Wi-Fi & MQTT

The Air Lab natively supports Wi-Fi and MQTT for data transmission and integration.

Wi-Fi Network

Air Lab supports connecting to Wi-Fi networks to enable data transmission via MQTT. The radio modem (ESP32-S3) supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) networks with WPA2 security.

Tip: If you never used your device with the Air Lab Console before, check out Air Lab Console.

Follow these steps to connect to a Wi-Fi network

1. First, connect your Air Lab to the web interface, Air Lab Console.
2. In the Air Lab Console, navigate to Settings in the sidebar.
3. Enter your SSID and password in the Wi-Fi section
4. Click Configure to establish the connection.

If successful, the Wi-Fi/MQTT Status in the sidebar will change to Connected. In case it was not successful, please verify your credentials are correct and try again.

MQTT Protocol

Further reading: IoT, MQTT

MQTT is an open source communication protocol used commonly in the Internet of Things (IoT). It is lightweight, has low latency and requires minimal bandwidth. It is widely supported and used across different platforms and programming languages, and is well-documented.

MQTT is based on a publish-subscribe concept with a broker in between. The publisher is an output device, while the subscriber receives the information. The broker is the central hub that manages the data distribution, allowing publishers and subscribers to connect even if they are on different networks.

There are many MQTT brokers available. Our office's Air Lab transmits data through the shiftr.io broker, which is publicly accessible—take a look at our live data. Another popular option is the Eclipse Mosquitto broker.

Tip: To see MQTT in action, check out the Home Assistant tutorial.

Follow these steps to connect to an MQTT broker

To connect your Air Lab with an MQTT broker, open Air Lab Console and navigate to Settings in the sidebar.

1. Connect to Wi-Fi first, if not already configured.
2. Under MQTT, enter the IP-Address or hostname of your broker under Host.
3. Ensure the Port is set to 1883.
4. Enter your broker-configured username and password.
5. Click Configure to apply the settings.

If everything is correct, the Wi-Fi/MQTT Status will change to Networked and the n icon will appear on the Air Lab. If it remains Disconnected, check your Wi-Fi credentials. If it shows Connected, check your MQTT credentials.