The Arduino-based Smart Citizen Kit – designed by Acrobotic – is an open-source environmental monitoring platform powered by Atmel’s ATmega32U4.
Dubbed the Ambient Board, the Kit hardware comprises two printed-circuit boards – an interchangeable daughterboard or shield, and an Arduino-compatible data-processing board. As the name suggests, it is equipped with sensors to measure air composition (CO and NO2), temperature, light intensity, sound levels, and humidity.
“Once it’s set up, the ambient board is able to stream data measured by the sensors over Wi-Fi using the FCC-certified, wireless module on the data-processing board,” the Acrobotic crew explained in a Kickstarter post. “The device’s low power consumption allows for placing it on balconies and windowsills. Power to the device can be provided by a solar panel and/or battery.”
The Acrobotic crew also noted that it is currently designing additional shields for urban agriculture soil and water testing (in collaboration with Refarm The City), measuring electromagnetic fields, tracking energy consumption as well as air composition inside the home, and even monitoring biometrics. As expected, all the design files (both schematics and PCB layout) for the open-source platform are available on Acrobotic’s Github repository.
Meanwhile, the online component of the Smart Citizen Kit is used for logging and visualizing the data measured by the hardware. Once the platform is properly is configured, users can navigate to the website and visualize measurements, share data with others and view what other users in are reporting – all while querying the Application Programming Interface (API) to instantly access data across multiple devices.
Smart Citizen has already raised over $34,000 on Kickstarter, with close to 3– backers pledging their support for the project. Additional information can be found here on the official Smart Citizen website.
Note: “The Smart Citizen Kit was originally conceived at the Fab Lab Barcelona, in collaboration with Barcelona-based arts production center Hangar and the interaction design studio MID.”
Atmel | Bits & Pieces 