Hans-Petter Halvorsen
We cannot create, implement and play with Internet of Things without having some hardware, devices, sensors, etc. Below you find an overview of recommended hardware.
All hardware will be available in the laboratory, but it is recommended that you buy some of the recommended hardware for personal use, especially online students. Also recommended for campus students since its makes it easier to work with the lab assignments outside the scheduled hours in the laboratory. The total price will be the same as you pay for an ordinary textbook which you need to buy in other courses. In this course all the learning resources are online and free.
Selecting and buying IoT hardware and components with the right specifications is an important part of any IoT project and IoT application. So, selecting and buying these components are also an important part of this course.
Note! Prices shown below are roughly estimates and they are also dependent on where you buy the hardware. The prices have also increased the last couple of years due to production and delivery problems all over the world.
All engineering students should have an Arduino, it can ve used for many applications, experiments, lab work, project work, prototyping, IoT, etc. It is an easy and cheap way to learn and play with technology.
You can buy an Arduino many places online, e.g., Kjell & Company (Norway), Elfa, RS, Sparkfun, DigiKey, ebay, AliExpress, etc. Arduino UNO R4 WiFi is recommended. Below you see differnt alternatives.
You can either buy an Arduino Starter Kit or just the board (e.g., Arduino UNO), but then you need USB-cable, a breadboard, different sensors, etc. in addition. An Arduino Starter Kit includes everything you need to get started with Arduino.
Here are some recommendations (Note! You need only one of these options):
| Options | Comments | Suppliers |
| Arduino Starter Kit | "Everyting" you need in one package | Kjell, Sparkfun |
| Arduino UNO R3 | You then need USB cable, etc. in addition. Recommended due to low price. | Kjell, Sparkfun, Elfa |
| Arduino UNO compatible device | Why pay more than you have to? | Kjell |
| Arduino UNO WiFi | WiFi is integrated! Very handy for many purposes! Recommended because WiFi is included! | Elfa |
| Arduino UNO R4 WiFi | Brand new! Comes in 2 different flavours. Arduino UNO R4 Minima is without WiFi | Kjell |
The Starter Kit may be a bit expensive, so an alternative is to buy an Arduino UNO and then buy a Component Kit. Here are some examples: Kjell & Co or Sparkfun (~150-200 NOK). You can also buy each component individually (recommended!), then you get exactly what you want for the best price (see below).
Note! New versions of Arduino hardware has been released (Arduino UNO R4), they come in 2 different versions called Arduino UNO R4 Minima and Arduino UNO R4 WiFi. Arduino UNO R4 WiFi is recommended. You find more information about these devices here: https://store.arduino.cc/pages/uno-r4.
All engineering students should have a Raspberry Pi, it can ve used for many applications, experiments, lab work, project work, prototyping, IoT, etc. It is an easy and cheap way to learn and play with technology.
You can buy an Raspberry Pi many places online, e.g., Kjell & Company, Komplett, Elfa, RS, Sparkfun, DigiKey, ebay, AliExpress, etc.
Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 5 is recommended, which comes in different flavours, e.g., 4Gb or 8Gb RAM. But older versions like, e.g., Raspberry Pi 3B+ is also more than good enough. Older version are also cheaper. Raspberry Pi Pico may also be a good alternative.
Note! At the moment it seems difficult to buy a Raspberry Pi 4/5 in many online stores due to the current component shortage, manufactoring and delivery problems all over the world. Then you may need to look into other options, like buying second-hand, borrow from a friend, etc. Due to high demand and few units, prices have also gone up. "Raspberry Pi 400" may also be a good option (Keyboard with builtin Raspberry Pi 4). Another option is to buy Raspberry Pi Pico. Many online stores have this device in stock and it is also cheaper (but less powerful) than Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 5.
The following small-scale sensors are used in this course:
| Type* | Comments | Suppliers |
| TMP36 Temperature Sensor | Included in Arduino Starter Kit | Elfa, Sparkfun |
| NTC Thermistor 10K (Temperature Sensor) | Not included in Arduino Starter Kit | Elfa, Sparkfun |
| TC74 | I2C Interface | Elfa, RS, Adafruit |
| DS18B20 , DHT11/22 (1-Wire) or DHT20 (I2C) | 1-Wire | Elfa, Kjell |
| AM2320 or DHT20 | I2C Interface | Elfa |
| BME280 | I2C Interface | Elfa, Sparkfun |
*Only the components (or similar alternatives) in bold font are required, others are optional.
You can buy these sensors many places online, e.g., Kjell & Company (Norway), Elfa, RS, Sparkfun, DigiKey, ebay, AliExpress, etc.
In addition, you need some of the following electronics components (Note! most of these are, e.g., included in the Arduino Starter Kit, or similar kits):
| Components* | Comments | Suppliers |
| Resistors | 220, 270, 330, 1k, 4.7k, 10kOhm - 2-3 of each | Elfa |
| Capacitors | 10uF (other sizes may also be handy) | Elfa |
| Push button | Sparkfun | |
| Potentiometer/Trimpot | 10kOhm | Elfa, Sparkfun |
| LEDs | e.g., red 5mm | Kjell & Co, Sparkfun, Elfa |
| Light-dependent Resistor (Photocell) | or Ambient Light Sensor (Elfa) | |
| DAC MCP4911 (SPI bus) | Not part of Arduino Kit | RS, Sparkfun |
| DAC MCP4725 (I2C bus) | An alternative to MCP4911. Easier to Use (Code Examples included) |
Elfa, Sparkfun, Adafruit |
| ADC (eg., MCP3002) | Not part of Arduino Kit. Examples of ADC chips: MCP3002, MCP3201, MCP3202 | Elfa, Sparkfun, RS |
| Hook-up Wires for Breadboard with solid core. For Arduino you typically need only to use Male-Male, while for Raspberry Pi you need both Male-Female and Male-Male. |
*Only the components (or similar alternatives) in bold font are required, others are optional.
Most of the components above are part of an Arduino Starter Kit, but these things can be bought separately (recommended) many places online, e.g., Kjell & Company, Elfa, RS, ebay, AliExpress, etc.
A good alternative may be to buy a "Component Kit", e.g., from Sparkfun or Kjell & Company.
Multimeter, Screwdriver 2.5mm, batteries, MicroSD cards/readers, USB cables, network cables and wires, breadboard, tools, etc. are also nice to have (these things can be bought "everywhere").
| Accessory | Comments | Suppliers |
| Breadboard | Included in, e.g., Arduino Starter Kit | Kjell & Co, Sparkfun, Elfa |
| USB 2.0 Type A to B | Necessary for Arduino, included in Arduino Starter Kit | Kjell & Co, Biltema |
| Multimeter | Optional, but very handy! | Kjell & Co, Sparkfun |
| Screwdriver 2.5mm | Optional, but very handy! | Kjell & Co |
| Nipper Tool | Optional, but very handy! | Kjell & Co |
| 9V Battery | Optional, Makes it possible to run the Arduino without the USB cable | |
| Battery Holder 9V | Optional, Makes it possible to run the Arduino without the USB cable | Kjell & Co, Sparkfun |
| Battery Holder 4xAA | Optional, Makes it possible to run the Arduino without the USB cable | Sparkfun |
*Only the accessories (or similar alternatives) in bold font are required, others are optional.
Optional Hardware. Note! It is not necessary to buy such a device, unless you are especially interested.
Here are some alternatives:
| Options | Suppliers |
| USB-6001 (recommended alternative) | National Instruments |
| USB-6008 (the one we have in the laboratory at USN, but this has now been replaced by the USB-6001 and the USB-600x series from NI). | National Instruments |
| myDAQ | National Instruments |
These devices all work in the same manner, and they all use the DAQmx driver. These devices can be used with LabVIEW, C#, MATLAB and Python. You will get access to USB-6008 in the laboratory at USN. When working at home you may also use an Arduino as a DAQ device in LabVIEW using LabVIEW LINX Toolkit. These DAQ devices can also be bougt from CNRood, Farnell, ebay, AliExpress, Amazon, etc.