The now critically acclaimed footprint of the Arduino UNO has become a near gold-standard in the maker and professional development industries. Any company that is worth talking about likely has at least one product that conforms to the common 14x1 and 18x1 transversely parallel prototyping connectors we are all too familiar with. However, the new emerging footprint standard of the Arduino MKR series may soon replace its famous older brother.
Given the success of the Arduino, Arduino themselves recognized the need for a smaller standard version of the UNO footprint, simply for prototyping applications that did not need the common 13 I/O’s and 6 Analog pins. So naturally, they designed the MKR series with one goal in mind – the Internet of Things (IoT).
Given the smaller nature of most simple IoT applications, where power and hardware size are always a concern, Arduino created the MKR footprint, which still packs 28 pins into less than half of the total area. Wireless connectivity is a known barrier for the Arduino UNO, so naturally the MKR series took the liberty of integrating all of the common IoT connectivity options your gateway could desire.
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Arduino MKR1000 WIFI
If you have ever created an Arduino project that wirelessly sends data, you likely used the legacy Arduino Zero, which utilized the UNO footprint. Arduino took the liberty of cutting out the need for a large IoT device, and designed in Microchip's wonderful ATSAMW25 SoC to allow for out of the box connectivity on the new footprint of the MKR. With only 4 less I/O’s than the UNO, the MKR still packs loads of opportunity for development and prototyping, but again is only half the size of the UNO. The MKR series is designed for those with no experience in networking for IoT applications, which makes it easy to use for anyone wanting to prototype fast.
The ATSAMW25 SoC module is comprised of 3 main components that give the MKR it’s credibility. The brain behind the curtain is the SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ ARM MCU which enables a variety of the functionality of the board, including the 12 PWM, 8 Digital I/O, UART, SPI, and I2C pins. The onboard Wi-Fi connectivity is enabled by the ATWINC1500, which is a low-power 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n SoC, which also includes a 1z1 stream PCB Antenna on the module on the 2.4GHz band at 72 Mbps. The SoC even integrates ECC508 Crypto Authentication to keep you IoT node safe and secure.
Altogether, Arduino has brought in their classic magical touch to make the extremely capable MKR1000 very easy to use for anyone, regardless if you’re a developer or a novice tinkerer.
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Arduino MKR FOX 1200
The advent of SigFox networks and their low-power data sharing capabilities has led to a boom in IoT devices intuitively utilizing the new technology, so naturally, Arduino followed suit. The MKR FOX 1200 is the same form factor as the other MKR products, however instead of WiFi, it enables out of the box connectivity to a SigFox network. The product comes with a free 2-year subscription, with up to 140 messages a day, as well as free access to the Spot’it geolocator for asset tracking.
Similar to the MKR1000 WIFI, the MKR FOX 1200 is designed around the SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ MCU to provide the standard pin configurations of the MKR footprint. For SigFox connectivity, the FOX 1200 utilizes the ATA8520 SigFox module, which runs at 868 MHz via the included micro UFL connector. Given the limited global infrastructure implementation, the current operability of the FOX 1200 only services Europe at the moment of this article being written. But given the limited power consumption capabilities of this board make it ideal for battery powered applications, especially given it can be used with two AA or AAA batteries using an adapter.
Arduino MKR WAN 1300
As a product in the same vein as the FOX 1200, the MKR WAN 1300 is designed to help developers prototype with Lo-Ra WAN connectivity, again even if they do not have previous experience. The MCU onboard is the same, as well as the standard MKR pinout, however the WAN 1300 utilizes Murata's MCWX1ZZABZ module for connectivity. The connectivity can be implemented using a simple GSM antenna, however be sure to double check that the antenna operates at 433/868/915 MHz given the frequency bands of Lo-Ra. Again, since Lo-Ra is a low power solution, the MKR WAN 1300 is ideal for battery-powered IoT designs if Lo-Ra WAN is available to you in your geolocation.
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Arduino MKR WAN 1300 (LoRa Connectivity) | ABX00017
Arduino Corporation Embedded System Development Boards and Kits ViewArduino MKR GSM 1400
The long-awaited, small “Arduino with built-in GSM” has finally arrived – and it is in the MKR form factor, much to our liking. The MKR GSM 1400 follow the standard suit of the other IoT geared Arduino boards – it has the same MCU, pinout, input power, and so on. It differentiates itself in its connectivity, obviously, and utilizes the popular SARAU201 GSM module. Power consumption is not as conservative as is with the 1200 or 1300, however having 2G capabilities has its given benefits. This does, however, mean that you need to power the GSM 1400 with at least a 1500 mAh or higher LiPo battery.
Arduino MKR Zero
As a slightly different twist to the MKR series, the MKR ZERO does not come with integrated wireless connectivity. Rather, it is geared toward enabling 32-bit application development or being used as an educational tool. The MKR ZERO is based on the same MCU as the other 4 current products in the series, which enables the same overall functionality for development applications. One of the more common applications that have been seen utilizing the MKR Zero are music based, given the I2S serial interface and the Arduino-written I2S library and Arduino Sound library.
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