Don’t Be Alarmed

A standard, run-of-the-mill home security system is probably good enough for most people. But “most” still leaves room for a lot of exceptions. Installations in rural and remote areas, for instance, run into plenty of issues with traditional solutions due to their reliance on stable internet connectivity. Furthermore, relocating these systems can be cumbersome due to the need to update Wi-Fi credentials and re-register the location of a central hub device.

In an effort to address these limitations, Evan Rust has introduced a portable security system that leverages the Particle Muon, a device equipped with LTE/LoRa connectivity and GNSS integration. The system uses Bluetooth Low Energy for communication between the Muon (the central hub) and multiple Particle Photon 2 devices, which act as peripheral sensors. Data from the sensors is transmitted in real time to the Particle Cloud, making the system highly adaptable and portable, suitable for applications beyond traditional security setups.

As implemented by Rust, the system’s design includes a Particle Muon with a carrier board, three Particle Photon 2 devices, magnetic reed switches, passive infrared sensors, analog microphones, and optional OLED screens. These peripheral devices wirelessly communicate their sensor data to the central Muon, which collects it, decodes it, and relays it to the Particle Cloud for monitoring and alerting. This setup eliminates the need for individual internet connections for peripheral devices and allows for quick addition or removal of devices without complex provisioning processes.

The Muon’s multi-radio capabilities were utilized to connect to the Particle Cloud via Wi-Fi, LTE, or LoRaWAN, depending on the environment. The Photon 2 devices are equipped with sensors for motion detection, measuring ambient sound levels, checking door or window states, and air quality monitoring. These sensors periodically send BLE advertising packets with the latest readings to the Muon, which can also update an OLED screen if present.

The Muon’s custom software compiles the data into a JSON payload, and merges it into a Ledger instance for tracking states over time. The system also uses a Particle Logic function to evaluate the data every minute, identifying conditions that require alerts, such as an open door or unhealthy air quality. When an alert is triggered, the Muon can publish a Cloud Event to send notifications, trigger webhooks, or integrate with external platforms like Google Cloud.

This system’s ability to operate in remote or Wi-Fi-free environments make it suitable for use in non-traditional environments, and for a variety of use cases beyond security, such as equipment monitoring, asset tracking, and environmental sensing. All project code and firmware are available on GitHub, offering a foundation for building all sorts of customized IoT solutions.