What a time to be alive! It’s never been easier to get into electronics and programming with platforms like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Chibitronics and many more. These platforms are great, but with the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming more and more embedded into our lives, the maker community cried out for a true maker solution. Here enters Particle.
Formally known as Spark, Particle is a group of software developers who wanted to bring the power of the internet to makers everywhere in an easy, friendly platform. And thus, Particle.io was created. Easy to use, powerful Wi-Fi and cellular connected microcontrollers, combining with a structured, cloud orientated software environment.
There are two main hardware platforms from Particle; the Electron and the Photon. There is also the P1 module which is the same SoC (System on Chip) which powers the Photon, however as it's designed to be embedded in products, rather than used in a DIY nature, we'll focus more on the Photon and Electron.
Check out the getting started guides for each platform, however they have been designed so that code is completely compatible across both, with the big difference being how they connect to the cloud. The Photon connects to the cloud via Wi-Fi, and has fewer pins than the Electron, which connects to the cloud via cellular data. Which brings us to the core of the Particle ecosystem: Particle Cloud.
The Particle Cloud
Once you’ve explored Particle.io, you’ll understand the staggering amount of effort that have put into making a platform which is both incredibly powerful, yet easy to use.
The IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is based around C++, which if you’re somewhat familiar with C, is fairly easy to pick up. They’ve also based the IDE around the same abstraction used in Arduino (Wiring) which makes pin manipulation, event handling, and structure almost identical to Arduino, whilst allowing for all of the flexibility of plain C++.
The Particle.io site is broken up into a few different sections based on their functionality: Dashboard, docs, build, community, and setup.
Dashboard
The Dashboard is your very own control centre for all your Particle needs. After creating an account, you can claim devices using the mobile app, or the Command Line Interface (CLI), view the status and event logs of claimed devices, manage your data usage and billing for Electron sim cards, plus create an organisation and manage your products using embedded Particle gear.
Docs
The Documentation section of Particle.io contains everything from getting started guides, datasheets, and example projects, right through to a complete list of Particle firmware commands, guides on product implementation, and support for mobile and web app development with their extensive APIs.
Build
BuildThe Build area is the cloud based IDE. It stores all of your programs, libraries, device IDs, and more on the Particle cloud, allowing for firmware flashing OTA (Over the Air) alongside the serial flashing with the CLI. If you are an organisation using Particle tech in your products, Particle provide the platform for updating firmware over Wi-Fi and much more.
Community
The Particle Community is the forum for community driven tech support and social interaction between fellow makers and Particle tech gurus.
Setup
The Setup page is where you can setup your new Electron and/or sim card. It provides a simple set by step walk through in claiming your Electron, and getting it connected to the cloud using the include sim card. Because the Electron uses cellular data to communicate to the cloud, Particle have developed a fantastic global cellular network, however you also have the option of using a 3rd party sim card after setup. For more info, see the Getting Started with Particle Electron tutorial.
Particle App
Among all of the awesomeness that Particle have blessed us with, they’ve also created a mobile app which allows you to login and monitor the status and activity of your claimed devices, and flash them with an application called ‘Tinker’. The Tinker firmware creates cloud integration for every pin, and gives access of digital and analogue read/write functions, straight out of the box. You can test it out with the built in LED (D7), or attach other simple hardware to it and explore the pin functionality.
What Now?
Hopefully you’ve learnt a bit about how amazing the Internet of Things is (and can be), and you’re a step closer to that connected project you’ve always dreamed of. For more info on using Particle devices, checkout the Getting Started tutorials for Photon or Electron, or using the Particle cloud functionality in your program, check out our other tutorials, and be sure to share your awesome project with us on our projects module.
