Particle IoT

IT Pro Camp Jax 2016

The three Truths

  • Eventually anything that can be written in JavaScript will be written in JavaScript
  • Everything that can be connected to the Internet will be connected to the Internet
  • If it is on the internet, it must be true!

Internet of Things

  • IoT devices collect lots of data

  • AWS and Azure both have Big Data 
    and Machine learning solutions 

IoT Devices

  • Refrigerator
  • Wearables (Apple Watch or Gear)
  • Garage Door Opener
  • Security System (Ring.com)

IoT Device Category

  • Small Computer
  • Micro-controller

Raspberry PI

PI Details

  • Full Computer
  • Introduced in 2012
  • Meant for education
  • 5 times as popular in private sector
  • Board about the size of a credit card
  • Prices range from $5 to $35

PI 3

  • 256 MB to 1 Gig in RAM
  • 1.2 Ghz quad-core ARM processor
  • HDMI
  • Ethernet
  • 4 USB ports
  • Now with Wi-Fi and BLE 4.0
  • 40 GPIO connecting pins

PI Operating Systems

  • Many ARM based distros of Linux
  • Windows 10
  • OSMC (Media Center)
  • And many others...

Micro-controllers

  • Not computers
  • Write programs as firmware
  • Some come with Wi-Fi
  • Inputs and outputs
  • Digital and Analog
  • Not enough power to stream video or audio
  • Wire up servos, lights, sensors, speakers and cameras
  • Power robots

Key features

  • Internet connected
  • Particle Cloud Service
  • Host your own
  • Arduino like code
  • Pre-built libraries
  • inexpensive, starting at $19

Launched as Spark

  • SparkCore introduced 2013
  • SparkCore used CC3000 WiFi chip
  • Changed name to Particle
  • Particle Photon Fall 2015
  • Photon uses Broadcom chip
  • Particle Electron 2016 2G/3G

Photon Features

  • Real-time OS (FreeRTOS)
  • Broadcom BCM43362 Wi-Fi chip
  • 120Mhz ARM Cortex M3 processor
  • 1MB flash memory, 128K RAM
  • 18 Mixed-signal GPIO ports
  • Supports Digital/Analog
  • I2C, UART, SPI and PWM

Development

  • Arduino-like syntax 
  • Node.js based cli
  • npm install -g particle-cli
  • Web IDE @ build.particle.io
  • Particle Dev ATOM based IDE

APIs

  • Arduino like libraries for common addons like LCDs
  • 4 Built-in cloud functions
    • Particle.variable
    • Particle.function
    • Particle.publish
    • Particle.subscribe
  • JavaScript library
  • iOS/Android libraries
  • IFTTT
  • Webhooks
  • REST API

Basic Program

void setup() { }

void loop() { }

IoT HelloWorld!

// Define the pins we're going to call pinMode on
int greenLed = D7;

// This routine runs only once upon reset
void setup() {
  // Initialize D7 pin as output
  // It's important you do this here, inside the setup() function rather than outside it or in the loop function.
  pinMode(greenLed, OUTPUT);
}

// This routine gets called repeatedly, like once every 5-15 milliseconds.
// Spark firmware interleaves background CPU activity associated with WiFi + Cloud activity with your code. 
// Make sure none of your code delays or blocks for too long (like more than 5 seconds), or weird things can happen.
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(greenLed, HIGH);
  delay(500);               // Wait for 500mS = 1 second
  digitalWrite(greenLed, LOW);
  delay(500);               // Wait for 1 second in off mode
}

Particle Electron

  • Cellular based board
  • 2G and 3G options
  • 2G to be EOL 2016
  • No Wi-Fi, no problem
  • $69 Dev kit
  • First 3 months free
  • $2.99 month for 1MB
  • No contracts
  • $0.99/each additional MB

Electron Kit

  • Breadboard
  • 3.7 V lipo battery
  • Solar panel (optional)
  • Waterproof case (optional)
  • GPS (optional)

Particle limitations

  • Doesn't have the power of Raspberry Pi
  • Limited resources
  • Limited to 1 request/event per second
  • Bypass by hosting your own cloud
  • 3V3 to 5.5V range

Particle advantages

  • Designed for mass production
  • Easy to use
  • Easy to connect to Internet
  • Dashboard management
  • Great development experience
  • Well documented
  • Inexpensive

DEMO

https://particleled.herokuapp.com

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