The ESP8266 is becoming increasingly popular among the maker community for IoT Development. Not only that, but in recent years, chip manufacturers have found it very challenging to figure out the secret of their success.
Indeed, the ESP8266 emerged from community engagement rather than the typical path chip manufacturers follow. That is another point of view that brings a different idea to the chip manufacturer.
I have been working with ESP8266 for several years on various types of development, including IoT, Robotics, and embedded systems. I mostly use NodeMCU ESP8266 for my IoT development. I present some of my findings on why the ESP8266 is popular in IoT.
Affordable: Yes, the NodeMCU ESP8266 is a cost-effective option. I usually buy the NodeMCU ESP8266 V2 from TechShopBD, and it costs approximately 500BDT ($4). Even on Amazon, you can buy three of them for $14, which costs roughly $5 per piece. Therefore, the ESP8266 remains significantly cheaper than the sensor.
People would be willing to test it because it is so inexpensive. You won't feel like you're wasting much money even if you break it.
For the ESP8266 to be successful, that is the first step. For the development of IoT, a more individual consumer-focused industry, cost is a considerable factor in development.
Connectivity: ESP8266 chips are equipped with 2.4 GHz Wifi 802.11 b/g/n. For this reason, in the IoT field, where connectivity is more crucial than many other factors, the ESP8266 stands out, as IoT is primarily about sensing data and controlling devices through the cloud. The ESP8266 takes itself several steps further in the Internet of Things.
IoT Development Environment: As more and more people learned about, purchased, and experimented with the ESP8266, they discovered the chip's drawbacks and attempted to make improvements. For instance, to create an IoT project using ESP8266, developers must learn the RTOS SDK and utilize the professional C programming language.
However, an Arduino IDE plug-in or ESP8266 board in the Arduino IDE was later created to enable IoT developers to write ESP8266 command code using the Arduino IDE, thereby reducing development complexity. The creation of Arduino compatibility is a significant accomplishment.
Moreover, several software developers suggested different approaches to IoT development using the ESP8266, including the use of eLua in the NodeMCU project, JavaScript in the Smart.js project, and its conversion to Mongoose IoT Firmware, as well as Python in the MicroPython project.
Abundant Learning Resources: Since Expressif, a Shanghai-based company, makes the ESP8266, the chip information is initially only available in Chinese. However, when it gained popularity, the relevant material was translated into English, which aided in its worldwide promotion.
Textbook publishers became interested in introducing the new chip due to the increasing interest in the ESP8266. The English translation of O'Reilly is currently accessible. There is a dedicated book on the Internet of Things with ESP8266 by Marco Schwartz.
Active Maker Community: Makers working with ESP8266-based development are mainly focused on IoT and home automation projects. When someone starts with ESP8266, they often prefer IoT due to the enormous community support and extensive documentation. It is easy to start IoT development with ESP8266.
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