Case Study: Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieves real-time, low-cost volcanic air-quality monitoring with Particle's Electron

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Customer Case Study

Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists, working with the Kohala Center, needed a way to monitor hazardous volcanic emissions (sulfur dioxide and particulate matter) from Kīlauea in real time across many sites. They required low-cost, cellular-connected sensors that were easy to deploy and maintain — a need met by Particle’s Electron development kit, which includes a pre-installed SIM for out-of-the-box cellular connectivity.

Using Particle’s Electron and Cellular IoT SIMs, the team deployed roughly 40 sensors to create the Hawai'i Island Vog Network, enabling 24/7 remote monitoring and real-time air-quality data delivery to the public. The Particle-powered solution cut per-site costs from about $100,000 (typical EPA stations) to ~$1,000 (≈99% reduction), reduced data usage by up to ~60× per message, and expanded localized coverage and community engagement via voginfo.com.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

David Hagan

Software Engineer