT applications.

MikroElektronika’s Hexiwear is a small and sleek, low-power, wearable development kit packed with sensors to help wearers quantify themselves and their environment.

The Hexiwear hardware includes a low-power, high-performance Kinetis K64 microcontroller based on an ARM Cortex-M4 core, and a Kinetis KW40Z multimode radio system-on-chip (SoC). The expandable board features a 3D accelerometer and magnetometer, 3-axis digital gyroscope, pressure sensor and 600mA battery charger as well as a capacitive touch interface 1.1-inch, full-color OLED display.

The new platform uses FreeRTOS, the Kinetis software development kit (SDK), as well as the Kinetis Design Studio integrated development environment (IDE).

In addition, Hexiwear developers can access Kinetis Design Studio source files and complete hardware and software schematics, making the Hexiwear platform truly open source. The platform is designed for expansion with easy access to SPI, I²C, and other serial interfaces for customisation.

Developers can plug the Hexiwear device into its docking station and add from nearly 200 sensors through MikroElektronika click boards. Further expanding the functionality of the device, the Hexiwear smartphone app for Android and iOS allows developers to remotely access the readings from all of Hexiwear's sensors, and log the data into a cloud.

Hexiwear is available from Mouser Electronics as a single unit or as part of the Power User Pack, which includes the docking station. Also available are Hexiwear colour packs — featuring a wristband, soft cover, and front mask — and a standalone docking station with onboard programmer and support for up to three click boards.

With the platform, developers can combine the style and usability of high-end consumer devices with the functionality and expandability of sophisticated development platforms.

To introduce the new Hexiwear system, Mouser is partnering with Hackster, Autodesk, MikroElektronika, and NXP to give away 100 Hexiwear boards. To enter, participants must submit their project ideas by July 15, 2016, on the Hackster website.