MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started
Release date: 1st December 2015
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Guide
Version: 1.0
© 2015 MediaTek Inc.
This document contains information that is proprietary to MediaTek Inc.
Unauthorized reproduction of this information in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
© 2015 MediaTek Inc.
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Document Revision History
Revision Date Description
1.0 Dec 2015 Initial release
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Table of Contents
1. Get Started With the LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Development Platform .......................................................... 1
1.1. Get the Hardware and Software ........................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Sign into the LinkIt Smart 7688 development board’s Web UI .......................................................... 2
1.3. Update Your Board’s Firmware .......................................................................................................... 6
1.4. Access the LinkIt Smart 7688 System Console through SSH .............................................................. 8
1.5. Run the Blink Example ...................................................................................................................... 10
1.6. Connecting to the Internet ............................................................................................................... 10
2. What’s Next? ........................................................................................................................................ 15
2.1. LinkIt Smart 7688 Developer’s Guide ............................................................................................... 15
2.2. LinkIt Smart 7688 Tutorials .............................................................................................................. 15
2.3. Seeed Studio Starter Tutorial ........................................................................................................... 15
2.4. Hackster.io ....................................................................................................................................... 15
Lists of Figures
Figure 1 Providing power to the LinkIt Smart 7688 board ..................................................................................... 3
Figure 2 Wi-Fi LED Status ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Figure 3 Connecting to LinkIt_Smart_7688_1B09F3 AP ......................................................................................... 4
Figure 4 LinkIt Smart 7688 in AP mode .................................................................................................................. 4
Figure 5 LinkIt Smart 7688 Web UI Set Password ................................................................................................... 5
Figure 6 LinkIt Smart 7688 firmware upgrade ........................................................................................................ 6
Figure 7 Selecting the firmware file and start upgrade .......................................................................................... 7
Figure 8 Firmware version ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 9 SSH access using Windows ....................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 10 PuTTY Security Warning ......................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 11 System console window ......................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 12 Change networking setting in Web UI .................................................................................................. 11
Figure 13 Changing to Station mode in Web UI ................................................................................................... 12
Figure 14 LinkIt Smart 7688 in Station Mode ....................................................................................................... 13
Figure 15 LinkIt Smart 7688 in Station mode connected to a Wi-Fi AP ................................................................ 14
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This document contains information that is proprietary to MediaTek Inc.
MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
© 2015 MediaTek Inc.
Page 1 of 15
1. Get Started With the LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Development
Platform
Welcome to the LinkIt Smart 7688 development platform quick start guide. This guide is based on using the
development tools on a Windows PC with examples created in Python, however the same steps apply to Mac
and Linux, and for Node.js — unless specifically noted otherwise.
This guide is presented in seven sections as follows:
• Get the Hardware and Software — which describes the hardware and software you need to complete
this guide and where to get it.
• Sign In the Web UI – uses a web based utility to configure the development board, update firmware
and more.
• Update Your Board’s Firmware – which describes the steps to upgrade the board’s firmware using
Web UI.
• Access the System Console – uses SSH (Secure Shell) to access the board for text commands and
system messages.
• Create and Run Your First Example – illustrates a blink example code in Python.
• Connect to the internet – explains how to connect the board to the internet.
• What’s Next – describes other resources and documents you can use to create more projects with
LinkIt Smart 7688.
1.1. Get the Hardware and Software
This section describes the hardware and software you need to get started. Before you start, please make sure
you’ve the following items ready:
• A computer with Wi-Fi.
• An access point that is connected to the internet. The AP should have either open access (requires no
password) or WPA/WPA2 encryption. APs that require Web-based authentication are not supported.
• A micro-USB cable.
To complete this section you’ll:
• Buy a LinkIt Smart 7688 development board
• Install
• Install
Step 1: Get Your LinkIt Smart 7688 Development Board
Purchase the LinkIt Smart7688 development board from a distributor such as Seeed Studio.
PuTTY for Microsoft Windows (For Windows only)
Bonjour print service (For Windows 7 only) to use local domain mylinkit.local
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Step 2: Install PuTTY (For Windows only)
PuTTY provides you with the system console environment using Secure Socket Shell (SSH) access to the
development board’s operating system.
Step 3: Install Bonjour Print Service (For Windows 7 only)
The LinkIt Smart 7688 development board uses mylinkit.local as its local domain name. In Windows 7,
you’ll need to install the
discover the LinkIt Smart 7688’s IP address within the local domain. For Windows 8 and later, Mac OS X and
Linux, mDNS is supported and you can use mylinkit.local without additional software.
If you are using a virtual machine, please note that mDNS may have problems reaching the guest OS network. In
this case, please use the host OS browser for the next step – sign into the board’s Web UI.
Bonjour print service because mDNS is not supported. This helps your computer
1.2. Sign into the LinkIt Smart 7688 development board’s Web UI
Now power up your board, connect a USB power source or your PC to it and open the board’s Web UI, which
you’ll use in subsequent steps to configure your board.
To complete this section you’ll:
• Power up your board
• Search for LinkIt_Smart_7688_XXXXXX AP (XXXXXX is the MAC address) and connect the board
through Wi-Fi
• Sign into the LinkIt Smart 7688 Web UI
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Page 3 of 15
1 sec
System
Power On
Boot loader
Initializing
Linux
Boot Strapping
4-5 secs
Blink Once
Light Up
Wi-Fi LED Status and System State
Wi-Fi
Ready
3 blinks per sec, pauses 0.5
secs
AP Mode, w/o Client
AP Mode, w/ Client
Station Mode, Connecting
2 blinks per sec
Station Mode, Connected
Blinks as data’s transmitting
~30 secs
Step 1: Power Up Your Board with a Micro-USB Cable
Plug in one end of a Micro USB cable to the power connector of the LinkIt Smart 7688 and the other end of the
cable to a USB power source, such as your computer as shown in Figure 1, or a USB power adaptor. Make sure
you connect the cable to the Power (PWR) connector, not the USB host (HOST) connector near the MPU reset
button. The Power LED (Green) will light up solid first followed by the Wi-Fi LED (Orange) which will blink once.
Then, after about 4~5 seconds, the Wi-Fi LED will light on solid; this indicates that the boot loader has
initialized.
After boot loader initialization, the boot up process begins, which takes about 30 seconds. Next, the Wi-Fi LED
turns off; this means the system is ready to accept a Wi-Fi connection. Figure 2 shows how the Wi-Fi LED status
matches the system state.
Figure 1 Providing power to the LinkIt Smart 7688 board
Figure 2 Wi-Fi LED Status
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Step 2: Connect your PC to the LinkIt_Smart_7688_XXXXXX AP
Open the Wi-Fi connection utility on your computer and connect to the access point named
LinkIt_Smart_7688_1B09F3 (1B09F3 is the MAC address), as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 Connecting to LinkIt_Smart_7688_1B09F3 AP
The orange LED will blink three times per second after you’ve connected to the LinkIt_Smart_7688_1B09F3 AP.
This indicates the board is in AP mode.
Keep in mind that once you’ve connected to LinkIt Smart 7688 AP, your computer may no longer have access
to the internet – it’s now joining the Local Area Network formed by LinkIt Smart 7688, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 LinkIt Smart 7688 in AP mode
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You’ll learn how to connect LinkIt Smart 7688 to the internet in later steps. But first, you need to configure the
board.
Step 3: Access the LinkIt Smart 7688 Web UI Configuration Tools
You now setup the LinkIt Smart 7688 Web UI, a tool for configuring the settings of you board.
1) In your web browser open http://mylinkit.local, as shown Figure 5.
Figure 5 LinkIt Smart 7688 Web UI Set Password
2) Set a password using at least 6 alphanumeric characters and click SUBMIT. Enter the password again
and click Sign In.
If the board already has a password and you don’t remember it, use a USB drive to upgrade the firmware or press
and hold the Wi-Fi button for at least 20 seconds and release to return the board to the factory defaults. Keep in
mind if you use either of these methods, it will restore to board’s default settings and all user data will be removed
from the device. For more information on how to upgrade firmware using a USB drive or use the buttons please
refer to LinkIt Smart 7688 Developer’s Guide.
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This document contains information that is proprietary to MediaTek Inc.
MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
© 2015 MediaTek Inc.
Page 6 of 15
1.3. Update Your Board’s Firmware
The MediaTek Labs website has the latest firmware for your LinkIt Smart 7688 development board. It is
recommended that you upgrade the firmware of your new board to ensure you have the latest version. This
section describes how.
To complete this section, you’ll:
• Install LinkIt Smart 7688 firmware
• Upgrade LinkIt Smart 7688 firmware using Web UI
Step 1: Install LinkIt Smart 7688 Software and Tools
1) The latest LinkIt Smart 7688 software and tools from the MediaTek Labs website includes the
firmware, bootloader, and toolchain you need to develop applications for LinkIt Smart 7688.
Download and unzip the firmware into a permanent location on your computer, such as
D:\{firmware}.
2) Note the location of the firmware file lks7688.img, for example:
D:\{firmware}\lks7688.img
Step 2: Run the LinkIt Smart 7688 Firmware Updater Application
1) In the Web UI home page, click UPGRADE FIRMWARE, as shown Figure 6:
Figure 6 LinkIt Smart 7688 firmware upgrade
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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2) Click Choose the file and select the lks7688.img file then click UPGRADE & RESTART as shown
Figure 7.
Figure 7 Selecting the firmware file and start upgrade
3) The firmware uploads to your board. Please make sure the board stays connected to its power source
until the firmware upgrade is completed. Notice the Wi-Fi LED blinks for about 3 minutes (firmware
upgrading), then the board will restart and the LED lights on for about 30 seconds (rebooting). Finally,
the board enters AP mode and is ready to be connected.
4) Find the LinkIt_Smart_7688_XXXXXX AP and connect the board through Wi-Fi. Notice the Wi-Fi LED
blinks 3 times per second after the board is connected to a client device. Now, reload the
mylinkit.local webpage, set a new password and sign in. The new firmware version details will
be displayed under Software information, as shown Figure 8.
Figure 8 Firmware version
You now have the latest firmware on your LinkIt Smart 7688 development board.
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Page 8 of 15
1.4. Access the LinkIt Smart 7688 System Console through SSH
LinkIt Smart 7688 system console enables you to enter text commands and get system administration
messages.
To complete this step, you’ll:
• Open your terminal emulator and sign in
Step 1: Open a Terminal Emulator and Sign in.
In Windows:
1) Open PuTTY and in the configuration window, type mylinkit.local in Host Name, click the SSH
radio button and then Open, as shown Figure 9.
Figure 9 SSH access using Windows
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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2) A Security Alert window will pop up as shown below, this happens when you use PuTTY for the first
time, or after upgrading firmware, or uses a different board. Click Yes.
Figure 10 PuTTY Security Warning
3) The PuTTY terminal window displays. Log in with username root and the password you set previously
in the Web UI, after log in you should see a screen similar to Figure 11.
Figure 11 System console window
In Mac or Linux:
Open Terminal and at the command prompt type ssh root@mylinkit.local. Press return and enter the
password you set previously in the Web UI.
If you see a warning error indicating host ID has changed, please check the Troubleshooting section in the
MediaTek LinkIt Smart 7688 Developer’s Guide.
You now have access to system console using SSH.
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© 2015 MediaTek Inc.
Page 10 of 15
1.5. Run the Blink Example
MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
You are now ready to run your first example on the LinkIt Smart 7688 development board. This example
switches the board’s Wi-Fi LED on and off every half second.
To complete this section, you’ll:
• Execute the example in system console
• Watch the LED blink on the board
• Terminate the example
Step 1: Run the Blink Example in LinkIt Smart 7688 System Console
In the system console, type # python /IoT/examples/blink-gpio44.py to run the blink example in Python.
Note # is the command prompt and not part of the command.
Step 2: Watch the Wi-Fi LED Blink
The Wi-Fi LED on LinkIt Smart 7688 should start to blink every half second.
Step 3: Terminate the Blink Example
In the system console, press CTRL + C, this will terminate the example.
You can now explore the system console and try other examples or Linux command utilities – but before that,
it’s important to connect the board to the internet first. You can do that by connecting the board to a Wi-Fi
Access Point that has internet connection. The steps are described in the next section.
1.6. Connecting to the Internet
In order for the board to access the internet, it needs to join another network that has an access point
connected to the internet, and to do that, the board needs to be in Station mode.
To complete this section, you’ll:
• Connect LinkIt Smart 7688 to a Wi-Fi access point for internet access
• Connect the host computer to an AP that is in a Wi-Fi network
• Open Terminal emulator and sign in
• Check for internet connection
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Page 11 of 15
Step 1: Connecting LinkIt Smart 7688 to a Wi-Fi Access Point for Internet Access
1) Open a browser with URL mylinkit.local,and sign-in to the Web UI with the password you have
set. Click Network on upper right as shown Figure 12.
Figure 12 Change networking setting in Web UI
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2) Select the Station mode and click REFRESH or downward arrow on the right to find the AP to
connect to. After you’ve selected the AP, enter password if required. Click CONFIGURE & RESTART
to finish as shown below.
Note: If you entered the AP’s password incorrectly, you can reset the board to AP mode by clicking the Wi-Fi button
for at least 5 seconds and release, this allows you to redo Station mode in the network settings again.
Figure 13 Changing to Station mode in Web UI
After you’ve switched to Station mode, the Wi-Fi LED should blink once every two seconds, this
indicates LinkIt Smart 7688 is in Station mode.
Since the Wi-Fi mode has changed, your host computer is now disconnected from LinkIt Smart 7688. If
you try to reload the web UI, you’ll see that it is not available anymore. To establish connection again,
follow the next step.
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Step2: Connect the Host Computer to an AP that is in a Wi-Fi Network
Open the Wi-Fi connection utility on your computer and connect to the same access point as in Step 1.
Your computer is now under the same local area network formed the by the Wi-Fi Access Point you
connected to, as shown Figure 14.
Figure 14 LinkIt Smart 7688 in Station Mode
Step3: Open Terminal Emulator and Sign In Again
Once your host computer has joined the same Wi-Fi network, you can again connect to LinkIt Smart
7688 with mylinkit.local domain again through SSH as before.
Step 4: Check for Internet Connection
Now check if you’ve established internet connection by typing # ping –c 5 www.mediatek.com in
the Terminal window:
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If you see a screen that is similar to Figure 15, then you’ve connected to the Wi-Fi network’s AP. The
Wi-Fi LED will blink once every second indicating Station mode. If the ping utility reports errors such
as unreachable destination, check the setting of your Wireless AP.
Figure 15 LinkIt Smart 7688 in Station mode connected to a Wi-Fi AP
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MediaTek LinkIt™ Smart 7688 Get Started Guide
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Page 15 of 15
2. What’s Next?
You’ve set up the development environment for LinkIt Smart 7688, ran an example using Python and
connected the device to the internet. Please check out more tutorials, resources and inspiration related to
LinkIt Smart 7688 from the following links:
2.1. LinkIt Smart 7688 Developer’s Guide
This document provides you with detailed information on the LinkIt Smart 7688 development board, SDT tools,
introduction to OpenWrt and programming guide. You can download it from
2.2. LinkIt Smart 7688 Tutorials
The following tutorials are available:
here.
o LinkIt Smart 7688 and MediaTek Cloud Sandbox Python
o LinkIt Smart 7688 and MediaTek Cloud Sandbox Node.js
2.3. Seeed Studio Starter Tutorial
Create projects using the LinkIt Smart 7688 HDK and get inspired on www.seeed.cc/7688 .
2.4. Hackster.io
See what other developers have created with LinkIt Smart 7688 and get inspired:
o LinkIt Smart 7688/ONE Sensor Project
o Who’s Home
o Zoned Climate Control
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