Anvil, a popular web application development tool has announced today a new toolkit developed for the recently released Raspberry Pi Pico W. The toolkit provides a means of communication between a web application and a Raspberry Pi Pico W using only Python.
This new toolbox brings secure IoT applications for the $6 Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller. Applications normally reserved for the more powerful and hard-to-find Raspberry Pi.

The magic that makes this possible is twofold. A custom version of MicroPython UF2 firmware “Just Press Go” and “Anvil Uplink”, a two-way communication link between your physical project and Anvil’s servers. Applications are written in pure Python through the Anvil online IDE and on the Raspberry Pi Pico W we write our code using MicroPython. The uplink allows transmission between the Pico W and Anvil’s servers and via the online IDE we can easily create user interfaces to send messages to the Pico W or receive data from the card.

The “Just Press Go” firmware image is just that. We had access to a pre-release image and within minutes our Raspberry Pi Pico W connected to Wi-Fi and Anvil’s servers. Via this firmware, we have a lot of possibilities for invention. The low-cost Raspberry Pi Pico W can work with common sensors and components, enabling projects such as remote data collection and robotics. Now, with Anvil, we can create GUI web apps for these projects using a drag-and-drop layout editor and Python code.

Anvil Founder, Meredydd Luff, explains that Anvil’s firmware provides a more secure IoT experience “Anvil has added proper TLS security to the Pico firmware, including enabling server certificate validation and using the clock in real-time Pico to verify certificate validity. These changes were contributed to the Micropython and Pico SDK projects.”

The Anvil team also worked on the documentation for the Raspberry Pi Pico W Toolkit and it can be found via Anvil’s microsite. In just ten lines of code, you can control an LED on your Raspberry Pi Pico W from anywhere in the world. A few more lines and you can collect data from remote Pico W sensors and view it all in your web browser.

Anvil is a versatile toolkit, from controlling a Raspberry Pi HQ camera to controlling Spike Lego Kitsit’s great to see them adopting the newest microcontroller into their ecosystem.

With a low-cost microcontroller, Anvil’s new toolkit, and a bit of imagination, we can’t wait to see what manufacturers do with this exciting new technology.