When you turn your passion, or your hobby, into a career, it can feel fantastic, but it can also feel like a time that is filled with self-doubt and worry. Worrying that you have the right skills and knowledge base to carry out projects and ensuring that you see projects through are probably two of your main concerns right now. When engineering is a hobby, you have no real-time limits or pressures to perform. You have your free time to fiddle and change bits of a new machine or piece of equipment you are working on. You also don’t have to worry about having the right skills or knowledge as nobody is judging you or even watching over you, so if you make a mistake, then you don’t need to worry, as who is there?
However, when you turn your passion into a career, you have a new set of worries and concerns. Of course, over time, these will disappear, but, to begin with, they can feel all-consuming. So, just how can you make the transition from hobby to career as easy as possible? Well, to begin with, you need to remember your passion at the heart of everything you do. Yes, your engineer feats will be judged, and, yes, you will have time pressures and deadlines to adhere to. However, if you maintain your passion through every project you undertake, you will make the transition from hobby to career success and relatively easy. Removing unnecessary pressure and stress will be beneficial to you, and it will ensure that you still remain passionate about every project you undertake.
Just like when you start a new project or test, there is a right way to go about things and an incorrect way to go. When you start out on the road to a career in engineering, it is crucial that you go the right way. The right way involves gaining more experience, and it also involves studying and getting qualified. Yes, you might have been working on projects and plans since you were little, but as good as being self-taught is, it is not always what future or potential employers want from you. When you commit to studying an engineering degree, you learn new ways to begin and undertake projects, and you also learn about industry standards.
If you do not commit to getting a formal education, then you may struggle to land and even secure a job in engineering, simply because there are industry standards that need following, and if testing, production or manufacturing, veers off from these industry standards, results could be different, and your employees or the ones who have commissioned your project could be left in a difficult position, especially if you have not followed the correct procedures and rules. Going about things the right way or in the correct manner may feel different for you, but if you commit to studying and you commit to learning in a structured environment, then you should have no trouble adapting your styles and ways of working.
When it comes to studying and getting suitably qualified, it is important to weigh up all of your options. You need to begin by looking at reputable and respected universities, and then you need to establish just what you would like to get qualified in and why? Choosing the right educational institute or university is crucial. You want to ensure that you are getting an education that is valued and also respected. A university with an outstanding reputation and one that provides flexible learning opportunities would be the best route for you to take. As where you study is just as important as what you study, it is of paramount importance that you take your time to choose the correct establishment for you and your requirements. Weighing up the pros and cons for a select number of universities will allow you to narrow down your list significantly.
Just as you have taken a methodical approach to choose a university, it is also crucial that you take a methodical approach in establishing what you want to study. So, what area of engineering are you looking to be part of when you finish studying? Do you want to be within the developing stage, or would you prefer to be in the operations department? For example, if you want to be in the operations department or area, then you will need to study a suitable degree, such as an operations management degree because this will provide you with all of the information, and knowledge you need to carry out the role successful. If you do not study for a degree that is related or even relatable to what you want to do, then you will struggle to land the job you want, and you will struggle to get the satisfaction out of any role you undertake.
Once you have decided which university you want to study at and you have decided which degree to pursue, you must now formulate a plan of action that will help you get the career you want. Without a plan of action, you may find it difficult to find a job with a company you want, and, as a result, you may have to settle for something less than you deserve. So, to begin with, your plan of action needs to have a timescale. If you are working on an infinite timescale, then you will find that you will never apply yourself as well as you can! So, aim for a 3-4 year timescale, and this way, you have ample time to complete your studies, and you have enough time to start seeking out opportunities.
As well as planning out your studies, you also need to have an action plan for gaining some experience. To gain suitable and relevant experience, you need to get some suitable and valuable work experience. When it comes to finding suitable work experience, it is worth looking both local, and further afield at engineering, and manufacturing businesses. Gaining work experience, even if it is irregular and just a few hours here and there will benefit you and will help you in the long term. Learning how engineering businesses operate and function is crucial so that you can understand how your future role fits into everything that happens, perhaps on a daily or weekly basis.
Engineering has shortages, and it has demand, and these are unfortunately widespread. As older engineers are retiring, there are not enough suitably qualified or experienced engineers to take over, and this then leads to huge gaps within the workforce. Skills shortages, and shortages within minority groups, such as female engineers, mean that engineers are always in high demand. Building up your experience and your knowledge is crucial because experienced engineers will command more interest, and in return, you will be well remunerated and compensated. As businesses and industries change how they work and how they operate, the demand for engineers will continue to grow.
It can be difficult to change your mindset and to change your way of thinking, especially if you have been used to doing things in a certain manner for a period of time. However, when you are approaching new opportunities and you are putting your skillset to use every day, you must ensure that your mindset matches that of the company or business you are working for. If your mindset is different, or if it is not in line with how your employers want to proceed in the future, then you can struggle to hold down a suitable position. A positive mindset, and a mindset that is highly adaptable, is one that you should look at adopting, and although this might be a bit of an alien concept to you right now, you will see just how important a collaborative and cohesive mindset is amongst employees, and employers, especially when undertaking new projects and assignments.
Of course, all engineers are different, and they are all individuals. However, they all share a lot of attributes and skills which make them good engineers. So, do you share any of these attributes?
Don’t panic if you do not have the time to change and tweak how you handle or approach situations, and you have time to adopt the correct mindset.
Now you have evaluated your skills and your attributes, and you have a strong and solid education behind you, it is time now to start seeking out opportunities. Finding new work placements and opportunities can be easy if you adopt the right mindset. When you are starting out and you are looking for new opportunities, you need to be open to working in different locations, and you even need to be open to working on short-term projects to build up experience. Finding opportunities online, approaching companies and businesses offline, and even signing up for job agencies will help you to get work that suits you. You may need to make compromises when you start out, and as you are building up your experience and connections, but if you persist, and if you remain open and flexible, then you should have no trouble in landing a position that suits you and that allows you to turn your passion and hobby into a career.
A scrapper bot sends a sequence of HTTP GET requests to a web server. It then copies all the information sent in response and saves it. It repeatedly does this until all the content has been scrapped.
Scrappers can use JavaScript to download gated content or fill out every form on a website. The automation in browser programs and APIs allow the automated bots to interact with online infrastructures as they apply the traditional web browser techniques. They effectively trick the computer into thinking that the user accessing the content is a human.
The last way that content may be scrapped is by the actual user. They can decide to go through all your content and copy what they find useful or everything within a website. Unlike bots that do this in a matter of seconds, human beings can take days or hours exposing themselves to the risk of detection.
There are various motives that an attacker may have to scrape your website content. The baseline is that scrappers can monetize your content or generate more traffic to them. Below are the main reasons for content scraping?
When an attacker is part of a small community and wants to seem like leaders in their field, they result in scrapping related content. When you search for an established company, you end up on their site because they have scrapped its content. This is called lead generation. It is common in legal practice and upcoming businesses.
Other people may have good intentions, like creating a knowledge hub—a one-stop place for users in a specific field. When you catch them in action, the reply is that they were doing it for the good of the community.
Some other attackers use your content to make a few extra dollars through affiliate marketing. They combine the scrapped content with driving search engine traffic to their websites. These websites are usually used to promote certain products.
Content is at the heart of any online business. Therefore, you need to take proper care. By adopting measures to protect the content, you protect your business from the related risks and defend the reputation of your brand. When scraped, they post your content elsewhere. Among the other ways, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is the most commonly used scrapping method. With all the risks and disadvantages of content scrapping in mind, you must take adequate measures to protect your website. Below are some of such measures.
Many websites allow uninhibited access to articles and website posts to ensure that society is well informed. Unfortunately, the scrapping bots and attackers take this opportunity to scrape the data. By allowing access to only a few lines or paragraphs, you ensure the attacker has bits of information that they cannot use. This frustrates them as attackers as they cannot use your quality content. To access the rest of the content, you can ask a user to create an account and log in or subscribe by paying cash. These methods will help identify if the user is a bot or an actual human being while protecting your content from scrappers. If it is a bot, they will not pay the cash but may create the account and log in. Therefore, it is advisable to implement the two measures together.
A CAPTCHA is a Turing test designed to tell between humans and bots. They are easy enough that any average human can answer while remaining complicated for the other computers and computer programs like bots to fill. A CAPTCHA can help you protect content scrapping by blocking the suspicious bot areas. They come in various forms, including invisible CAPTCHA, confident CAPTCHA, math problems, entering the characters on the screen, honeypot CAPTCHA, among other CAPTCHA solutions. While security researchers hint they are ineffective in protecting your content from malicious bot actions, they also advise that it is better to have them installed. The only limitation of various CAPTCHA implementations is that they influence a user’s experience negatively.
Through monitoring traffic, you can ensure that all the traffic comes from legitimate sources. If any originates from a suspicious source, you can take measures to investigate and eradicate them. Besides helping you protect your content from scrapping, traffic monitoring helps identify other issues that may pose a threat to your content. They include a denial of service, account takeovers, and scalping. In this method, you can identify the sources and block them. These block any further encroachment of your content by these scrappers.
To save your content from scrapers, you can add links within it. This is an easier way to protect your content. When a scrapper copies the content, they leave the links intact. While this protects it, linking the keywords makes your content more engaging to the users. Plugins that enable customizations in RSS feeds, and HTML codes can accomplish this. This ensures that when the attacker posts your content on their website, users get redirected to your site when they click the content and keywords.
Bots browse the web pages incredibly fast. Because they have to complete the actions first before they are detected, they leverage speed as one option to remain invisible.
Therefore, they can access over 50 pages in seconds. The number of incoming requests when such an activity is detected can help protect your content from scrapping. Besides scrapping protection, limiting the access rates can also prevent a more DDoS attack.
Because the attackers use modern techniques when developing the scrapping bots, you also have to match the response by bringing the big guns. Bot management solutions are sophisticated modern utilities that also use modern methods to ensure the safety of your content from bot activities. They differentiate the legitimate bot from a malicious one and take measures to ensure your website, mobile application, or API’s security is fortified. Such solutions like DataDome analyze every request to an API, website, or Mobile application for various bot activities in real-time. When they detect a threat, they use all measures to protect and safeguard the integrity of your content. Besides content scrapping protection, DataDome protects you from other OWASP Automated Threats (OAT).
Other measures include; setting Google alerts when a person tries to copy your content, embedding the content into a media and regularly changing the HTML markup.
Bot developers devise new ways and tricks to develop stealthy bots that are more efficient daily. Therefore, the risks associated with bot activity will not go away in a jiffy. It is for this reason that you need to put mechanisms to protect your content from scrapping. Though no one technique guarantees 100% safety, using a bot solution like DataDome gives better results because it is a real-time tool for bot management.
| Where To Buy? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Components | Distributor | Link To Buy | |
| 1 | ESP8266 | Amazon | Buy Now | |
Obviously, hard skills are essential in a field that is so technical. The hard skills that you need will depend on the field of engineering that you are entering but could include skills such as:
These are hard skills that you can learn in school or teach yourself. These are hard skills that need to be strong skills, so you need to really focus on these areas and ensure that you have a high level of knowledge when looking to enter the field.
Engineering is, essentially, problem-solving, so it is vital that you are able to assess situations, determine problems and find the best solutions. There are many issues and problems that can arise during a project, so employers will want to see that you are able to solve problems effectively and efficiently. You can develop your critical thinking skills to become a better problem-solver and find the best solutions to issues that you might face.
Engineering is all about teamwork, so you need to be able to work with others and understand the importance of playing your role. Engineers rarely work alone, and you will usually be working with colleagues and other professionals, so it is important that you are a team player and a strong communicator in order to find success and to stand out to employers.
Leading on from this, engineers need to have strong communication skills, and this is sometimes an overlooked aspect. Having hard skills is vital, but you will not get very far if you are not a good communicator as you will constantly be talking to people throughout the day. You need to be able to listen to the needs of the client, clearly present your ideas, work as part of a team and also be capable of leading on projects.
Additionally, having good communication skills will help you to develop a positive reputation and form strong relationships. As with any industry, this is crucial for getting ahead and finding new opportunities. It is true that some people are better communicators than others, but it is possible to improve your communication skills with research and practice, and this should improve your life in many ways.
You also need to be able to manage projects if you want to rise to leadership positions in engineering. This will involve managing teams and integrating external professionals while delivering projects on time and within the pre-agreed budget. Project management is a difficult skill to master, which is why many aspiring engineers find it useful to take project management training. For engineers, Six Sigma training is popular and will help to develop the project management skills that you need to find success in engineering.
In order to find success in engineering, you need to be innovative and creative. Engineering is always about improving and making things better, so you need to be able to innovate and use creativity to constantly be improving and coming up with the best solutions. In order to be innovative, you need to think outside of the box, stay current with technology, continue to learn, and constantly push yourself to think bigger.
Engineers need to be able to see the big picture and be innovative, but you also need to have excellent attention to detail. It is often the small things that matter in engineering, as a slight miscalculation can cause the whole project to fail, and this could even cost lives. This is why you need to be meticulous in your work and take pride in your attention to detail. In order to be meticulous in your work, you need to have high concentration levels and be able to focus intensely. This also means that you need to know how to disconnect from work, recharge your batteries and unwind so that you can give it your all each day.
If you have aspirations of climbing the ladder and rising to leadership positions, you need to have specialist engineering and management skills that will help you to lead teams, deliver projects and run a profitable business. You can get a master's in engineering management at established schools like the University of Ottawa, and this will teach you all that you need to know to excel in engineering management. You will learn about key aspects such as budgeting and finance, people management, leadership, product innovation management, AI-driven decision making, and operations management, just as a few examples.
You can also earn a masters in engineering management entirely online. This can make it easier for people to fit into their lifestyle and allows you to start using what you learn straight away to stand out and start to climb the ladders.
Engineering does not work that you can succeed with if you are not committed. With engineering projects, you may have to spend long periods of time away from home and be on call 24/7, so it will inevitably have a big impact on your lifestyle. This means that you need to be committed to the cause and willing to put your job first. Working as an engineer will have an impact on your personal life, but it is also working that is hugely rewarding and can be lucrative, so this is something that you will need to weigh up. While it can be demanding, you may also benefit from quieter periods where you can spend much more time at home and with loved ones too.
Another part of the job that you need to be prepared for is setbacks. When you are working on a major project with lots of moving parts, it is inevitable that there will be setbacks along the way. This can be incredibly frustrating, so you need to be resilient in order to not allow these setbacks to put you off and so that you can simply continue working and find the best solution to keep the project moving forwards at all times.
Leading on from this, you also need to be able to handle pressure and be able to work to a high standard in stressful situations. Working on large projects involving lots of money and tight deadlines creates tense working conditions, and you will have people breathing down your neck, so you need to be able to handle this and prove yourself to be reliable under stress. This is something that is developed with experience, but you can also develop your abilities to work under pressure by improving your work ethic, setting yourself targets, and breaking tasks down into smaller tasks.
Even with a master’s in engineering management, there is still a lot to learn, and you need to be committed to learning in order to find success as an engineer. This is because this is a field that is constantly going through change, so you need to be able to stay current and up to date with the latest trends and technological developments. You can do this by attending industry events, networking, reading publications, taking further courses, engineering blogs and podcasts, and research.
Finally, you will need a positive mindset if you want to be an engineer. You will be facing a lot of negativity in your work with setbacks, stressful working conditions, and tight deadlines, so you need to be able to maintain a positive mindset and this is something that employers will always be looking for. Those with a positive mindset will be able to stay motivated, work to a high standard each day and help to lift the overall atmosphere. Crucially, to have a positive mindset, you need to be able to lead a healthy lifestyle, switch off after work and find ways to enjoy yourself. Having a positive mindset also requires being in the right job, so if you find that you are not happy in your work, then you may want to consider a change.
These are the main skills and attributes that are needed to find success in engineering. If you do not possess these, they can be developed, and it is worth the effort as this will help you to stand out to employers and find work.
| Where To Buy? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Components | Distributor | Link To Buy | |
| 1 | ESP8266 | Amazon | Buy Now | |
When the subject is ESP8266, it is normal that our attention is on the Wifi module. We've already discussed some applications in previous articles, and there's still a lot of cool stuff to see in the future. We've looked at how the ESP8266 communicates with the world via wifi, and now we'll look at how it does it through its pins.
We will make a decision here. The ESP8266 is found in several modules. Each module with its pin provision. ESP-12 modules provide the most features. To make better use of these features and have a more protoboard-friendly module at hand, we will analyze the NodeMCU module with the ESP-12E.
The NodeMCU pins are available in two rows with a spacing that allows them to fit on a breadboard (in particular, I find the pins a little thicker than they should be, and I think if they had more length and less width, it would be even more efficient).
It is interesting to see what NodeMCU adds or changes to the ESP-12.
ESP8266 operates on 3.3V, ESP-12 exposes the VDC pin for direct power. The NodeMCU incorporates a voltage regulator (usually the AMS1117) that can receive a 5V to 10V input and deliver a stable 3.3V supply to the ESP-12.
But what advantage does this give us? nodeMCU is a development module. Choosing pins that fit the breadboard shows us this. Being able to receive 5V greatly increases the practicality of the power supply. 5V is the standard used on USB, so even a cell phone charger can keep everything running.
The power can be supplied directly via the USB connector (standard USB = 5V) or the Vin pin (5V to 10V). The regulator provides a maximum of 500mA.
The pins involved in the power are:
Some important considerations to keep in mind:
The ESP-12 provides us with two UARTs, with UART0 (pins RXD0 and TXD0) being used in programming. The NodeMCU Module integrates a Serial-USB converter that greatly facilitates our work.
The USB connector can be used for power and data communication via Serial. For this reason, it is a sufficient condition for recording the ESP8266.
A point of attention here: The RXD0 and TXD0 pins are available as GPIO pins (respectively GPIO3 and GPIO1). But they need to be used very carefully. Enabling these pins as GPIO disables USB.
Digital pins or GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) are pins intended for binary control. It can have a HIGH or LOW state and can operate both, as an input (for reading digital states) and as a digital control (turning on LEDs, for example).
If you take a look at the nodeMCU image, you will notice that it talks about 13 GPIOs (From GPIO0 to GPIO15). So we have 13 pins for input and output control? Not exactly.
Most microcontroller pins have more than one function, this function is defined through registers. In the case of NodeMCU, some GPIOs are already in use. And if we configure it as a digital pin, we lose some functionality.
Let's look at it on a case-by-case basis:
Ah, an important point to mention: ESP's GPIOs operate at 3.3V.
The Esp8266 only provides one analog input (ADC0 pin), and that's probably its biggest weakness.
Although the module operates with 3.3V, the analog input operates from 0 to 1V. Which significantly limits the resolution.
To control the GPIOs, the Arduino IDE provides us with some functions. Among the main ones, times:
pinMode() defines the mode in which the pin will act. The possible modes are:
As an example, if we want to use gpio4 as an output, we will have:
pinMode(4, OUTPUT)
The digitalWrite() function changes the value of the informed pin. Possible values are: HIGH or LOW.
As an example, if we want to change the value of gpio4 to HIGH, we will have:
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
One point we need to note is that there is an expected logical sequence to control the pin. First, we define it as OUTPUT and only then send a command to change the state. But what happens if we forget to use pinMode or set it to INPUT?
For these cases, the digitalWrite() command automatically enables the INPUT_PULLUP mode. This procedure protects the microcontroller from short circuits.
The function reads the digital value of the selected pin, returning the HIGH or LOW value. As an example, to read the status of gpio4, we will have:
value = digitalRead(4)
Of course, the value variable needs to be declared before it can be used. And if the pin is not connected to anything, the value will vary randomly (unless pullup is enabled).
This function reads the analog pin. Or almost. The function returns a value between 0 and 1023, with 0 being the equivalent of the GND voltage and 1023 being the value referring to the VCC.
As an example, to read the status of adc0, we will have:
value = digitalRead(A0)
There are some predefined constants to refer to the pins more practically. When using either function, you can use either the gpio number or the related constant.
Here we look at the pin arrangement of the nodeMCU Lolin V3 board. There are slight differences on other cards. In Lolin itself there are versions with the ESP-12E module and others with ESP-12F. In this case of Lolin, the most significant difference is a change of position between GPIOs 4 and 5.
Essentially, WordPress developers are constantly working towards preventing any potential hacking. But that's not enough to keep your website secure. You need to apply other measures to safeguard your site.
In this article, we will discuss ways of improving your WordPress website security;
Security is key in running a website. There are various plugins to enhance your site security. These include Wordfence, Shield Security, iThemes, and Sucuri. WordPress security plugins have a lot of features to meet your security needs. These are features such as WordPress firewall, File changelogs, strong password generator, IP and User blacklisting, Force password to expire, and more.
If you've started experiencing low traffic in your website or you are dealing with weird performance issues, or you can detect suspicious behavior, you should check your website for malware. It is recommended that you do a malware scan regularly, even if everything seems fine.
Keep in mind that some hacks breach your data anonymously. So, you may not even know that malicious activity is happening until extreme damage is done. It may reach the extent of Google pulling down your site from the search results due to security issues. You might even get blacklisted and suffer a huge loss. This explains why it's crucial to scan the website for malware often.
Server security is crucial as it helps protect your website from malware and hackers. So, it's essential that you pick a reliable hosting provider who understands website security's importance. The best company understands many things concerning WordPress security. They also have safety systems and offer prompt and dependable support in case anything unexpected happens. A good hosting provider offers the following;
Hackers apply hacking techniques such as Brute force attacks because they are easy to implement. Anyone with little tech knowledge can execute a brute force attack with basic hacking tools. Other than that, executing a Brute force attack is effortless since most website owners use extremely weak admin passwords. For instance, most people love to use passwords such as '12345….' Among others that are easy to guess. This makes your website prone to attack. So, having a strong credential is a plus as it will secure your WordPress site from brute force attacks. A good password has characters such as &%$" £ and more.
WordPress websites release frequent updates with new features, enhancements, bug fixes, and security patches. The updates also enhance the feel and look of your website, not to mention that they improve functionality and stability. The updates also help seal website vulnerability.
2-factor authentication is a prominent security technique that helps safeguard online accounts. It's a protection process involving two steps. The first step entails entering your username and password, while the second requires you to provide a verification code sent to your email or phone.
When you think of the technology that's changed a lot over the past few years, your phone may be the first thing that comes to mind. After that, you might consider your vehicle, laptop, tablet or television. Your mattress is unlikely to be in your list of the top five or even 10 things that use a lot of innovation. However, it's true that new mattresses incorporate a great deal of research and technology. Today's mattresses are entirely different from those made just a decade ago. Here are a few of the types of technology that top mattresses use.
When mattress manufacturers develop new products, they turn to sleep medicine physicians and sleep science to drive their decisions. New technology for performing sleep studies, tracking movement and monitoring the quantity and quality of sleep is helping mattress companies update their products. New information about sleep habits, cycles and quality ensures that the mattress you get will help you fall asleep and stay asleep. The right mattress also helps ensure that you wake up feeling well-rested.
Coils in mattresses aren't a new thing. They became common in the early 1900s. Over the past 100 years, the coils have changed. They're separated and enclosed. Some mattress manufacturers are even using nanotechnology. Today's coil mattresses are more complicated than those that were produced 10 years ago. When you choose a coil mattress today, you can expect motion isolation, more support and less noise when you move. The coil, like the rest of the mattress, really comes into its own when it's paired with other components.
Why would you want a copper-infused mattress, and what could possibly be the advantage? Well, copper has several sleeping advantages, such as breathability. It's no secret that many individuals (especially those who reside in hot climates) have difficulty sleeping because their mattresses can't keep up with the amount of air required to remove heat from the body. A layer consisting of a copper infusion will make heat transfer easier and manage your body temperature while you sleep, allowing you to rest like a baby all night long. Ideal for battling sleep sweats.
A growing proportion of people are concerned about the chemicals to which they are exposed. Customers want mattresses that don't have as many chemicals. When an item releases chemicals, it's called off-gassing. Organic mattresses don't off-gas. Some mattresses are certified by independent organizations. The certifications include free of volatile organic compounds and 100% organic.
For example, the OEKO TEX Standard 100 Certification is for mattresses that contain no harmful chemicals. Mattresses with this certification don't off-gas. Some mattresses are made of soybeans, and others use recycled wool and cotton. Choosing an environmentally friendly mattress will help you feel confident that you're doing your part to protect the environment and conserve natural resources.
Have you ever questioned how good of a night's sleep you were getting? Many people ask for sleep studies to assess their average nightly sleep quality and quantity, but some mattresses now come with sleep sensor technology that can provide the same data without requiring you to depart from home. The breathing, heart rate, and the number of times you get out of bed are all tracked by these mattresses. Advanced beds with this technology can accurately tell you how many hours of excellent sleep you received on any particular night.
While a mattress cover is technically separate from a mattress, it is an important part of your bedding. The mattress covers protect the mattress. They keep shed skin cells, sweat and oils out of the mattress's fabric. Mattress covers prevent dust mites from infesting your bed. If you're allergic to dust or dust mites, a mattress protector is essential. Mattress covers also reduce stains caused by sweating. Your mattress will last longer and smell better if you get a cover for it.
Bamboo is one of the softest fabrics that exist. It's also a good insulator and highly breathable. A bamboo mattress cover will keep your bed clean and comfortable. The fibers in a bamboo mattress are woven to prevent tearing, even with repeated washing or use of an iron on it.
Foam is a relative newcomer to mattresses. However, memory foam mattresses have become increasingly popular in the last two decades, accounting for around 20% of all beds sold.
There are different types of foams used in today's mattresses. You may prefer a plant-based foam for environmental and health reasons. There are also synthetic foams, which may be a good option if you have certain allergies. Keep in mind that foam traps heat. If you get hot while you sleep, be sure to pick a mattress that has a gel layer on top of the foam layer. The gel moves heat away from your body. The result is a more even temperature across your skin and the surface of your bed.
Ikea recently introduced a new memory foam mattress to the market that includes cooling gels and graphite. It has been met with both overwhelmingly positive reviews as well as concerns from consumers who have experienced issues with it.
Air/number technology is also a newer innovation. This technology allows you to control how firm your mattress is. With a remote or an app, you adjust how much air fills the spaces of the foam. More air results in a firmer bed. Large air/number mattresses allow each side of the bed to be set to a different firmness level. Choose this option if you have a sleep partner whose mattress firmness preferences are different from yours. An air/number mattress is also an excellent choice if you have a chronic pain condition that periodically flares, such as arthritis.
New technology will continue to advance mattresses. Each mattress manufacturer is incorporating this information and changing its materials, construction and techniques in order to improve upon its products. You benefit from this technology-driven innovation. The use of technology in mattress development will continue, and consumer demand for more features will hasten the pace of these beneficial changes. Choosing one of these new mattresses may help you sleep better and feel relaxed, rested and energetic when you wake up in the morning.
For these cases, the ESP8266 operates as a “station” on the network. But we can find scenarios where there is no WIFI network to connect. Can we still use the ESP8266 in these cases? Yes, we can!
| Where To Buy? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Components | Distributor | Link To Buy | |
| 1 | ESP8266 | Amazon | Buy Now | |
The ESP8266 WiFi module can operate in 2 different modes:
We use the STA mode to connect the ESP8266 to a pre-existing Wi-Fi network. This connection is made from an Access Point, which will be responsible for managing information traffic.
For configuration and use on the Arduino platform, we use the ESP8266WiFi.h library. Simple to use and extremely powerful, this library offers us all the tools to configure the WiFi module, without overloading us with flags and registers.
For our configuration, there are two more relevant functions, begin() and config().
The begin() function needs some parameters necessarily and others optionally. This is because this function is of type overload, which provides more flexibility when calling the function. For a better example, let's look at the begin() function in its full form and its minimal form:
Same function, two ways to call it. And both works. This is because it was built with more than one declaration format in the library.
Let's take a look at the parameters it accepts:
This information will be saved in a reserved area of FLASH and in case of loss of connection, the attempt to reconnect will occur automatically.
Another important point is that, by default, the station is configured as a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) client. This means that when connecting, the ESP8266 will ask the Access Point for an IP address. If the AP has DHCP enabled, we will receive a random IP within the network range configured there.
The config() function is not mandatory for a connection such as a station. But you will need it if you want to connect to the network with a fixed IP address. The function has the following format:
When we call the config() function, the DHCP mode is automatically disabled. Then the station will force the use of the address we choose. This method is useful when connecting over a network that does not have a DHCP server, or when having a fixed address is an essential project requirement.
You need to be careful when choosing the IP address and the subnet, as if it's incompatible with the network configuration, we will connect, but we won't be able to interact with anything.
In the image, we have a code for configuration and connection as a station.
In AP mode, the ESP8266 creates its WiFi network, allowing stations to connect to it. The figure below should help you better understand how it works. The ESP8266 configured as AP, replaces the role of the router in the network (with some limitations, but the principle is the same).
Strictly speaking, the name of this mode is Soft Access Point, because the functionality as an AP does not use any hardware resources equivalent to that of a common AP. It's like a Virtual AP. This does not impact health, but it does severely impact performance.
The main limitation is the number of connections it can manage. Although the manufacturer suggests up to 8 stations connected, you will have serious problems if you go beyond 5. If your application has a heavy data flow, I recommend that you limit it to 4 connections.
Another limitation is that the created network is not connected to the internet. So keep in mind that this is a model for applications that work well on local networks and for a few devices.
An example application for this format is an access control system. Approach with your cell phone, connect to the ESP8266 network, and be authorized to open a door.
Setting up this mode is very similar to that of a station. We have an overload function for begin and another one for configuration.
It would be the equivalent of our station mode begin() function.
Let's take one for each parameter:
This function sets some parameters referring to IP addresses. It has the format: WiFi.softAPConfig(local_ip, gateway, subnet)
Where the parameters represent:
With the code, you will configure a simple access point visible to your cell phone or computer.
As the name suggests, the esp8266 will operate both as a station (being able to connect to a network) and as an Access Point (allowing stations to connect to it) at the same time.
The purpose behind this method is to use esp8266 in mesh network configurations. The idea is interesting, but if the performance is not already excellent operating as AP, imagine as AP and STA.
The documentation for this format is very scarce and, in a way, abandoned by the manufacturer itself. Espressif, when launching the successor of ESP8266, ESP32, included a specific library for MESH.
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We've already seen how to create a web server and how to provide an HTML page on our ESP8266. We use the PROGMEM command to store an HTML code in FLASH memory. For a simple page, this works fine, but what if we have a more complex webpage? With a better style? What if we want to include images?
Today we will learn how to use SPIFFS with ESP8266 to store files (regardless of type) in FLASH memory.
| Where To Buy? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Components | Distributor | Link To Buy | |
| 1 | ESP8266 | Amazon | Buy Now | |
Our page will have 3 main objects:
And to build this page we will use 4 files:
So we will need to handle it in our .INO code the GET requests in the paths:
Our style.css file sets sizes, alignments, and colors for components. We start our .INO file by importing four libraries:
We define the pin for our LED. We create variables with SSID and password of the wifi network where we will connect. We created our server on port 80 and a variable to monitor the LED status.
The “server.on” structure is an event manager provided by the ESPAsyncWebServer.h library. In short, we inform a route, a method (HTTP-GET, for our case), and action when receiving the request. But we need to take a closer look at some variations of the function.
It is necessary to send the index file with the updated LED state value.
For style files and images, we use a similar principle, but these files are not being changed before they are uploaded. So we only inform the origin, name, and type (if you want to know a little more about file types in HTTP, I recommend a study on MIME TYPES. Any type of file can be sent, but MIME standardizes what browsers can understand).
Lastly, we have the “/state” returning the stateValue variable on each update and the “/toggle” which changes the state before sending the same variable. The response format has a small change. As we are sending only one variable, we inform the MIME TYPE “text/plain”, the response code 200 (default for success over HTTP), and the variable converted to a string.
So that was all for today. I hope you have enjoyed today's lecture because it will improve the presentation of your project. If you got any queries, ask in the comments. Thanks for reading!!!