What types of sensors can be used with a mote?
Theoretically, any sensor can be integrated with a mote. The issue comes down to cost and complexity which can be categorized into one of three areas: Existing Sensor Boards (easy), External Data Acquisition Devices (medium), and Proprietary Black Boxes (difficult). The existing sensor boards can be used out of the box and include the following sensors: • Temperature • Light • Humidity • Barometric Pressure • Accelerometer • Magnetometer • Noise (sound) • GPS Particular sensor boards, such as the MDA300 from Crossbow, include up to 8 analog inputs and 8 digital I/O ports. With slightly more effort, these mote sensor boards can tie into external sensors or data acquisition devices. Example external sensors include: water level, soil moisture, PAR light, wind speed and direction. Finally, it is possible to develop a custom sensor interface that can tie into a proprietary or non-standard black-box. The basic sensor board includes a breadboard area that allows custom electronics for interf
