I need to develop a custom board with WiFi connectivity and a UART(RS485). The UART will be connected to a proprietary device with a proprietary protocol, no problem on this.
The board should connect to a MQTT server through WiFi.
I don't know if I will choose a "transparent" WiFi module, implementing all TCP/IP stack and MQTT protocol on the host controller, or choose a "full-featured" WiFi module that integrates all the protocols I need and TCP/IP stack.
Besides this, the most important issue is how to configure the WiFi module with network settings (network name, password and so on). This step is crucial, because it should be as simplest as possible.
I saw many WiFi devices that start as an Access Point (for example, Google ChromeCast). The user, through his smartphone and a companion app, is able to make the first configuration. The steps are similar to the following:
- the app detects and automatically connects to the device in Access Point mode (or the user manually connects to it)
- the user selects the home WiFi network and type credentials (password)
- the app sends this configuration to the Access Point
- the device restarts in Device Mode and connects to the just configured WiFi network
This should be ok for me, but the main problem is the mobile app (for Android, for iOS). I don't have the knowledge to build such an app.
Do you know if there's some vendors of WiFi modules that support with this type of app?
Do you suggest other user-friendly solutions?