SparkFun OpenLog Brings Data Logging to Air Quality Sensors

When a gravel pit blew dust into the surrounding area, Adrian Dybwad was curious to find out how much dust was actually in the air. This quest ultimately led to the founding of PurpleAir and the creation of "a global network of nearly 11,000 [air quality] sensors in over 80 countries."

Purple air quality map with sensor next to phone. Purple air quality map with sensor next to phone.

Project Requirements

  • Quick to market
  • Quick to implement
  • Ability to report crash logs from the microcontroller

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As both a caver (a person who explores caves, often referred to as spelunking) for more than 30 years and an ambitious contributor to an open-source map project (OpenStreetMap (OSM)) since 2009, Eric Sibert has a long-standing passion for positional accuracy. In all that time, Sibert has been on a quest to find an accurate and portable tool that allows him to easily switch between these tasks - a quest that has proven to not be so simple.

To meet his requirements, he would need a tool that could be taken into remote caves, but also provide extreme accuracy for correcting street-level data. This dilemma ended up being a drawn-out and fruitless endeavor for quite some time. “I’ve been watching for years for potential GPS chips providing raw data at a low price. I made some attempts in the mid-2000s with the SiRF III chip.

Outdoor Air Quality Sensor from PurpleAirOutdoor Air Quality Sensor from PurpleAir
Outdoor Air Quality Sensor from PurpleAir