chipKIT WF32 and WiFire

Digilent has released two interesting boards aimed at the much touted Internet of Things: the chipKIT WF32 and the new chipKIT WiFire. These boards have much in common, so I'll review them together.  
 
Both boards are based on PIC32 MCUs, feature a WiFi b/g radio and a microSD-card slot, a OTG USB with A and micro-AB connectors, 4 LEDs, 2 buttons and a potentiometer. The WiFi radio is based on the Microchip MRF24WG0MA with 802.11b/g capabilities. 

The difference resides on the PIC32 MCU used.
  • The chipKIT WF32 is based on the PIC32MX695F512L running at 80 MHz with 512 kB of Flash and 128 kB of RAM, while
  • The chipKIT WiFire is based on the PIC32MZ2048ECG running at 200 MHz with 2 MB of Flash and 512 kB or RAM.

The later configuration is really impressive.
Left, the chipKIT WF32; right, the chipKIT WiFire 
No surprise, the boards have the same form-factor as the Arduino Uno board, albeit being longer.

The boards include the same 43 GPIOs as the chipKIT Uno32.
From left t right: the OTG USB with A and micro-AB connectors,  the 4 LEDs and potentiometer, the two user buttons and the microSD-card slot.

Two IDEs

The programming IDE is exactly the same as for the Arduino, except it handles both AVR and PIC32-based environments through the selection of the board. It is called MPIDE for multi-platform IDE. 

The IDE or integrated development environment is called MPIDE for Multiple Platform IDE and comes now in two versions: 
  • one compatible with Arduino 0023, and 
  • another still in beta compatible with Arduino 1.5. 

As Processing-based Wiring-derived Arduino-like, both are platform-agnostic and run on Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.  

Looking for more features, I designed embedXcode, a template I could use with Xcode.

Two Ethernet and WiFi Libraries

There are two sets of libraries for Ethernet and WiFi, each aimed at a specific release of MPIDE, 0023 or 1.5. 

The libraries pack the TCP/IP stack, manage the standard security protocols (WEP, WPA, WPA2) and are well designed with a contained memory footprint. They come with many examples: I recommend to start with the WiFiScan sketch, and continue with the WebServer example. 

All the examples ran successfully on both versions, 0023 and 1.5. In less than a minute, the WebServer application was deployed on my LAN and answered my requests!
Left, libraries for MPIDE 0023; right, for MPIDE 1.5

Conclusion

I really like those two boards, with everything packed for an IoT application with OTG USB and microSD-card slot. No more need for a shield on top of the board!

Contrary to the Uno32 for which a specific configuration allows to debug with the chipKIT PGM programmer / debugger, there's no specific linking scripts for the WF32 and WiFire. 

The boards are listed at USD69 for the WF32 and USD79 for the WiFire. The extra USD10 are worth the price for 200 MHz, 2 MB of Flash and 512 kB of RAM the WiFire brings. For comparison, the Arduino Yún price tag is USD75.
Left, chipKIT uC32 with WiFi shield; right, all-in-one chipKIT WF32

Pros

  • Powerful 32-bit MCUs
  • IoT ready with WiFi 802.11b/g
  • MicroSD-card slot and OTG USB
  • Fast and powerful MCUs
  • Processing-based Wiring-derived Arduino-like IDE

Cons

  • Two versions of MPIDE and libraries for Ethernet and WiFi 
  • TCP/IP stack managed by software

Wrap-Up

  • All-in-one boards ready for IoT
  • Fast and powerful MCU, especially for the WiFire
  • Software TCP/IP stack

Links
This platform is supported by embedXcode, embedded computing on Xcode.