Why would you need a WiFi four for? For its fourteen GPIOs maybe?
[WiFi 4][1] carries a completely standalone WiFi module, the SPWF01SA. This module
consists of a single-chip 802.11 b/g/n transceiver, a 32-bit STM32 MCU, and a built-in 2.4
GHz ISM band antenna. Integrated TCP/IP protocol stacks are a given.
To boost its standalone capabilities, the module has 1.5 MB of internal flash and 64 KB of
RAM.
We created a Libstock example to demonstrate the web server capabilities of SPWF01SA.
A simple interface to turn LEDs on on and off from a browser. A few LEDs in our case, but
if you would utilize the 14 GPIOs that line the edges of the board you could light up a
christmas tree.
Depending on the firmware version loaded in the module, some of those GPIOs can have
alternative functions (SPI, ADC, I2C, DAC). (you’ll be able to upgrade the firmware by using
the onboard BOOT jumper).
Before you proceed to the product page for more details, a bit of trivia.
The term Wi-Fi doesn’t stand for “Wireless Fidelity” as many believe. It’s a meaningless
word coined when the inventors of the standard wanted a name that was “a little catchier
than ‘IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence'," according to Phil Belanger, a founding member of the
Wi-Fi Alliance.
To get their catchy name, the Wi-Fi alliance hired Interbrand, the same company that
invented the word Prozac, for the drug used (among other applications) to treat anxiety
and panic — a mental state many people succumb to when they are left without Wi-Fi access.
Yours sincerely,
MikroElektronika
