Ditch your clunky USB cable and go WIRELESS!

Server-side scripting can be intimidating, but this doesn't have to prevent anyone from exploring the use of wireless communication for their own physical (or digital) projects. Node-RED (https://nodered.org/) is a fantastic free and accessible tool that allows you to perform server-side scripting using a simple visual interface.

With Node-RED, you can drag various nodes onto your palette, each of which accomplishes a different function, and connect them together with lines to craft flows of information tailored to your own project needs.

We'll briefly cover a few networking protocols such as HTTP, UDP and OSC (and Bluetooth, time permitting) and go over how (and why) to incorporate each of these into your own projects. We'll also go over how to host your project on the cloud for free using Glitch.

No prior networking knowledge required, only a basic proficiency with JavaScript and an open mind!

Bring a computer and (optionally) a WiFi-enabled Arduino such as a Nano 33 IoT from the shop to follow along! I'd recommend installing Node.js (https://nodejs.org/en) and then Node-RED (https://nodered.org/docs/getting-started/local) in that order beforehand. We're not programming Node.js (don't worry), but it does have to be installed.