balena monthly roundup - September 2020

balena monthly roundup - September 2020

By popular demand, we created a guide on how to run Wireguard VPN in balenaOS. Our team also got to the bottom of USB temperature issues on the Fin v1.1.

From the lab, we showed edge developers, hackers, and makers how to build an IoT surveillance camera in 30 minutes, and how to get started with BLE (Bluetooth low-energy) item trackers. We learned how one balenista improved their IoT app development process using balena (to better spy on their cat).

As always, see highlight our favorite community projects of the month. Check them out and take care.


News from balenaHQ

Addressing the balenaFin v1.1 USB temperature issue

Take a look at this root cause analysis of the balenaFin v1.1 USB temperature issue, learn why we’re recalling affected units, and see how we’re addressing the problem to make a better board.

How to run Wireguard VPN in balenaOS

Responding to user requests, we created this guide on running Wireguard VPN in balenaOS. Check it out, try it out, and let us know how to make it even better.


The latest from our blog

Can you make a security camera system in 30 minutes?

The answer is yes. Hardware Hacker Phil shows you how in this guide that needs a USB webcam and a spare Raspberry Pi.

Track all your items with low-energy Bluetooth beacons

Tired of losing your things? This project lets you use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and Raspberry Pi sensors to help you track all your stuff.

How a cat inspired better IoT app development

Learn what drove this balenista to improve their remote-accessible cat camera using the latest IoT tools and workflows.


Charlie’s Tips N Tricks

Did you know that you can now speed up your development process by combining livepush with custom monitors?

balena monthly roundup - September 2020

By using the dev-cmd-live directive, you can override the existing Dockerfile’s CMD to use nodemon, webpack-dev-server, or your program of choice. Read more about livepush and it’s directives here.


Projects of the month

Community Spotlight: David Groom (IShotJr) shares projects on the livestream

We had David Groom (aka IShotJr) on the IoT Happy Hour recently to share what he’s been hacking on. Check out the episode, like, and subscribe to see more of our weekly show.

Containerized image classification all on a Raspberry Pi

Check out this Edge Impulse project by @aureleq that runs image classification using a Raspberry Pi and camera.

balenaSound continues to gain new users

We’re glad that users continue to build and enjoy balenaSound, like @mashimom here. We’re hard at work on new features for the project, so stay tuned!

Prototyping plant monitoring with balena

We gave an early look at balenaPlant to our community members who tuned into the IoT Happy Hour and answered quite a few questions. Check it out and let us know what you think.


Job openings: Head of Reliability and Lead Security Engineer

We’re growing and looking for two critical roles: Head of Reliability and Lead Security Engineer. Join us to shape the future of how we build and secure our product and its infrastructure.


Hang out with us

Join us for IoT Happy Hour

We’re postponing our physical events to practice safe social distancing and keep our team safe and healthy. Instead, meet with us virtually during our weekly IoT Happy Hour!

Every Friday at 16:00 UTC, join our live stream to see IoT project builds, discuss hardware and software, talk shop, answer community questions, and more. Join our next session!