Tuya's Low-Cost T2-U Development Board Aims to Tempt Makers to Try Out Its IoT Ecosystem
Powered by an unspecified 32-bit RISC core running at up to 120MHz, this sub-$7 dev board comes pre-licensed for Tuya's cloud platform.
Internet of Things (IoT) specialist Tuya has launched a low-cost development board with single-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity, aiming to make it easier to start experimenting with its ecosystem: the breadboard-friendly Tuya TU-2 Development Board.
"[The] T2-U Development Board consists of Tuya's highly-integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module T2-U and peripherals including buttons, LED indicator, GPIOs [General-Purpose Inputs/Outputs], power, and USB-to-serial chip," the company explains of the device. "With the T2-U module, you can develop various smart devices on the Tuya Developer Platform."
The gumstick-style board, brought to our attention by CNX Software, brings its GPIO connectivity out to 0.1" headers at either side for breadboard compatibility. At its heart is an unnamed single-core 32-bit RISC-based microcontroller core running at up to 120MHz, 256kB of static RAM (SRAM), and 2MB of on-chip flash. There are 18 general-purpose input/output pins, offering six pulse-width modulation (PWM) interfaces, two UART, one SPI, and one I2C bus, four timers, and five analog inputs.
Tuya isn't positioning the T2-U stick for general-purpose development, though, but for those looking to break into the Tuya cloud-powered IoT ecosystem. The board includes IEEE 802.11b/g/n single-band Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth 5.2 Low Energy (BLE), both through a 2.2dBi PCB antenna, and comes pre-loaded with a license for connection to Tuya's cloud platform — lost, the company warns, if you perform a full chip erase.
For software, the device comes pre-loaded with the TuyaOS real-time operating system and can be programmed using the company's in-house Tuya Wind IDE (Integrated Development Environment), or using instructions and examples published to GitHub. The same repository also includes basic schematics for the board, though no license is specified.
More information on the Tuya T2-U Development Board is available on the company's documentation; assembled boards are available to order from AliExpress at $6.46 including a small launch discount.