I developed the Internet Button to be our primary demo and workshop device for the Photon. It covers a surprisingly large number of use cases, from industrial monitoring to customer support, and could almost be used as a whitelabeled product. It also includes enough capability to make workshops of any length engaging, and has an accompanying library that abstracts all those features into simple commands, broken out into 7 heavily-commented tutorial applications.

The “button” bit is actually 4 separate buttons that it stands on, like little table legs. These 4 positions are marked with patterns of dots at the cardinal points, and allow the Internet Button to be clicked in those directions like a controller pad, as well as mashed to trigger all 4.

A ring of 11 addressable LEDs at the clock positions (sans midnight) provide convenient glowing feedback, diffused by the plastic cover. Their control is simplified by the library into commands like “ledOn()”, rather than the usual complexity of Neopixels. On the underside, a magnetic speaker makes pleasant sound effects and music possible. An accelerometer detects both orientation and shocks, so it can be used to make a handheld theremin or send an alert when a door is closed.

The PCB is heavily detailed on the silkscreen, with all the pins used by the shield labeled, the orientation of the accelerometer, and various extra breakout pins. I think of it as being self-documenting, where a person can use the shield without ever referencing a schematic.

The Photon plugs in via reverse entry headers, mounted on the bottom, so the Photon’s header pins pass through the Button PCB before entering the headers. This keeps the Photon flush with the Button, rather than standing “proud” like on most shields. These are also dual-row headers, so prototypers can easily connect wires directly to the Photon via the unused row.

In addition to the main features, there are a few undocumented bonuses. In the center of the PCB is a screw hole, perfectly sized so it can be permanently mounted to a wall or table. An unpopulated JST connector on the back makes it easy to add battery power. While there is no 12th LED, there is a footprint so you can solder your own… or connect a strip of Neopixels to the through-hole next to it. Additional power and ground pins are also available and labeled.

I designed the PCB, supporting software library and examples, injection molded plastics, packaging materials and graphics.