Microsoft introduces IoT starter kit that can help build and control robots
Microsoft has announced the release of a new Starter Kit for the Windows IoT Core and Raspberry Pi 2, which includes electronic parts, sensors, wires and cables that are compatible with Windows 10. The kit has been created in collaboration with Adafruit, an open source hardware company. Microsoft explained the kit﻿ can help create a wheeled robot, that can be controlled by a joystick and Raspberry Pi, and has the potential to create other innovative products such as weather stations. 

If your organization is eager to begin using Windows 10 for Internet of Things projects, you’re one step closer today.

Microsoft just unveiled a new Starter Kit for the Windows IoT Core and Raspberry Pi 2. The kit, which includes sensors, electronic parts, wires, and cables that are compatible with Windows 10, enables organizations to prototype and build machines that can transmit information back to a database.

For example: Microsoft says the starter kit can help organizations create weather stations that produce data based on interactions with the environment, or tools that communicate with an analog photocell sensor to measure light intensity, and even a wheeled robot that can be controlled via joystick and Raspberry Pi.

The details

Working in conjunction with a company called Adafruit, Microsoft developed the hardware that comes with the starter kit, including an SD card preloaded with Windows 10 Iot Core.

Microsoft says developers who purchase the solution can have their own apps written in up to 190 minutes, which includes setting up the Raspberry Pi PC, setting up the connected device and writing the code for the application.

If you’re only interested in the Windows IoT Core, you can download it today bty joining Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program.

What is Adafruit?

Adafruit is an open-source hardware company that operates a 15,000 square foot facility in New York City.

The 50-person company was founded in 2005 by Limor Fried, an MIT graduate who was the first female engineer ever featured on the cover of Wired magazine.

In 2013, Adafruit generated $22 million in revenue.