High School Robotics Course using the Particle.io Mesh Devices Blog

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So on Monday, Feb 4th, 2019 I will need to start my 4th Semester teaching High School Robotics, sadly without using any Particle Mesh devices. This is not without effort on my part, I have spent an intensive month trying to connect Mesh devices to an Openthread network, also having wasted several hundred school dollars on 15 Argons and 15 Xenons and $200 of my own funds on nrf52840 USB Dongles (Can’t use Pro-D funds for hardware :frowning_face: ).

All because, when it was first introduced, I thought the Particle Mesh would solve some daily random instability my Photons experience in a busy school wifi environment. I thought the Mesh connection redundancy would allow the wifi strong devices to support the wifi weak devices.

I am disappointed with Particles’ lack-luster interest in connecting their devices to a standard OpenThread network, as well as their non-response on setting up an education plan for when the Mesh is finally working. Presently my 15 Argon mesh would cost $200 per month which turns out to $2000.00 per school year so that I can teach students about the Particle devices instead of teaching about Arduinos!

Charging $2000.00 per school year to an education facility is a complete lack of understanding of education funding and a disgusting cash-grab by Particle. Note: Cloud9 charges me $1.00 per month for an education account and most other sites are completely free. If traffic is a concern I could probably setup my own cloud version.

This situation is not all without some positives:

  1. I learnt about po-util.com which is very good for programming any of the Particle devices.
  2. I learnt how to make true openthread networks, using the Border-Router, the Client and wpantund which runs wpanctl
  3. I can use openthread software to build and flash the CTL or NCP firmware to nrf52840 USB Dongles
  4. I learnt all about secured OpenThread devices and how important they are for network security but how difficult they are to program using nrfutil
  5. I learnt about “nrf-Connect for Desktop” and how good it is for flashing code to the USB Dongles
  6. I have done some great Argon Hacking using the extern C function that I am not completely ready to share yet.
  7. I have done some preliminary Particle-Openthread networking, but it needs work.
  8. I learnt that Particle is using there own experimental cloud version of OpenThread, instead of using a Border-Router for Thread Commissioning and the Mesh Internet Gateway.
  9. I can stop carrying 3 laptops home each day, setting up Thread networks at both home and school.
  10. I learnt that OpenThread is not really that hard to work with, it is just really confusing to get started as old examples don’t help with the new products. It could use a few more example webpages and it’s own community not just the openthread-users google group
  11. I made this really ugly, but useful OpenThread Installation Webpage
  12. I get to start exercising and not waking up at 5 am with solutions to this issue :smiley:
  13. I also get to use the amazing Photon again :smiley:
  14. I don’t have to do any prep, as my course is online here, I just add a bit about electric circuit components, the physics of current and voltage and lots of connecting circuits together. The basic course is: students draw circuits including connections to the Photon and then they make it work and take a video of it working, then repeat.
  15. It was kind of fun to have something really hard to work on.

Once again thanks to the Particle Community for all their positive support and useful suggestions. I don’t give up well, but I have a course to teach and need to put this aside for a bit.

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