"IoT is hard." So much so, that a whopping 75 percent of all IoT projects fail. There are a lot of reasons why this is the case, but often it stems from not having the right technology for the challenge of building connected products.

At Particle, we believe that real IoT is absolutely achievable, all that's needed is to give developers the most powerful technologies they need to solve the problems. That's why we used Thread to support Particle Mesh in our new IoT Wi-Fi and LTE developer kits: to give developers the tools they need to succeed.

The Challenge With Device-To-Device Communication

Historically, IoT devices connect directly to the cloud through Wi-Fi, cellular, or ethernet communication. They depend on the cloud to relay messages between devices, even if those devices are only meters away. This approach requires all devices to be Wi-Fi, LTE, or ethernet connected, which adds BOM and data costs, increases power demands, and introduces unnecessary points of failure leading to more network downtime. It's not a good solution.

With Particle Mesh, networks can cover more ground and capture more data with higher reliability at a reduced cost-ultimately making IoT solutions more intelligent. Thread makes that possible.

Thread + Particle = Particle Mesh

When we set out to build Particle Mesh we were looking for a technology that defined low-level network implementation while still providing room for extensibility. We chose Thread because it gives us a robust technical foundation to extend all the way to Particle Mesh.

Network Deployment
Thread defines simple ways to setup mesh networks, commission devices, and handle local network communication. We're taking that all the way to the cloud with low-cost, low-power devices to make it happen.

Out of the box, Particle Mesh devices build their own wireless mesh network and are easy to configure using a mobile app.. With a few taps, Particle Mesh devices build local networks, automatically manage device configurations, and securely store important network configs in the Particle Device Cloud. And best of all, Particle Mesh makes it, so developers don't have to be a networking guru to pull it off.

Local Management From Anywhere You Want
Thread specifies how local devices report their health and network status; Particle Mesh extends that so that you can monitor your local mesh networks from anywhere.

Using the Particle Mesh's Device Cloud, group devices as products, schedule over-the-air updates to local mesh networks, and keep tabs on the overall health of each and every local mesh network and device in your product fleet. It's all possible thanks to Particle Mesh and Device Cloud.

Secure By Default
Security is central to Thread's networking protocol. As part of that, it ensures only trusted devices can join a local mesh network and encrypts all local traffic. Particle Mesh extends that security from the local to the cloud and provides end-to-end security, so your information stays yours, and your networks don't become compromised.

Plus there are other great benefits of using Thread, like low-power, no single point of network failure, and easily scale to large network size.

Open Standards To Further The Reach Of IoT

The true impact of using open standards is enabling a community to contribute to the advancement of infrastructure that drives everyone forward. Thread was created to support developers in building connected products with a networking protocol that activates the internet in IoT.

That's why we choose to build our new hardware portfolio on Thread-it provides the critical technical elements specifically designed for building IoT on open standards.

Beyond Thread, Particle Mesh continues our investment in open standards by leveraging CoAP transfer protocol, the Adafruit Featherwing form factor, and open source hardware, software, and developer tools.

The New Internet For The Internet Of Things

Particle Mesh includes three new devices that are fully integrated with the Particle Device Cloud:

• The Argon is a powerful Wi-Fi and mesh-enabled, battery-powered device that works for stand-alone IoT products and acts as a gateway for mesh nodes in IoT solutions - $15 preorder / $19 retail
• The Boron is a global LTE/GSM and mesh-enabled, battery-powered device that works for stand-alone IoT products and acts as a gateway for mesh nodes in IoT solutions - $29 preorder / $39 retail
• The Xenon is a low-cost, mesh-only endpoint device that creates a local network when connected with an Argon or Boron - $9 preorder / $12 retail

We believe that mesh networking powered by Thread technology and Particle Mesh is the future of real IoT-the tools to help developers solve problems before they happen.

Making Mesh Accessible to Everyone

Particle Mesh is built on Thread technology, and is the future of IoT. We've built the hardware, software, and cloud solutions, and we're so excited to introduce Particle Mesh to developers around the world.

To learn more about Particle Mesh and the new family of mesh-ready hardware, visit www.Particle.io/mesh. Shipping in July 2018.