IoT with Edgeberry - Part 1: Edgeberry Devices

When we want to move data between the physical world and the cloud, we need a computer on site that our sensors and actuators can plug into - with network connectivity and enough processing power to handle essential tasks on its own.

Our computer system of choice to throw into the physical world to preform this task is the Edgeberry, powered by Raspberry Pi. In this part, we’ll turn the Raspberry Pi into a ready-to-use Edgeberry IoT device.

Before we begin

• Raspberry Pi 3B+ or newer, or Raspberry Pi Zero 2W or newer running Raspberry Pi OS as our trusted, central Linux computer system.
• Edgeberry or Edgeberry Zero Base Board for equipping our device with a robust power system,...
• Edgeberry Enclosure...
• 12V/1.5A adaptor for powering the device.

1) Assembling the Device

Included with the Edgeberry Base Board there's an instruction card for assembling the device.

Don't close up the device just yet; we need to install the OS on the SD card first.

2) Installing the Operating System

Because we're using Raspberry Pi, I recommend using the Raspberry Pi Imager software from the Raspberry Pi website:

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/

And follow the steps. Configure the settings:

• Setup your wireless network
• Change the username and password
• Enable SSH (for remote access using SSH)
• Change the hostname (e.g., 'Edgeberry')

When the SD card is flashed and verified, insert it into the device. Power up the device (it will automatically reboot once) and access it using SSH:

ssh <your username>@<your device IP address>

3) Installing the Edgeberry Device Software

Now we have SSH access to our device, we can download and install the Edgeberry Device Software.

wget -O install.sh https://github.com/Edgeberry/Edgeberry/releases/latest/download/install.sh;
chmod +x ./install.sh;
sudo ./install.sh;

After the installation finished, we can test that the software is operational by running:

sudo edgeberry --identify

This should have your device make itself present through its indicators.

4) Install Node-RED

In this series, we're using the low-code programming environment Node-RED on the devices for easily creating device-side applications. Download and install Node-RED:

bash <(curl -sL https://github.com/node-red/linux-installers/releases/latest/download/update-nodejs-and-nodered-deb)

and run it as a system service with systemd:

sudo systemctl enable nodered.service

Now open your browser, and go to the Node-RED environment:

http://<device ip address>:1880

References:

https://nodered.org/docs/getting-started/raspberrypi

5) Hello World

The Edgeberry ecosystem provides Node-RED nodes for interacting with the Edgeberry Device Software. In Node-RED, navigate to

Settings > Manage Palette > Install

And search for and install the Edgeberry Device Software library:

@edgeberry/device-node-red-contrib

Now import (ctrl+i) the 'Hello World' JSON code into Node-RED, and test!

What's Next

We have set up the physical endpoint for connecting the real world to the digital realm, now it's time to set up the digital endpoint in Part 2: Edgeberry Device Hub.