The aREST framework is a complete solution to build powerful RESTful applications based on the Arduino & the Raspberry Pi platforms. It can handle all kind of communications via Serial, WiFi, Ethernet, and much more. It includes libraries for boards themselves, like Arduino boards, and also server-side code to handle the communications between a server and remote devices. The aREST framework is of course completely open-source and free to use.

I had the idea for aREST when I first played with the Arduino Yun in early 2014. I discovered that the Arduino Yun was implementing a basic REST interface, accessible via WiFi, so I told myself: why couldn’t other Arduino boards have the system kind of interface?

I worked on porting the idea for WiFi only on the Arduino Uno & the CC3000 WiFi chip, and after months of trial & error I came up with a first version of a usable library. After that, I quickly integrated support for other hardware, like Ethernet or Serial (enabling communication via Bluetooth & XBee for example). Even I started with Arduino in mind, I decided to not stop here and continue with the Raspberry Pi as well. Finally, I also developed a server-side version of aREST in Node.js to handle the communication with many Arduino boards and control everything from a central interface.

Since then, aREST has been used for home automation, robotics, and sensor networks applications. If you want to get started right away, the best is to visit our Get Started page. Have fun!