Halloween / Sensors

This camera module can be a pretty neat project addition. It was designed to be used in security systems and does two main things - it outputs NTSC video and can take snapshots of that video (in color) and transmit them over the TTL serial link. You can snap pictures at 640x480, 320x240 or 160x120 and they're pre-compressed JPEG images which makes them nice and small...

PIR sensors are used to detect motion from pets/humanoids from about 20 feet away (possibly works on zombies, not guaranteed). This one has an adjustable delay before firing (approx 2-4 seconds), adjustable sensitivity and we include a 1 foot (30 cm) cable with a socket so you can easily reposition the sensor or mount it using the two holes on either side. Runs on...

An assortment of the most common sensors used in electronics. 9 sensors and 3 additional components to interface with the 'analog world'. We have some tutorials here, to get you started. Includes Triple-axis analog accelerometer - for measuring motion and tilt. Force sensitive resistor - for sensing pressure/force. Temperature sensor - for measuring from -40 to over...

This SHARP distance sensor bounces IR off objects to determine how far away they are. It returns an analog voltage that can be used to determine how close the nearest object is. Comes with 12" long 3-JST interface wire. These sensors are good for short-range detection. For over 1 m distance, we suggest using sonar sensors To use, connect black wire to ground, red...

LV-EZ1 Maxbotix Ultrasonic Rangefinder provides very short to long-range detection and ranging, in an incredibly small package. It can detect objects from 0-inches to 254-inches (6.45-meters) and provides sonar range information from 6-inches out to 254-inches with 1-inch resolution. (Objects from 0 inches to 6-inches range as 6-inches.) The interface output formats...

FSRs are sensors that allow you to detect physical pressure, squeezing and weight. They are simple to use and low cost. This sensor is an Alpha MF01A-N-221-A01 with 1/2 diameter sensing region. We used to stock the Interlink model 402 FSR - the Alpha version is almost half the price but the same quality and size! FSR's are basically a resistor that changes its...

CdS cells are little light sensors. As the squiggly face is exposed to more light, the resistance goes down. When it's light, the resistance is about ~1KΩ, when dark it goes up to ~10KΩ. To use, connect one side of the photocell (either one, it's symmetric) to power (for example 5V) and the other side to your microcontroller's analog input pin. Then...

Add an ear to your project with this well-designed electret microphone amplifier with AGC. This fully assembled and tested board comes with a 20-20KHz electret microphone soldered on. For the amplification, we use the Maxim MAX9814, a specialty chip that is designed for amplifying electret microphones in situations where the loudness of the audio isn't predictable....

This sensor can detect flexing or bending in one direction. They were popularized by being used in the Nintendo PowerGlove as a gaming interface. These sensors are easy to use, they are basically resistors that change value based on how much they're flexed. If they're unflexed, the resistance is about ~10KΩ. When flexed all the way the resistance rises to...

This SHARP distance sensor bounces IR off objects to determine how far away they are. It returns an analog voltage that can be used to determine how close the nearest object is. Comes with 8" long 3-JST interface wire. These sensors are good for detection between 20cm-150cm. For over 1 m distance, we suggest using sonar sensors. To use, connect black wire to ground,...

FSRs are sensors that allow you to detect physical pressure, squeezing and weight. They are simple to use and low cost. This sensor is an Alpha MF02A-N-221-A01 FSR with a 38mm square sensing region. Note that this sensor can't detect where on the square you pressed (for that, check out our ribbon soft pots or capacitive touch pad ). FSRs are basically a resistor that...

Punch in your secret key into this numeric matrix keypad. This keypad has 12 buttons, arranged in a telephone-line 3x4 grid. It's made of a thin, flexible membrane material with an adhesive backing (just remove the paper) so you can attach it to nearly anything. The keys are connected into a matrix, so you only need 7 microcontroller pins (3-columns and 4-rows) to...

This sensor can detect flexing or bending in one direction. They were popularized by being used in the Nintendo PowerGlove as a gaming interface. These sensors are easy to use, they are basically resistors that change value based on how much their flexed. If they're unflexed, the resistance is about ~25KΩ. When flexed all the way the resistance rises to...

Hall effect sensors detect whether a magnet is near. Useful for non-contact/waterproof type switches, position sensors, rotary/shaft encoders. I tried dozens of different hall effect sensors to see which one would work best for the SpokePOV kit (to determine the wheel location) and this one came out on top! Runs at 3.5V up to 24V. To use connect power to pin 1 (all...

The "poor man's" accelerometer! Tilt sensors are switches that can detect basic motion/orientation. The metal tube has a little metal ball that rolls around in it, when its tilted upright, the ball rolls onto the contacts sticking out of end and shorts them together. Be sure to read our detailed tutorial including diagrams and example code.

Piezo buzzers are used for making beeps, tones and alerts. This one is petite but loud! Drive it with 3-30V peak-to-peak square wave. To use, connect one pin to ground (either one) and the other pin to a square wave out from a timer or microcontroller. For the loudest tones, stay around 4 KHz, but works quite well from 2KHz to 10KHz. For extra loudness, you can...

Add lots of touch sensors to your next microcontroller project with this easy-to-use 8-channel capacitive touch sensor breakout board, starring the CAP1188. This chip can handle up to 8 individual touch pads, and has a very nice feature that makes it stand out for us: it will light up the 8 onboard LEDs when the matching touch sensor fires to help you debug your...

This breakout board is the simplest way to create a project with a single "toggle" capacitive touch sensor. No microcontroller is required here - just power with 1.8 to 5.5VDC and touch the pad to activate the sensor. This sensor is a toggle output type: touch-on then touch-off. That means that when a capacitive load is detected (e.g. a person touches the sensor-pad...

LV-EZ4 Maxbotix Ultrasonic Rangefinder provides very short to long-range detection and ranging, in an incredibly small package. It can detect objects from 0-inches to 254-inches (6.45-meters) and provides sonar range information from 6-inches out to 254-inches with 1-inch resolution. (Objects from 0 inches to 6-inches range as 6-inches.) The interface output formats...

Add lots of touch sensors to your next microcontroller project with this easy-to-use 12-channel capacitive touch sensor breakout board, starring the MPR121. This chip can handle up to 12 individual touchpads. The MPR121 has support for only I2C, which can be implemented with nearly any microcontroller. You can select one of 4 addresses with the ADDR pin, for a total...

LV-EZ0 Maxbotix Ultrasonic Rangefinder provides very short to long-range detection and ranging, in an incredibly small package. It can detect objects from 0-inches to 254-inches (6.45-meters) and provides sonar range information from 6-inches out to 254-inches with 1-inch resolution. (Objects from 0 inches to 6-inches range as 6-inches.) The interface output formats...

Punch in your secret key into this numeric membrane keypad. This keypad has 4 buttons, and since every key has its own wire line, no matrix code is required - just treat these like every day switches. The membrane is soft and has a removable paper backing to expose a strong adhesive so you can stick this on an enclosure and feed the cable through a slot. Its a simple...

The "poor man's" accelerometer/motion sensor! These spring-vibration switches are high sensitivity non-directional vibration induced trigger switches. Inside is a very soft spring coiled around a long metal pin. When the switch is moved, the spring touches the center pole to make contact. So, when there's motion, the two pins will act like a closed switch. When...

This membrane keypad has a single key, but it does have an embedded surface-mount red LED installed. The flex cable is also extra-long, so we can think of a lot of wearable and portable projects that would use this sort of switch and have an LED as feedback (say, to indicate that an action is occuring or the power is on). Since the keypad is soft plastic, it can be...

The "poor man's" accelerometer/motion sensor! These spring-vibration switches are low sensitivity non-directional vibration induced trigger switches. Inside is a stiff spring coiled around a long metal pin. When the switch is moved, the spring touches the center pole to make contact. So, when there's motion, the two pins will act like a closed switch. When everything...

The Adafruit VL53L1X Time of Flight Distance Sensor (also known as VL53L1CX) is a Time of Flight distance sensor that has a massive 4 meter range and LIDAR-like precision. The sensor contains a very tiny invisible laser source and a matching sensor. The VL53L1X can detect the "time of flight", or how long the light has taken to bounce back to the sensor. Since it...

PIR sensors are used to detect motion from pets/humanoids from about 5 meters away (possibly works on zombies, not guaranteed). This sensor is much smaller than most PIR modules, which makes it great for unobtrusive projects. It's also fully-contained - only needs power and ground, and it's breadboard or perfboard friendly. Usage is super simple: You can power it...

The Adafruit VL53L4CX Time of Flight Sensor is another great Time of Flight distance sensor from ST in the VL5 series of chips, this one is great for long distances - it goes up to 6 meters compared with 4 meter max of the VL53L1X. The sensor contains a very tiny invisible laser source and a matching sensor. The VL53L4CX can detect the "time of flight", or how long...

The VL53L0X is a Time of Flight distance sensor like no other you've used! The sensor contains a very tiny invisible laser source, and a matching sensor. The VL53L0X can detect the "time of flight", or how long the light has taken to bounce back to the sensor. Since it uses a narrow light source, it is good for determining distance of the surface directly in front of...

The VL6180X (sometimes called the VL6180) is a Time of Flight distance sensor like no other you've used! The sensor contains a very tiny laser source, and a matching sensor. The VL6180X can detect the "time of flight", or how long the laser light has taken to bounce back to the sensor. Since it uses a very narrow light source, it is good for determining distance of...

Add lots of touch sensors to your next microcontroller project with this easy-to-use 12-channel capacitive touch sensor breakout board, starring the MPR121. This chip can handle up to 12 individual touchpads with plug-and-play STEMMA QT connector and large alligator/croc-clip friendly pads, its a no-solder solution to capacitive touch sensing. The MPR121 has support...

PIR sensors are used to detect motion from pets/humanoids from about 5 meters away (possibly works on zombies, not guaranteed). This sensor is much smaller than most PIR modules, which makes it great for unobtrusive projects. It's also fully-contained - only needs power, ground and a resistor to set the delay time - and breadboard or perfboard friendly. Runs on 3.3V...

This Square Silicone Button PWM Controller is a satisfyingly-squishy, easy-to-wire PWM output button controller with three color power-adjustment statuses in red, blue, and green. A simple way to add a three-cycle power/PWM button and a colorful universal power symbol to your project. These were originally designed for controlling heating pad modules in wearable...

PIR sensors are used to detect motion from pets/humanoids from about 5 meters away (possibly works on zombies, not guaranteed). This sensor is much smaller than most PIR modules, which makes it great for unobtrusive projects. It's also fully-contained - only needs power, ground and a resistor to set the delay time - and breadboard or perfboard friendly. Runs on 3.3V...

This breakout board is the simplest way to create a project with a single "momentary" capacitive touch sensor. No microcontroller is required here - just power with 1.8 to 5.5VDC and touch the pad to activate the sensor. When a capacitive load is detected (e.g. a person touches the sensor-pad area) the red LED lights up and the output pin goes high. You can also...

The Adafruit VL53L4CD Time of Flight Sensor is another great Time of Flight distance sensor from ST in the VL5 series of chips, this one is great for shorter distances. The sensor contains a very tiny invisible laser source and a matching sensor. The VL53L4CD can detect the "time of flight", or how long the light has taken to bounce back to the sensor. Since it uses...

FSRs are sensors that allow you to detect physical pressure, squeezing and weight. They are simple to use and low cost. FSR's are basically a resistor that changes its resistive value (in ohms Ω) depending on how much its pressed. These sensors are fairly low cost, and easy to use but they're rarely accurate. They also vary some from sensor to sensor perhaps...

This tiny little camera module can be a pretty neat project addition, it is just like our other JPEG cameras (same chipset/software), but much smaller and slimmer. It was designed to be used in security systems and does two main things - it outputs NTSC color video and can take snapshots of that video (in color) and transmit them over the TTL serial link. You can...

The VCNL4010 sensor is a nice way to add a small-distance proximity sensor to your microcontroller project. For longer distances (in the range of cm, you can use a SHARP IR distance sensor, but those are only good if the object is over 10 cm away. The VCNL4010 is designed for much shorter distances, no more than 200mm (about 7.5") and under our experimentation we...

Discontinued - you can grab this Pulse Sensor Amped instead! Read wireless heart-rate data into your electronics projects in under 10 minutes with this educational experimentation kit for Polar wireless heart rate bands. This pack is designed for students, hobbyists, engineers, and artists who want to add biometric interactivity to electronics. This is the easiest...

Discontinued - you can grab Adafruit VL53L1X Time of Flight Distance Sensor - ~30 to 4000mm - STEMMA QT / Qwiic instead! This extra-long-range SHARP distance sensor bounces IR off objects to determine how far away they are. It returns an analog voltage that can be used to determine how close the nearest object is. Comes with 6" long 6-JST interface wire. These...

The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line is the most cost-effective solution for applications where precision range-finding, low-voltage operation, space-saving, and low-cost are needed. The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line provides high accuracy and high-resolution ultrasonic proximity detection and ranging in air, in a package less than one cubic inch. This sensor line...

FSRs are sensors that allow you to detect physical pressure, squeezing and weight. They are simple to use and low cost. This sensor is a Interlink model 408 FSR with a massive 1/4-inch x 24-inch sensing region. You can press anywhere along the strip and the pressure will be recognized. Note that this sensor can't detect where on the strip you pressed (for that, check...

This cyber-tronic looking sensor hides a secret behind its glimmering eye. Unlike most temperature sensors, this sensor measures infrared light emitted off of remote objects so it can sense temperature without having to touch them physically. Simply point the sensor towards what you want to measure and it will detect the temperature by absorbing IR waves emitted....

The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line is the most cost-effective solution for applications where precision range-finding, low-voltage operation, space-saving, and low cost are needed. The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line provides high accuracy and high-resolution ultrasonic proximity detection and ranging in air, in a package less than one cubic inch. This sensor line...

The Sensor Film Kit is a great new way to make custom-sized sensors out of force sensitive material. This kit includes one piece of black plastic sensor film (it's thicker and more durable than Velostat but similar in function), two pieces of heavy aluminum foil, and two pieces of clear adhesive polyester film. The sensor film is super durable and changes its...

The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line is the most cost-effective solution for applications where precision range-finding, low-voltage operation, space-saving, and low-cost are needed. The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line provides high accuracy and high-resolution ultrasonic proximity detection and ranging in air, in a package less than one cubic inch. This sensor line...

LV-EZ3 Maxbotix Ultrasonic Rangefinder provides very short to long-range detection and ranging, in an incredibly small package. It can detect objects from 0-inches to 254-inches (6.45-meters) and provides sonar range information from 6-inches out to 254-inches with 1-inch resolution. (Objects from 0 inches to 6-inches range as 6-inches.) The interface output formats...

LV-EZ2 Maxbotix Ultrasonic Rangefinder provides very short to long-range detection and ranging, in an incredibly small package. It can detect objects from 0-inches to 254-inches (6.45-meters) and provides sonar range information from 6-inches out to 254-inches with 1-inch resolution. (Objects from 0 inches to 6-inches range as 6-inches.) The interface output formats...

The HRLV-MaxSonar-EZ sensor line is the fastest way to get precision range-finding into your computer. No microcontroller or adapter required, simply connect any micro B USB cable (not included) into the sensor and install the FTDI drivers to get serial sonar distance data via serial on any computer operating system. The HR-USB-EZ sensor line provides high accuracy...

This impressive-looking horn is actually an ultrasonic sensor, ready for panel mount use. Inside is a module that uses high-frequency signals to determine distance to a surface, and the horn helps guide the waveform so it can reach farther without spreading too wide. It's elegant looking and is more durable than the 'raw' ultrasonics we sell a lot of, so it would do...

This sleek-looking 'button' is actually an ultrasonic sensor, ready for panel mount use. Inside is a module that uses high-frequency signals to determine distance to a surface. It's elegant looking and is more durable than the 'raw' ultrasonics we sell a lot of, so it would do well in a garage, robot, or installation where you want a durable dust and...