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Joe Karlsson
Joe Karlsson

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An Introduction To IoT with Joe Karlsson

Abstract

My favorite things in life are cats 🐈, computers 🖥 and crappy ideas 💩, so I decided to combine all three and make an IoT (Internet of Things) litter box using a Raspberry Pi and JavaScript! If you have ever wanted to build your own IoT project, but didn’t know how to start, then this is the talk for you.

Together, we are going through how I set up my IoT Litter Box from start to finish. Including how to setup Node.js on a Raspberry Pi, how to connect sensors to a Raspberry Pi, and how to read the sensor inputs with Node.js.

Slides

Video

Project Link

joekarlsson.github.io/iot-kitty-litter-box-frontend

Source Code

joekarlsson.github.io/iot-kitty-litter-box-frontend/

Additional Resources


About Joe Karlsson

I am a software engineer turned Developer Advocate at MongoDB. I come from the frozen tundra of Minneapolis, Minnesota (and yes, it does get really cold here, and no, not everyone here has the accent from the movie, Fargo). I've been primarily a Node and JavaScript engineer and have been writing, teaching, and talking about code my entire career. Sharing what I know and continuing to learn about programming is truly the thing I love doing the most.

Here is a download link to the talk slides (PDF)


This talk will be presented as part of CodeLand:Distributed on July 23. After the talk is streamed as part of the conference, it will be added to this post as a recorded video.

Top comments (51)

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bryantit profile image
Bryant Richards

I'm here for the litter box. I'm hoping it's an actual litter box. My fiance's cats box is getting out of hand lol

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Joe Karlsson

LOL - time to upgrade your box with a Raspberry Pi.

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bryantit profile image
Bryant Richards

I need to. I'll get it to send her a message every time a cat uses it. Maybe she'll remember to change it.

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nicolehopkins7 profile image
Nicole Hopkins

I was just thinking that! lol

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Joe Karlsson

🥰🥰🥰🥰

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githubbubber profile image
Mekesia Brown

This talk was amazing! I literally have a BUNCH of breadboards and wires and Raspberry Pis and it's all sitting 'cause of an emotional block. You really helped me be inspired to try try again. Josh, thank you.

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Joe Karlsson

Amazing! Yes! You need to break those boards out again and make some cool stuff! <3

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Joe Karlsson

Oh my gosh - I look like a hipster mime!

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javleds profile image
Javier Ledezma

It is a really nice advice, imagine that you want to get involved into IoT, you have to learn about hardware and also a new language,

It is easier to learn IoT by get focus into learn the hardware behavior and once you understand it, you could learn a high level lang like c++ (if you want).

In that way you don't have to get stressed to learn all at the same time.

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Joe Karlsson

Javier - so glad that you agree! Just do what works best for you! 🥰

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Ami Scott (they/them)

Do you have any resources for things like hardware to get started with some super basic stuff? I just want to make something silly and fun. You've got me feeling inspired. I want to bring the fun back to learning code, I've been so focused on the job hunt and "ideal" portfolio projects and it's been really getting me down to be honest.

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Joe Karlsson

This is totally my personal opinion, but I would recommend starting with a Raspberry Pi - it's a Ubunutu lite experience. There are a million Rasp Pi guides and projects. I would recommend finding an interesting project and trying to follow along!

pimylifeup.com/category/projects/

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digitaldimarie profile image
💎Di Marie💎

I have 3 cats and volunteer with a rescue. I love this and I'm committing to using "moisture event" in any further conversations about cat pee.

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Joe Karlsson

LOL - YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT!

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digitaldimarie profile image
💎Di Marie💎

I do! Also a hairball detector for regurgitation events.

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Joe Karlsson

LOL - you are full of great ideas!

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rzen profile image
Brian Richards

This talk is not good – it's GREAT!

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rzen profile image
Brian Richards

Specifically: I think practical (simple) case studies are the best way to introduce someone to a new piece of tech

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Joe Karlsson

YES! I'm glad that you think so too. I feel like learning gets too abstract if you don't have a concrete project to anchor it.

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Joe Karlsson

Brain - LOL - you're the best! Thank you so much for coming! I appreciate you so much! <3

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memitaru profile image
Ami Scott (they/them)

😂How exciting that right after I find your tiktoks you're doing this awesome talk

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Joe Karlsson

Oh my gosh! thank you!

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missgidgy profile image
Gidget

My first coding "task" was to make a Raspberry Pi bot to tweet my boss the temperature of his office before he got to work. Strange request, but I learned a lot about IoT though building it!

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Joe Karlsson

LOL - OMG - This is a great idea!

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mumbledenoise

Coding really comes alive for newbies, kids especially, when they can physically SEE and INTERACT with their code. IOT projects are perfect for this!

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Joe Karlsson

I totally agree! It's so much easier to get excited when you can hold and touch it!

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