Recent years have seen a rapid growth in Arduino-based controllers and modules for industrial and commercial applications as companies look to take advantage of the power, flexibility and affordability of the Arduino platform and an open-source environment that speeds development and prevents system ‘lock-in’.

Sfera Labs has been at the forefront of developing professional solutions built on Arduino with products such as the Iono Uno and the versatile and compact Iono MKR I/O modules. These combine digital and analog inputs and outputs, power relays and support for a variety of standard interfaces and ensure developers can leverage the vast amount of software resources available for Arduino while sourcing reliable and proven industrial PLC hardware. Moreover, the Iono RP and Iono RP D16 I/O modules, although powered by Raspberry Pi RP2040, offer support, among other tools, for the Arduino IDE.

Because these Iono solutions have Arduino at their heart, developers building systems and processes around Sfera Labs technologies benefit from any changes that Arduino makes to its extensive ecosystem. Most recently this includes two significant updates – the official launch of version 2.0 of the Arduino integrated development environment (IDE) and the availability of a Cloud CLI (Command Line Interface) tool. And the updates provide even more reasons for developers to choose Arduino-based I/O modules across a broad range of industrial, commercial and residential processing, management and monitoring applications.

Introducing Arduino IDE 2.0

The Arduino IDE 2.0 is based on the same architecture as the VS Code source code editor that many developers will already be familiar with. Designed to offer an enhanced user experience, the IDE carries a modern editor and combines a refreshed, responsive and more intuitive interface with faster compilation times.

Among the functionality available to users is an Arduino-optimized code-completion and code-assist within the language server that helps speed code development and spots errors in real-time. While typing, the editor can suggest context-relevant autocompletion of variables and functions based on the code being written and the libraries that have been selected.

And, unlike the original IDE which required users to choose between text and graphs, the new platform allows the Serial Monitor and Plotter to be used together, enabling two views of data output simultaneously.

As you would expect, the new IDE is fully integrated with the Arduino Cloud, meaning users can seamlessly switch from one computer to another. Even if the Arduino IDE 2.0 is not installed on all machines the Arduino Web Editor facilitates coding from a browser, while the ability to work offline and sync later supports development ‘on the move’.

Arduino Cloud CLI

Launched in 2019, the Arduino IoT Cloud is a ready-to-use cloud infrastructure with an intuitive and user-friendly web interface for the creation, deployment and monitoring of IoT projects based on Arduino technology.

Suitable for experts and beginners alike, the platform has been carefully designed for the best possible user experience, abstracting the complex tasks that create barriers for users who are not familiar with coding and supporting the integration of hardware and software from third parties to facilitate truly open architectures.

In addition, over-the-air (OTA) updates simplify ongoing maintenance and upgrades.

Now Arduino is building on this platform with an alternative experience in which it is possible to interact with the Cloud via an API. This interaction is complemented with a new Cloud CLI that offers a tool to execute scripted operations on Arduino Cloud and satisfy use cases such as large-scale device provisioning.

With the Cloud CLI, the Arduino IoT Cloud further simplifies integration with third party software while a full suite of tools is available for every level of user. And as it empowers users to access the major features of Arduino IoT Cloud from a terminal, it is also a long-time demanded feature for skilled users.

Find Out More

To find out more about how Sfera labs Iono solutions powered by Arduino can address use cases ranging from data acquisition and home and building automation to access control, room management and environmental monitoring, click here.