Projects

1. Click on the projects listed on the left-hand-side for developed sample project descriptions and code.

2. Use the SensorStick as a neat tool to learn physics and engineering by doing experiments
    Most experiments are easily setup and no programming skills are required. Some example projects and potential experiments are listed below.

• Light sensor
  
  • Florescent light (detection of high frequency flicker)
  • Intensity versus distance
  • Polarization
  • Color spectrum
    
• Accelerometer
  • Study the effect of digital filters
  • Free fall detectors
  • Pendulum and any oscillation periods
  Acceleration of jump, bungee jump
  • Newton's Second Law (e.g. cart on a ramp; use light sensor to determine motion time)
    
• Magnetic Field Sensor
• Earth’s magnetic field
• The magnetic field of a wire, a coil and a solenoid mapped in three-dimensions
• The magnetic field of a permanent magnet
• Combination of Accelerometer and Magnetic Field Sensor
• 3D compass
• Joystick
• Sliding ball game
• Temperature /humidity / pressure sensor
• Weather station (weather forecast)
• Confirmation of PV=nRT

3. Learn how each sensor works. There is an interesting story for each of six types of sensor on SensorStick, involving a lot of physics principles and advanced nanotechnology.

4. Firmware development with bootloader. Users can write their own firmware and burn the new firmware into SensorStick with the built-in bootloader. Embedded firmware is difficult to learn and write compared with host software development. That is why good embedded programmers generally have no problem finding a job! The bootloader-enabled SensorStick becomes a handy tool for you to practice your firmware development skills.

5. For advanced users, SesorStick offers opportunities to building real applications. You can use it to learn programming and digital signal processing for real-time applications.

• Design and test a digital filter
• Free-fall detector
• Joystick
• Compass
• Instantaneous power detector (weight lifting)
• Human motion characterization
• Motion game
• Mouse
• drawing pen
…