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The kit is BACK! 📢

Announcements
#1

Hi everyone!

The kit is BACK! :loudspeaker: Together with Seeed Studio, from Fab Lab Barcelona we are introducing the latest version of the Smart Citizen Kit: the SCK2.3.

We are very excited about this! The new kit is backward compatible, and it introduces a new, more robust, PM sensor and a more robust firmware loaded with features, while maintaining everything that made the previous versions great!

The Smart Citizen Kit 2.3 is now available for pre-order at Seeed website for $149. If you want to support Smart Citizen, we’re also offering an early bird discount of 10%.

:sunny: Use the code Smartcitizen to enjoy this exclusive discount NOW as it’s a limited offer that expires on December 20, 2024.

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Documentation is coming soon, but here you have some feats:

  • Multi-Sensor Capabilities: The new SCK2.3 is compatible with the previous SCK2.1. It brings new sensors, more customization, and exciting features that allow anyone to accurately measure and collect better quality data, including UV readings, an improved PM sensor to better measure air quality, along with the classic sensors from the previous SCK2.1: temperature, humidity, noise and light pollution.
  • Open Source Hardware with Customization Options: As with previous versions, the SCK2.3 is fully open source, you can add multiple sensors and customize its hardware and firmware, tailoring the SCK to meet their specific needs. We have worked hard to put together a field-tested, diverse selection of new sensors to measure additional metrics for indoor and outdoor air quality, and water and soil measurements.
  • 3D printed enclosures: In addition, at Fab Lab Barcelona we have designed a wide range of open-source designs that allow users to 3D print and build their enclosures, recycling them when they are done, and saving some industrial plastic manufacturing in the process.
  • New changes to the Platform coming in January! The Smart Citizen Platform is completely open for people to access, making it easy for anyone to play, experiment, and work with environmental data!

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#2

One might also hope that there has been some consideration given to facilitating alternative Comms options such as Lorawan, 4G/5G, (etc).
Perhaps it could be paired with Seed’s ReCompute module, but some work required on instructions for the necessary steps.

#3

Hi @bryn.parrott

Really nice to see you again in the forum.

That’s for sure. We have been looking at various of these options, and we are currently seeking some dev support on making these and other changes in the future. Another option is a heltec wifi to LoRa bridge, which seems quite OK cost-wise.

Just to say, that we have had a pretty busy and eventful couple of years after the covid pandemic. Beyond redesigning the Urban Board and adding many more sensors to the firmware (and making it all very stable), we have been quite busy reworking the data platform (you’ll see updates in January/February 2025) and deploying a lot of sensors for quite some projects. This has completely absorbed our capacity to develop on more communication protocols, which is the much needed next step.

For this, we are looking at working more with Seeedstudio, given their capacity and hardware portfolio. However, on our end (at the Fab Lab), we have also seen some work colleagues move on to other things, which has made our progress significantly slower, especially with all the extra stuff going on in deployments. However, now that we are back, we are really looking forward to find new ways to collaborate and develop the communication stack futher, while keeping backward compatibility. In that sense, if anybody is listening, wants to contribute and even arrange a deal, feel free to reach out. One first thing to do is, as you said, document a good couple of options for bridging to LoRa or other LTE options.

In any case, we are really happy to be back and selling again through Seeed, especially after all these events, starting from crazy times at the covid pandemic, and all the ripple effects that came after. Really looking forward to all the projects that all of you will do with the hardware!

#4

Thanks Oscar for your response.
I have moved countries since my previous involvement. Now in Christchurch, New Zealand. The air is much cleaner here compared to Taiwan. The environmental issues extant here include:
a) UV Exposure, NZ is right under the hole in the Ozone Layer, and I have had skin cancers removed.
b) Water quality. Natural water flows contain pollution of Nitrates, leading to toxic algae growth in natural water lakes etc. The Nitrates stem from farming of animals (mainly sheep and cattle).
c) Earthquakes: NZ is on the Pacific Rim, has several active volcanoes, and Christchurch where I live had two earthquakes a year apart.

My previous foray into Smart Citizen station with its extra gas sensors of unsupported type “Spec Sensors” led me into a blind alley, which discouraged me a lot, as I put rather a lot of effort into trying to make it work. But I still have it, and could perhaps bring it up to date by replacing the Boards with new versions at some stage.

Anyway, I retain my interest in environmental monitoring. But lack time as my interests have turned to 3D Printing as a small business, that was triggered in part by exposure to 3DP as part of the Smart Citizen project.