The Sensirion SHT31 Smart Gadget Development Kit
Almost everything in the Internet of Things (IoT) replies on sensors of some sort. These sensors gather various forms of data including atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity for weather stations, pulse rate and SpO2 levels for medical devices, and vibration and equipment temperatures for industrial equipment. The sensors that measure the specific parameters must then get that data back to a point where it can be processed and manipulated for indication and/or control purposes.
Using sensors and designing the supporting circuitry for the job would take a lot of time and resources to develop. However, using pre-qualified wireless sensor modules in the system design would save much development time and money. All that needs to be done in this case is select the wireless sensor module that you need and integrate it directly into your system.
Maxim's MAXWSNENV# Wireless Sensor Node Demonstrator Kit
There are a number of design aids available to help in wireless sensor development. One such resource is the Sensirion SHT31 Smart Gadget Development Kit. This kit includes a humidity and temperature sensor, LCD display, data logging capabilities, and BLE connectivity to iOS and Android devices. The SHT31 Smart Gadget is intended to be a reference design and development kit to aid developers in getting a head-start on their wireless sensor projects. Sensirion has provided several design resources on their GitHub page including PCB layout, schematic, BOM, firmware for the BLE module and LCD driver, and software code for both the iOS and Android apps.
Another option to consider for development purposes is the Maxim MAXWSNENV# Wireless Sensor Node Demonstrator kit. With this kit, Maxim’s wireless sensor node (WSN) technology can be evaluated. This kit includes a MAX32600 microcontroller, a BLE transceiver, and sensors for temperature, ambient light, humidity, and barometric pressure on the environmental sensor board. Also included is a MAXHDK ARM mbed HDK-compatible hardware development board, a USB cable to connect the two boards, and a coin cell battery to power the MAXWSNENV board. This is a general purpose kit which allows the user to develop IoT nodes that interface with a wireless sensor network.
These are just a couple of tools available for wireless sensor development. A designer can quickly get their own wireless sensor modules up and running and continue with their overall system design by using one of the kits discussed here or the many other resources available.