Hey there, tech enthusiasts! Welcome to Critter-Devices – a one-man passion project that’s been buzzing in my brain for years! It all kicked off when I first tinkered with the ESP8266. I mean, can you believe this tiny, wallet-friendly micro-controller packs such a punch? WiFi capabilities for that cheap ? My jaw hit the floor when I got my hands on the NodeMCU. Then, the Wemos D1 Mini strutted onto the scene, and I was hooked, I started using it in every project.

    But it wasn’t all easy. Breadboards and janky jumper wires were the bane of my existence. I’d spend hours scratching my head, wondering why my circuits were DOA, only to realize it was those sneaky, unreliable connections betraying me. Those cheap jumpers? they’d work a few times, then flake out. Fed up, I started designing my own PCBs for the NodeMCU and then the Wemos D1 Mini. Boom – no more connection drama!

      On the firmware front, I was trying to make sensor setup a breeze for my projects. So, I created objects I could plug into my code like LEGO bricks. It was cool for my own stuff, but then I had a lightbulb moment: what if users could mix and match panels on the fly? I dove back into the libraries, converted static objects into dynamic and started thinking about panels where you can drop different sensors. That drag and drop part was a big waste of time, it took me a while to implement and then realized it works great in a computer screen but its useless on a phone.  The conversion to dynamic objects was a challenge specially the memory management as the C++ ESP8266 Arduino libraries don't include smart pointers so object ownership became an issue specially when deleting panels. I had countless crashes and debugging cycles.

    And that’s when Critter-Devices truly hatched! I figured, why not share the passion ? My mission: offer affordable kits so you can build your own Fireflys (or grab ‘em pre-assembled if DIY isn’t your thing), PCBs that can be used for cheap sensors and actuator hook ups.  Plus, I’m dropping a free firmware for all you tinkerers out there. The full-blown version – with a fancy interpreter and programming perks – is still in the works, and I’m thinking it’ll come with a small price tag. For now, I’m keeping the complete firmware under wraps while I fine-tune the magic.

So, that’s the Critter-Devices scoop – born from a geeky obsession with tiny tech and a dream to make your projects sparkle!