A remote sensing device is described. The remote sensing device includes an enclosure that houses a smartphone processor, a smartphone memory, a sensor module, a separate microcontroller, a wireless communication module, and a first printed circuit board. The remote sensing device includes a smartphone operating system having a kernel that includes a plurality of device drivers. The smartphone processor, smartphone memory, sensor module and wireless communications module are managed by the smartphone operating system. The separate microcontroller includes a power management module. A battery is electrically coupled to the microcontroller. The battery powers the smartphone processor, the smartphone memory, and the sensor module. The wireless communication module is communicatively coupled to a wide area network. The first printed circuit board includes the smartphone processor, the smartphone memory, and the wireless communication module.