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Use this carrier to enhance the survivability, reliability and capabilities of the Particle Electron, a cellular IoT device.
I have been building IoT sensors for outdoor use for a few years now. Most of my focus has been on helping local parks better count and report the cars, bikers, joggers and hikers which use their facilities each day. By giving them an accurate and automatic way to measure park utilization, They can save significant labor costs, get a more complete count and facilitate reporting. My hope is that this work will show how important our parks are and help preserve and even expand funding for these vital community resources.

Longer term, I also want to collect environmental and health data with these devices and I realized that a general purpose enhancement to the Particle Electron would be useful in all manner of applications that I - or the community - might dream up. This project, developed in collaboration with the Particle community (see Team link) is open source and available to anyone who can wants to deploy IoT devices where there is no WiFi or utility power.

This project takes the Particle Electron - the cellular member of the Particle family - and extends its capabilities for outdoor use. I chose the Particle platform for three main reasons:

The open nature of the platform and the vibrant user community
The integrated nature of the platform which includes the device, the cellular service and a platform that allows for remote control, monitoring and upgrades
The ability of the platform to be extended both in hardware and by easy integration with other on-line services such as Ubidots.
I focused on capabilities which I think are important and broadly applicable:

Protection against electrostatic and over voltage events. These devices will be used in unprotected environments.
Enhanced reliability since deployment may be in hard-to-get-to places.
Local data storage as connectivity is not assured.
Flexible power options by either utility or Solar energy
I arrived at this final list after extensive consultation with the Particle community through the Particle Forums. I have also built and tested these devices in various locations over the past 6 months. I have received significant help and advice and this document represents my effort to pay back these gifts and pass on the learning I have benefitted from.”

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