With its impressive array of features, the ESP8266 module has taken the maker electronics world by storm. Unfortunately, in its most basic form it’s not the easiest component to work with. There have been attempts to “tame” it into something a bit more approachable, but the petal is the first one I’ve seen that has a built-in male USB connector that can be used to program or to power it.
This means that you can simply program the device, then plug it into a “dumb” USB power port somewhere it’s convenient for your purposes. Additionally, depending on what option you choose, the petal includes onboard sensors and tools including an accelerometer, temperature senor, USB to serial converter, motor driver, and lots more. In other words, you can get your IoT project running with no soldering; simply program it and plug it in!
If you do need access to something that’s not already built into the board, you access the ESP8266 module itself. There’s a product option that includes a breakout board to make this task simpler to accomplish!
