Smart Citizen Kit: Hardware

The hardware for the Smart Citizen Project consists of 2 printed-circuit boards. The base board contains the components to process and log the data measured by a secondary, interchangeable board containing the sensors. The hardware is an Open-Source, original design of the Smart Citizen Team based on the Arduino Leonardo development board. The hardware was honored as 1 of the first 6 products in the Arduino at Heart family.

The hardware comes pre-programmed with the latest firmware, so it's ready to work out-of-the-box. It includes a rechargeable 3.7V Polymer Lithium-Ion battery. All you'll need is to use any Micro-B USB cable (you can pick up one in our store) to connect it to a USB port for configuring the Wi-Fi network settings as described in the Smart Citizen website.

Base Board (Data-Processing)

The Base Board of the Smart Citizen contains the different electronic components that allow for processing the data, connecting to the internet (when Wi-Fi is available), storing the data, powering the device, and connecting it to a computer for firmware updates, data logging, etc. To do this, the base board uses:

• ATmega32u4 microcontroller
• Real-time clock
• RN131G WiFly Module
• JST 2-Pin SM connector for Li-Po battery (battery included)
• Coin Cell Battery CR2032 connector (battery sold separately)
• MicroSD card connector (card sold separately)
• Micro-B USB connector (cable sold separately)
• DC power regulation circuitry
• Li-Po battery charging circuitry

Secondary Boards (Shields)

Ambient Board

This is the first shield developed for the Smart Citizen platform. It carries an assortment of sensor to monitor several relevant environmental parameters:

• Temperature/Humidity Sensor (HPP828E031)
• Ambient Light Sensor (BH1730FVC)
• NO2/CO Sensor (MICS-4514)
• Omnidirectional Electret Condenser Microphone (POM-2246P-C33-R)

The Smart Citizen Project was launched in May of 2013 through a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The project comprises 3 different technological layers:

• Environmental Monitoring Hardware
• Data visualization website (www.smartcitizen.me) and API (api.smartcitizen.me)
• Mobile Companion App (iOS)

Collectively, the three layers allow for creating a community-powered system for collecting, visualizing, and sharing environmental data as measured in our own backyards!

To learn more about this great project, please visit: smartcitizen.me/pages/smartcitizen.