As part of its global MediaTek Labs initiative, MediaTek today announced the MediaTek LinkIt Connect 7681 development platform. Based on MediaTek’s MT7681 Wi-Fi System on Chip (SoC), the new platform provides developers and makers with the tools to create simple Wi-Fi enabled IoT devices that can be controlled from smartphones or the internet.

The new platform provides a Software Development Kit (SDK) for Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux, a Hardware Development Kit (HDK) co-designed with Seeed Studio and related documentation. The SDK enables developers to compile and upload the firmware needed to control an IoT device in response to instructions received wirelessly, while the HDK delivers the LinkIt Connect 7681 development board. The board includes the LinkIt Connect 7681 module, micro-USB port and pins for each of the I/O interfaces of the MT7681 chipset. The LinkIt Connect 7681 module (co-designed with AcSiP) is available to order separately and is designed to mount on a PCB as part of production versions of the IoT device.

Connectivity on the MT7681 is achieved using Wi-Fi, in either Wi-Fi station or access point (AP) mode. In Wi-Fi station mode, MT7681 connects to a wireless AP and can then communicate with web services or cloud servers, for uses such as controlling the heating in a home from a home automation website. In AP mode, the MT7681 chip lets other wireless devices connect directly to it, allowing, for example, a smartphone app to control a smart plug or light bulb in the home.