![]() While IR remote controls are commonplace, there are a number of different protocols and encoding methods in use across different brands. In appreciation of this, created the IR Remote Control Detective to simplify working with IR signals. ![]() Hardware development often involves working with things that can’t be directly perceived, which is one reason good development tools are so important. Posted in Microcontrollers, Parts Tagged development board, ESP8266, industrial automation, ir receiver, max232, relay It’s not the first interesting development to come from the liquidation of Geoffrey’s kingdom, but it just might be the most useful. Our hats off to the engineers at Malouf and the forward thinking brass that green lit production of the ME-ESP8266. So today we not only learned that bedding companies have CTOs, but that they can be exceptionally open-minded. Even more impressive, they got the company to put the board into production so it could be sold to the public. But instead of keeping their new ESP board to themselves, the team at Malouf got the go ahead from the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to release it as an open source project. Now under normal circumstances, the public would never know about this sort of behind the scenes engineering. The hardware is compatible with the standard Arduino IDE as a “Generic ESP8266 Module”, so you’ll have no problem using existing libraries and example code. There’s even a MAX232 on the board so it can talk to RS-232 devices. It’s got an integrated relay, 16 MB of flash storage, an IR receiver, beefy screw terminals, and a 2.54mm-pitch GPIO pin header. It turns out that an ESP8266 board developed to move bedding around an old Toys R’ Us warehouse has a lot of useful features for hackers and makers. The company decided to use their in-house team of engineers to solve the problem, and the ME-ESP8266 was born. A Texas distribution center Malouf purchased from the iconic toy retailer included an automated conveyor belt system to move product through the gargantuan building, but unfortunately, they couldn’t get it to work with their existing system. Or more specifically, the liquidation of Toys R’ Us. So how do you go from mattress toppers to microcontrollers? Well, as unlikely as it might seem, the missing element is Toys R’ Us. ![]() That’s because Malouf, the company that makes the $20 USD board, is a home goods company better known for their pillows and bed frames. But we don’t think you’ll find one with a more unique a backstory than the open source ME-ESP8266. If you’re looking to get started with the ESP8266, there’s no shortage of development boards out there to select from.
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