Arduino Oplà: A kit designed to simplify dabbling in IoT projects

Arduino has announced its latest kit, the Arduino Oplà. Designed to make it easier to create IoT projects, the Arduino Oplà is based around an Arduino MKR WiFi 1010, in which Arduino has encased it in a plastic housing. The kit includes a round OLED display, along with five touch buttons and several sensors for monitoring air pressure, humidity, light intensity and temperature. Additional sensors should be simple to connect though, such as a PIR sensor, which Arduino also bundles.

Sensors can be plugged in via a single cable, eliminating the daunting and messy task of plugging dozens of connectors into a single-board computer. The Arduino Oplà can be operated by batteries, a charger for which Arduino has also integrated. Arduino has included eight out-of-the-box projects to get you started, which are as follows:

• Remote Controlled Lights — Change colour, light modes, and switch on/off.
• Personal Weather Station — Record and monitor local weather conditions.
• Home Security Alarm — Detect motion and trigger warnings.
• Solar System Tracker — Retrieve data from planets and moons in the solar system.
• Inventory Control — Track goods in and out.
• Smart Garden — Monitor and manage the environment for your plants.
• Thermostat Control — Smart control for heating and cooling systems.
• Thinking About You — Send messages between the kit and the Arduino IoT Cloud.

The Arduino Oplà can be ordered directly from Arduino for US$99, or from third-party retailers like Robot Shop for US$114. All orders come with a 12-month subscription to the Arduino Create Maker Plan too, more about which you can read here.