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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Questions?