ESP RainMaker is an end-to-end platform that enables Makers to realize their IoT ideas faster and without the hassle of managing any infrastructure involved. ESP RainMaker provides a device SDK, self-adapting phone apps, a transparent cloud service and host utilities that reduce complexity in development.

Six months after launching ESP RainMaker, there have been several improvements and new features. For example, ESP RainMaker was initially launched only for ESP32-S2, but we then added support for ESP32 using “Host-driven claiming”. To make things even simpler, a little while ago we added support for “Assisted Claiming”, which is driven through a phone app, instead of the python-based command line interface (CLI) on the host.

In terms of new features, you can now schedule certain actions to be triggered on your devices at any given time on any specified day or days of the week. We also support timezones and automatic Daylight-Saving adjustments, both of which are very important for scheduling. You can check out the new scheduling feature in detail here.

Other recent new features include the OTA firmware upgrades and the support for third-party integrations, such as Alexa and Google Voice Assistant.

Finally, we will soon release previews of Node Sharing (which can grant others permission to access, control and manage your nodes) and Local Control (for controlling devices connected to the same access point as that of the phone, directly over a local webserver instead of the Cloud). So, stay tuned!