A neat way to add I/O with the physical world — the Wio Terminal

The world of micro-controllers and maker creations is a vast and ever-growing one that can be super intimidating to newcomers. Should you start with an Arduino? A Raspberry Pi? What’s an ESP something something? How do you add a screen? Sensors? The team at Seeed Studio are trying to make things easier and their Wio Terminal looks like a nice option for those who want to start with a screen and some sensors.

The Wio Terminal from three angles!

I’ve got some crazy schemes in mind for the Wio Terminal, which we’ll be experimenting with in an upcoming Dev Diner Twitch stream once it ships (should be shipping mid-April!). So, what is this curious device?

“Wio Terminal is a simple and tiny device to build I/O with the physical world. It is an ATSAMD51-based microcontroller with wireless connectivity supported by Realtek RTL8720DN.” — Seeed Studio

In other words — it’s a really nice and easy way to have an Arduino/Raspberry Pi/MicroPython project with a screen, accelerometer, microphone, buzzer and all sorts of things in one neatly packaged device!

What comes with it?

• LCD screen
• Inbuilt Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• IMU (onboard accelerometer)
• Microphone
• Buzzer
• MicroSD card slot
• Light Sensor
• 5-Way Switch
• User programmable buttons
• Infrared Emitter (IR 940nm)
• Two multifunctional Grove ports — attach all sorts of Grove add ons
• Crypto-authentication Ready
• Supports Arduino/MicroPython
• Raspberry Pi 40-pin compatible — so you can connect your Pi to it super easy!

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand tech-filled words, so here are a few diagrams to make things clearer:

An outside look at the Wio Terminal

A look at the insides of the Wio Terminal

Links to find out more

Keen to find out more and get your hands on one?

• Wio Terminal Product Page — buy it here!
• Wio Terminal Specs and Sample Projects — there are some really fascinating projects you can build with this.
• Fully Open Source Manufacturing – Injection Molding of Wio Terminal — the Seeed Studio team are publicising each phrase of the development of the Wio Terminal! In this post, you can see their injection moulding process.

Twitch video coming soon

When we build something with this device live on the Dev Diner stream, I’ll update this post with the video right here!

Thank you to Seeed Studio for providing a bunch of info and a lovely coupon code! If you’d like to get a free Wio Link with your Wio Terminal, order before April 15th and use the code FREEWIO.