Modules

There are several types of development boards, ranging from the very simple to very complex. The simpler boards often provide basic computing capability but do not provide advanced capabilities such as support for communication protocols. The advanced boards provide several additional capabilities but they come at a higher cost.

For beginners, working with expensive boards is not a good option since there are high chances of damage to the board. To augment the capabilities of simpler boards you use something known as modules.

Modules are boards that connect to a development board to provide additional features such as communication protocols like WiFi, Bluetooth, LoRa, and Radio.

There are, however, exceptions to the rule. For example, the ESP32 development board is inexpensive yet comes with WiFi and BLE capability. The inexpensive Arduino Nano comes with no communication capability, whereas the more advanced Arduino boards with communication capabilities are relatively expensive.

Below are two modules, the HM-10 for BLE communication and the RA-02 for LoRa communication. Both these modules can be used with basic development boards such as the Arduino Nano to enhance its capabilities.

Alternatively, you can use an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense which has in-built BLE support but is expensive.