about six months ago, Texas Instruments released a simple, cheap, single-chip WiFi module. At $10 a piece in quantities of 1000, the CC3000 is a much much better solution to the issue of an ‘Internet of Things’ than a $50 Arduino Ethernet modules, or even the $30 electric Imp. All indications, particularly the regular out of stock condition for the dev board on TI’s web site, show the CC3000 will be a prominent chip, however up until now we haven’t seen a CC3000 library for the Arduino or other microcontrollers.
[Chris] just resolved that issue for us with a CC3000 WiFi library for the Arduino. He ported TI’s MSP430 CC3000 library to the Arduino, enabling even the bare-bones Arduino Uno to link to a WiFi network with just a handful of parts. The code itself takes about 12k of Flash as well as 350 bytes of RAM, providing anyone utilizing the CC3000 sufficient space left over to do some truly fascinating stuff. There’s even a slimmed down library that utilizes somewhere between 2k as well as 6k of Flash, making an ATtiny-powered web server a reality.
There are a few caveats in utilizing the CC3000 with an Arduino; it’s a 3.3 Volt part, so you’ll requirement a level shifter or some resistors. Also, the chip draws about 250 mA when it’s being used, so you’ll requirement a beefy battery if you want your job to last an entire day of use.
Now that the library is out of the way, be on the lookout for a CC3000 breakout board. Here’s one, however expect some more on the market soon.