Commercial Use

[misterlisty]

Are these modules designed for commercial use?

[bmarkus]

Is it a legal or technical question?

[misterlisty]

Both. Is micropython(ie LOPY) robust enough for a commercial product.

[jcaron]

@misterlisty It probably depends a lot on your use case and the exact features you want. Some parts work very well, others still smell of fresh paint.

I think you'll have to give a few more details about your exact use case if you want a better answer.

[misterlisty]

Essentially want o create some devices that need to be controlled remotely which we will not have access to ONLY during installation, so wish to support remote updates.

[jcaron]

@misterlisty Remote updates over LoRaWAN? You can forget about it, and that's not specific to the Lopys, that's an inherent limitation of the technology. LoRa is designed for transmission of very small payloads at very slow speeds, mostly from device to network.

Sending any significant amount of data over LoRa is near-impossible, and doing it from network to device is even worse (though that may depend on the region and the actual limitations in that region).

As an example, in the ETSI (EU) region, using SF7 (the fastest data rate, and thus the lowest range), you can send at most 222 bytes every 5 seconds per sub-band, and that's for all devices linked to a single gateway combined. If you need to go to SF12 for range, then that drops to 51 bytes every 150 seconds per sub-band.

And that's not even counting the fact that a device will generally receive only when it transmits, unless you go class C (which will require external power supply and network support).

[bmarkus]

@jcaron Update over LoRaWAN was not mentioned by @misterlisty it can be BT or WiFi according to the posts. Also, remote control was mentioned which is not equal to remote fw update. Need more details to give correct answer.

[crumble]

@misterlisty said in Commercial Use:

Both. Is micropython(ie LOPY) robust enough for a commercial product.

commercial product != commercial product

If you don't tell us the specs you need no one can answer your question. Even if you simply send some temperature data, there's a big difference if your system suggest a gardener too carry plants into a greenhouse or if it limits the brake power of a car.

[misterlisty]

Not sure what else I can explain, essentially, is Loy and using micropython reliable enough to be left alone in production. Would use in production environment use the current form factor or an embedded version be available in the future.

[bmarkus]

@misterlisty said in Commercial Use:

Not sure what else I can explain, essentially, is Loy and using micropython reliable enough to be left alone in production. Would use in production environment use the current form factor or an embedded version be available in the future.

Running from battery or wall plug, using Wifi, LoRa, LoRaWAN or BT, indoor or outdoor, .... ? Without knowing details my answer is NO. But if you are in doubt make a prototype and run a pilot in a target environment together with a friendly potential customer or distributor.

[misterlisty]

will be using wifi and lopy, running from mains power, in outdoor environment in ip66 enclosure.

[jmarcelino]

@misterlisty
The LoPy (more specifically the L01 OEM module which is meant for production) is already used in a range of commercial products, for example:

Victron Energy: https://www.victronenergy.com/panel-systems-remote-monitoring/ve-direct-lorawan (background: https://pycom.io/great-minds-think-alike/)
Tenna: https://pycom.io/modern-asset-tracking/
Safe Water: https://pycom.io/temperature-sensing-for-legionella-control-showcase-mwca17/

All these started as a LoPy prototype as @bmarkus said and then were developed/tuned for commercial use using the L01 OEM production module.

The scale-up process from LoPy prototype to product using OEM modules is something Pycom cares a lot about and looking to simplify. But even now it's already happening.