ED-E uses six grove sensors to examine the environment around him:

• Flame
• Gas (H2, LPG, CH4, CO, Alcohol, Smoke, Propane)
• Air Quality (carbon monoxide, alcohol, acetone, thinner, formaldehyde)
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Sound

Every so often (the threshold can be set to whatever you wish) ED-E will poll the sensors and send the data to Intel Analytics. ED-E also stores the data in a local MySQL database in the case of no internet connection.

In the case of an emergency, like unsafe gases roaming your home, ED-E will sound a very loud and annoying buzzer to alert you. ED-E will also send you an email in case you are not at home. You can also view raw sensor data right on the base unit thanks to an OLED display and four buttons. You can also shutdown the unit from the display and display important information like the unit's IP address. Everything is enclosed in a two part 3D printed case.

ED-E also communicates with sensor units. Sensor units could be another gas sensor located in a different location or just a simple switch. The switch could be used to tell you when the mail has arrived or the front door opened.

Actuator units do the opposite as sensor units. From the Intel Dashboard you can send data to the base unit, which in turn sends it to the esp8266 actuator. The esp8266 can then do an action, like open up a relay to turn on a light. Note the setup I have below is really quite dangerous, so you might not want to hide mains connections in a Altoids tin. A better idea would be to use a powerswitch tail.