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Overview

In this tutorial we'll show you how to catpure GPS data from a Particle electron every 5 minutes and then publish this data to a Minnovation server.

Setting up the Particle electron

The following code in the Particle Web IDE is used to test the GPS function of the Partcle electron using the Asset Tracker expansion board.

/* -----------------------------------------------------------
This example shows a lot of different features. As configured here
it'll check for a good GPS fix every 10 minutes and publish that data
if there is one. If not, it'll save you data by staying quiet. It also
registers 3 Particle.functions for changing whether it publishes,
reading the battery level, and manually requesting a GPS reading.
---------------------------------------------------------------*/

// Getting the library
#include "AssetTracker.h"



// Used to keep track of the last time we published data
long lastPublish = 0;

// How many minutes between publishes? 10+ recommended for long-time continuous publishing!
int delayMinutes = 1;
String location = "";

// Creating an AssetTracker named 't' for us to reference
AssetTracker t = AssetTracker();
char latLong[25];

bool publishGPS = true;


// setup() and loop() are both required. setup() runs once when the device starts
// and is used for registering functions and variables and initializing things
void setup() {
    // Sets up all the necessary AssetTracker bits
    t.begin();
    
    // Enable the GPS module. Defaults to off to save power. 
    // Takes 1.5s or so because of delays.
    t.gpsOn();
    

    
    // These three functions are useful for remote diagnostics. Read more below.
    Particle.variable("location", location);
    Particle.function("setPublish", setPublish);
    Particle.function("setDelay", setDelay);
}

// loop() runs continuously
void loop() {
    // You'll need to run this every loop to capture the GPS output
    t.updateGPS();

    // if the current time - the last time we published is greater than your set delay...
    if(millis()-lastPublish > delayMinutes*60*1000){
        // Remember when we published
        lastPublish = millis();
        
        //String pubAccel = String::format("%d,%d,%d",t.readX(),t.readY(),t.readZ());
        //Serial.println(pubAccel);
        //Particle.publish("A", pubAccel, 60, PRIVATE);
        
        // Dumps the full NMEA sentence to serial in case you're curious
        //Serial.println(t.preNMEA());
        
        // GPS requires a "fix" on the satellites to give good data,
        // so we should only publish data if there's a fix
        if(t.gpsFix()){
            
            location = t.readLatLon();
            location.toCharArray(latLong, 25);
            
            //pressCount++;
            String dataString = String(location);
            if (publishGPS == true){
                Particle.publish("gpsFix",dataString,60,PRIVATE);
                delay(500);
            }

        }
    }
}

int setPublish(String command){
    if (command == "on"){
        publishGPS = true;
        return 1;
    }
    if (command == "off"){
        publishGPS = false;
        return 0;
    }
}

int setDelay(String command){
    if (command == "5"){
        delayMinutes = 5;
        return 5;
    }
    if (command == "1"){
        delayMinutes = 1;
        return 1;
    }
}

The code can be modified to a streamlined version

/* -----------------------------------------------------------
This example shows a lot of different features. As configured here
it'll check for a good GPS fix every 5 minutes and publish that data
if there is one. If not, it'll save you data by staying quiet. 
---------------------------------------------------------------*/

// Getting the library
#include "AssetTracker.h"

// Used to keep track of the last time we published data
long lastPublish = 0;

// How many minutes between publishes? 
int delayMinutes = 5; // Aim to publish every 5 minutes
String location = "";

// Creating an AssetTracker named 't' for us to reference
AssetTracker t = AssetTracker();
char latLong[25];

bool publishGPS = true;


// setup() and loop() are both required. setup() runs once when the device starts
// and is used for registering functions and variables and initializing things
void setup() {
    // Sets up all the necessary AssetTracker bits
    t.begin();
    
    // Enable the GPS module. Defaults to off to save power. 
    // Takes 1.5s or so because of delays.
    t.gpsOn();
    
    // Check GPS data coordinates remotely using Particle Console
    Particle.variable("location", location);
}

// loop() runs continuously
void loop() {
    // You'll need to run this every loop to capture the GPS output
    t.updateGPS();

    // if the current time - the last time we published is greater than your set delay...
    if(millis()-lastPublish > delayMinutes*60*1000){
        // Remember when we published
        lastPublish = millis();
        
        // GPS requires a "fix" on the satellites to give good data,
        // so we should only publish data if there's a fix
        if(t.gpsFix()){
            
            location = t.readLatLon();
            location.toCharArray(latLong, 25);
            
            String dataString = String(location);
            if (publishGPS == true){
                Particle.publish("gpsFix",dataString,60,PRIVATE);
                delay(500);
            }

        }
    }
}

An example of the output from this code in included below.