In this chapter, we are going to build a project that will continuously record data from sensors, and send this data over Wi-Fi so it's accessible from any web browser. This is great for a secret agent that wants to monitor a room remotely, without being seen. You'll of course be able to adapt the project with your own sensors, depending on what you want to record.
To do so, these are the steps we are going to take in this chapter:
- We will use Arduino along with the CC3000 Wi-Fi chip, which is quite convenient to give Wi-Fi connectivity to Arduino projects.
- We will send sensor data to an online service called dweet.io, and then display the result on a dashboard using Freeboard.io.
- Finally, we'll also see how to set up automated alerts based on the recorded data. Let's dive in!
First, let's see what the required components are for this project.
We'll of course use an Arduino Uno as the brain of the project. For Wi-Fi connectivity, we are going to use a CC3000 breakout board from Adafruit:
We'll also use a bunch of sensors to illustrate the behavior of the project: a DHT11 sensor for temperature and humidity, a photocell for light levels, and a motion sensor.
Finally, here is a list of all the components that we will use in this project:
- Arduino Uno (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11021)
- CC3000 breakout board (http://www.adafruit.com/product/1469)
- DHT11 sensor with 4.7k Ohm resistor (http://www.adafruit.com/product/386)
- Photocell (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9088)
- 10k Ohm resistor (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8374)
- PIR motion sensor (http://www.adafruit.com/product/189)
- Breadboard (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12002)
- Jumper wires (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8431)
On the software side, you need the latest version of the Arduino IDE. You will also need the following libraries:
- Adafruit CC3000 library
- Adafruit DHT library
To install these libraries, just use the Arduino library manager.