Elk New Development Board For Building Blockchain-Connected Devices

18 June, 2019

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The creators of “1Sheeld“ are set to launch a new development board for building blockchain-connected devices known as “Elk”. Just like using an Arduino, the board enables a user to engage projects and interface them with Swarm, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Whisper, Status IM, and a host of other decentralized technologies. Only little details are available about the board’s hardware; It features a dual-core 32-bit MCU, a 1GHz microprocessor (512Mb RAM/4Gb storage) with the OS preloaded, a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi module (with embedded antenna), a micro SD card slot, a micro USB port, and breadboard-compatible pins. It also features many I/Os (3.3V and 5V tolerant), and also several buttons and LEDs.

The SDK is plug-and-play, and the team notes that “with only a few lines of code, you’ll be able to build blockchain-connected devices to do things you never thought possible.”

According to “Elk” creative team, the development board will be available with a plug-and-play Arduino-like SDK which provides an inbuilt interface for redistributed platforms and will offer a development experience 10X more seamless for building blockchain-connected projects. The Arduino-based SDK board can be used with most shields and other Arduino add-on boards as well. The SDK is expected to be open source, and additional support will be included for decentralized technologies as they become accessible. The “Elk” can be applied to building platforms that enable a user to send and receive cryptocurrencies, like homebrew ATM or even vending machines, design privatized communications systems, or create IoT devices that allow you upload sensor data to Swarm or IPFS.

Since the board utilizes an Arduino-compatible SDK, it is possible for you to take advantage of all supported libraries. The team that created the ELK says:

“What intrigues us about the domains of blockchain and decentralization is how quickly they’re evolving, and likely the use-cases that people will build with Elk and find most valuable won’t be use-cases that come to mind for us today. Past projects we’ve built include an electric socket that can be rented with Ethereum, a treadmill that accepts Bitcoin deposits that you can only get back when you work out, and serverless home automation systems that respects your privacy using the Whisper messaging protocol. The possibilities are truly endless.”

The Elk blockchain development board is set to crowdfund on Kickstarter around June, and there is no information yet on price, but it is likely there will be early bird specials or discounts. Elk will host a Blockchain for IoT Bootcamp. Interested parties can attend a series of live seminars that will disseminate helpful information regarding decentralized protocols, coding, and projects using the development board. The webinars will begin on June 16th and will span for the next two Sundays, culminating on June 30th. If you can’t attend the Blockchain IoT Bootcamp, Elk will host the material on their community platform, which you can access at any time.