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Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is a useful and affordable way to create interaction. The Phidgets RFID reader offers solutions in near-field applications, allowing tags to be detected within a few centimeters.
At first glance, the device label property looks simple and maybe even dismissible. If you noticed it at all, you may have even wondered why it’s there, but be assured, there are some really neat things that you can do with it. You can hold device-specific flags, differentiate between multiple Phidgets by giving them meaningful names, or give them custom serial numbers.
There are many instances where Phidgets might get stuck outdoors: weather stations, RC vehicles (quadcopters, underwater vehicles, robots, etc), outdoor installations, and applications we haven't imagined yet. Some specific examples of Phidgets in the outdoors are a giant drum machine, a sky temperature scanner and precision agricultural monitors
There are quite a few users making their Phidget SBCs do data acquisition, and perhaps this is the plan you have for yours. Depending on how much data you want to collect, and because of limited space on the SBC itself, you’ll probably end up using something like a USB drive to store your data logs. It’s really easy to set up, but there are a couple gotchas that you might want to consider before writing your program, so let’s go over them and talk about the basics of logging to the USB flash drive from the SBC.
While many people prototype their designs with Phidgets, there are a lot of people making one-time installations to work with Phidgets on a long-term basis. These people make museum exhibits, as well as interactive art installations (like Eos Lightmedia). Phidgets help the creation of exhibits that move people from being passive observers to engaged participants in learning.
You might have noticed that sensor cables don’t come in a convenient round shape, which you sometimes need. A relatively easy solution is to grab a length of USB cable and solder the sensor cable wires onto the USB wires, and here are some easy instructions to get it working:
Use Phidgets to control a night light. In this project a pressure sensitive rug is attached to the SBC digital inputs to turn the LED light on and off. When the light is triggered, the SBC polls a temperature sensor and the lights takes on a colour based on the temperature outside. As the temperature changes, so does the colour displayed by the light. An IR distance sensor allows you to simply reach over and turn the light on (to white light) or off, so you don’t have to step on the rug all the time for light.
If you’ve never seen a thermocouple before, you might think it’s just a cable with some wires inside. Well, it is, in way, but it’s really a tool for measuring extreme temperatures far outside the range of many other types of temperature sensors. A thermocouple has two different conductors that produce a voltage. The voltage is proportional to the temperature difference between either end of the pair of conductor
When using certain sensors and devices, you'll need to do some calibration to ensure accurate measurements. For some sensors, you'll probably want to do your own calibration but some Phidgets sensors will have calibration values written on the back of the board (like the light sensors)
It begins as a grand idea. A flowering archway welcomes you onto a curving pathway. Fields of grass alight around your ankles, towering trees sing above your head and benches respond to your pressure, colouring a digital sky complete with a custom soundtrack. The landscape would take up a mere 1000 square feet.