Visual alerts show when the carbon dioxide levels are getting high in meeting rooms at IBM’s IoT HQ in Munich. They use the building’s carbon dioxide sensors combined with GlowOrbs, designed and made by IBM’s Andy Stanford-Clark, to highlight when it is time to open a window.
I decided to make an “at home” version. I discovered most carbon dioxide sensors are rather expensive. The cheapest carbon dioxide sensor I found was the Rehau USB Stick Ambient Air Sensor. Not only does this detect carbon dioxide, it also detects many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ethanol, alcohol, benzene etc. I discovered, and I am blaming the cat for this, it can also work as a fartometer.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
