This guide describes how data is stored on the Atmotube PRO and outlines the various ways of collecting data using the device.
The Atmotube PRO contains 256 kB of onboard memory. The device can store 14,400 data points, which correspond to one data point per minute over 10 days (1440 minutes per day x 10 days). When the data capacity is full, the device will start wiping the earliest records to make space for new records, as in a cyclic buffer.
When the Atmotube application is open on a smartphone and connected to an Atmotube PRO unit or the PM sensor mode is set to “Always ON,” real-time 2-second measurements from the sensors are displayed within the application; however, the data from the sensors is stored as averaged 1-minute values.
The particulate matter (PM) sensor can be set to four different operation modes:
The expected battery life varies depending on the PM mode chosen in the app:
When Atmotube PRO is turned on, the device resumes collecting air quality data relative to the last known timestamp, which is the timestamp at which the device was last turned off. As the device memory stores one timestamp at a time, to avoid any loss of data, it is recommended to synchronize the historical data to a smartphone before deciding to turn the device off twice in a row. Here's a graphic illustration:
Historical data is stored in the onboard flash memory when the Atmotube PRO is not connected to a smartphone.
The historical data is transferred to the smartphone during data synchronization that occurs each time the device is connected to a smartphone. This enables the device to make data points available for new data to be stored in the onboard flash memory.
Therefore, it is important to remember that:
By default, the GPS data is gathered for each minute in a low-accuracy mode. More precise GPS coordinates will be recorded if the Atmotube app's "High accuracy GPS mode" setting is toggled on. The operating system of the smartphone and relevant location permissions affect the accuracy of GPS coordinates in each mode.
The “High accuracy GPS mode” uses significantly more battery power and may cause the smartphone battery to drain faster.
There are several ways of extracting data from Atmotube PRO.
All data synced from Atmotube PRO to a smartphone using the Atmotube application can be extracted in CSV format. You can download an example CSV here.
Note: We recommend the use of Android-based smartphones for data collection via the Atmotube application, as iOS-based smartphones have some operating system-based limitations on background app activity that may result in loss of GPS information.
The device is able to store 10 days' worth of data. On a smartphone, the data volume is limited only by the free space in the storage. The smartphone will have all the data if you synchronize more than once every 10 days. Synchronization starts when you connect to the device via the Atmotube application.
The "Export data to file" option in the Atmotube app settings can be used to export CSV data. After selecting a date range (available on the Android application), the resulting CSV file can then be shared using one of the available sharing options.
For instructions on how to open the CSV file, please refer to this page.
Data synchronized from Atmotube PRO to a smartphone is uploaded to a cloud server (depending on the availability of an internet connection). This data can be remotely accessed using the Atmotube Cloud API.
For detailed information on how to access and use the Atmotube Cloud API, please refer here.
Data from your Atmotube PRO(s) is automatically uploaded to the cloud servers only if the "Upload historical data to the cloud" option in the Atmotube application settings is enabled and the smartphone has an active internet connection.
The option can be found in the Atmotube application settings under the "Your Data" section.
Please contact us with the following information to have the "Upload historical data to the cloud" setting remotely enabled or disabled for your Atmotube PRO(s):
Here are instructions on how to locate the Serial Number(s) and Atmotube ID(s).
The Atmotube PRO Data Downloader Tool allows fetching data from an Atmotube PRO unit for a period of up to 7 days using a simple user interface.
Access to the Cloud API must be enabled in order to use this tool.
Our Bluetooth API can be used to work with Atmotube directly via a Bluetooth connection (without the Atmotube Application). You can write a custom program for Windows, Raspberry Pi, etc, to extract real-time data from the Atmotube PRO.
For detailed information on how to implement the Bluetooth API, please refer to our Bluetooth API guide.
