502IoT Raspberry Pi add-on promises to be a professional sensor hub

Raspberry Pi add-ons are often popular, and here is one for increased I/O. It’s created by Pi 2 Design, “to deliver on the promise of the ‘Internet of Things’ for real world projects,” they say.

Basically, the 502IoT is designed to help create a low cost, sensor hub, data collection, data storage or gateway device.

Supporting “access to virtually any sensor technology on the market”, it’s intended to support sensor-driven IoT gateway applications. We’re talking home automation and security. As it is officially a “professional I/O Shield”, other applications are said to include transportation, process control and factory automation.

“The 502IoT Shield adds to the Pi with I/O including SPI, I2C, analog, digital/PWM and buffered 1-Wire bus. These are accessible via industry standard Grove and PMOD I/O expansion connectors. The shield also provides a second 10/100 Ethernet port, two more USB ports, and an M.2 SSD storage socket. Finally, the built -in wide input (+8V to +24V) power supply powers all peripherals plus the Pi, while also providing up to 2A each for the two High-Retention USB connectors.”

“The built-in 802.11b/g/n WiFi module will be welcome to owners of the Pi 2 and Odroid boards. For the Pi 3, the external antenna connector provides longer range and allows for mounting the Pi 3 in metal enclosures. Other features include audio out, battery-backed RTC, and a 1-Wire based on-board temperature sensor.”

Note that there is built-in 802.11b/g/n WiFi which will be handy for Raspbeerry Pi 2 owners (the new Raspbeerry Pi 3 has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth already built in).

Basically, the 502IoT add-on includes one shield, a Wi-Fi antenna, a USB-A to microUSB-B patch cable and mounting hardware for connection to the Pi or an Odroid C1+/C2.

Note that it can also work with the Odroid C1+, the new C2 (www.hardkernel.com) and the Intel Cherry Trail based Up-Board (www.up-board.org)

Features of the 502IoT:

DS1339 with 16mm coin cell
LAN9514 Combo 10/100 and USB Hub provides an additional Ethernet port for gateway and bridging applications
USB2.0 Type A for additional USB expansion.High-Retention sockets provide 2.1A peak (1.5A continuous) for high power peripherals
PL2571 Controller and M.2 (Next Generation Form Factor) Socket for up to 256GB on-board Storage
GWF-3M08 Module (Ralink RT5370) provides 802.11b/g/n for up to 150Mbps. On-Module IPEX connector allows for optimal antenna placement
Grove I/O Connectors – 4 x Analog (via 8-Channel, 8-bit @188Khz ADC), 4 x Digital (each with 1.562Khz PWM), 4 x I2C and 1 x UART (ideal for Bluetooth Low Energy Modules)
PMOD I/O Connectors – 12-Pin SPI with Dual Chip Select and 4-Pin I2C PMOD Connectors
On-board DS18B20 Temp Sensor (under M.2 SSD) w/64-Bit ID plus DS2482S-100 I2C to 1-Wire Controller
24-Bit, 48Khz – 384Khz Audio Out using PCM5102A DAC via RPI I2S Bus

Prices start at $79, with no power supply included, and options for a 12V @ 2A supply (for powering the PI and the 502IoT) or 12V @ 5A supply (for additionally powering other shields or add-ons).