Mechanoid, an open-source framework for building WebAssembly applications on embedded systems and IoT (internet of things) devices, has been launched by software company The Hybrid Group.
The Hybrid Group released Mechanoid 0.1.0 and Mechanoid 0.1.1 this week on GitHub. Developers can try it out now.
Mechanoid is intended to ease the task of building applications that are extendable and secure and take advantage of the latest developments in both WebAssembly and embedded development. WebAssembly, or Wasm, is a high-performance binary instruction format that can be produced from JavaScript, Go, Rust, and other programming languages.
Mechanoid featuress a command line interface tool for building, testing, and running applications on simulators or actual hardware. The environment is sandboxed, so bricking a device is less likely, according to The Hybrid Group. Specific APIs can be provided by the host application to guest modules, so application-specific code can be matched to the kind of code developers are trying to write such as industrial control systems and games. Developers can develop code in the Go, Rust, Zig, or any language that can be compiled to Wasm.
The Hybrid Group provides an example of Mechanoid application development, consisting of a host application that runs on a microcontroller, and a separate Wasm module that will be run by the host application on that same microcontroller. The host application loads the Wasm and executes it, sending output to the serial interface on the board. Developers can see the output on their computers. A repo of example applications includes an application called WASMdrone that runs on a hardware device with connected wireless to fly a DJI Tello drone.