For some, Nerves and AtomVM are perceived as competing in embedded computing,
yet they actually serve distinct classes of devices. AtomVM can run Erlang,
Gleam and Elixir programs on resource-constrained microcontrollers, such as
ESP32, Pico, and STM32, starting from just 512KB of flash and 128KB of RAM,
where running Linux is impractical.
In this session, Paul will introduce the AtomVM toolchain and development
approach. He’ll demonstrate how Nerves and AtomVM devices can communicate and
cooperate using the Erlang distribution protocol. While AtomVM (and BEAM)
traditionally supports distribution over TCP, this talk, staying true to the
spirit of meetup-driven development (MDD), will also explore alternative
transports, particularly for MCUs lacking an IP stack. Imagine a Nerves node on
a Raspberry Pi fetching sensor data from a couple of AtomVM STM32 nodes.
Speaker
Paul is an open-source enthusiast and AtomVM contributor, in his evenings and
weekends. He authored the Erlang source code for La Machine, the first
commercial product built on AtomVM, and introduced features such as SMP, Erlang
distribution, and Just-in-Time compilation.
With a PhD in AI and 20 years of experience, Paul serves as CPTO at Smart
Impulse, a Paris-based IoT company using Python, Rust, Typescript and C (no BEAM
language !). His role involves driving engineers and product teams experiment
and navigate through the new AI-way of work.
Details
- Date: May 13, 2026
- Time: 19:00 - 20:30 CET
- Location: Zoom (Register via Luma)
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