Top 10 Raspberry pi sensors used in projects

1) Raspberry Pi UV Sensor

By using this sensor, we can find the presence of UV light. It can be done by using the Python programming language.

To make this project work, we’ll be using Adafruit’s VEML6075 library. This library handles most of the grunt work by doing all the necessary calculations for working out the UV index and shows the value of the UVA and UVB from the UV sensor.

The VEML6075 UV Sensor detects both UVA (ultraviolet A/longwave) and UVB (ultraviolet B/shortwave) light bands.

One of the best features of this sensor is that it sends data via the I2C serial interface, making it very easy to interact with.

You can use this sensor along with the many other sensors that work with the Raspberry Pi.

You can make a dedicated weather station by using various sensors.

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Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card (8GB+)
  • Breadboard wire
  • VEML6075 UV Sensor
  • Breadboard
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse
  • HDMI Cable
  • Monitor

Raspberry Pi VEML6075 UV Sensor Setup

In this section, we will demonstrate how to connect the VEML6075 UV Sensor to the Raspberry Pi.

  • Connect the VEML6075 UV Sensor’s VIN pin to the Raspberry Pi’s Physical Pin 1 (3v3).
  • Connect the VEML6075 UV Sensor’s GND pin to Raspberry Pi’s Physical Pin 6 (GND).
  • Connect the VEML6075 UV Sensor’s SDA pin to Raspberry Pi’s Physical Pin 3 (SDA).
  • Connect the VEML6075 UV Sensor’s SCL pin to the Raspberry Pi’s Physical Pin 5 (SCL).

2) Raspberry Pi Distance Sensor using the HC-SR04

In this section, we will discuss wiring up the sensor with the Raspberry Pi as well as discussing how we can use the sensor to read distance.

This sensor is used to find the distance between the objects.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi 2 or newer
  • Micro SD Card
  • Power Supply
  • HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor
  • 1k OHM Resistor
  • 2k OHM Resistor
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi

Raspberry Pi Distance Sensor Hardware Setup

We’ll show you how to connect your HC-SR04 Distance Sensor to your Raspberry Pi in this part. Wiring your sensor is a reasonably simple operation because the majority of the distance sensor’s pins map directly to a Raspberry Pi pin.

  • VCC Connects to Pin 2 (5v)
  • GPIO 4Trig Connects to Pin 7
  • Echo Connects to R1 (1k Ω)
  • 2k Ω (R1) Connects to the Ground
  • Pin 11 is connected to the R1 and R2
  • GND connects to Pin 6 (Ground)

3) Raspberry Pi Temperature Sensor

In this section, We will look into the basics of configuring your very own Raspberry Pi temperature sensor. I’ll be using a ds18B20 waterproof sensor with a one-wire interface that can supply temperatures. Even better, this sensor is waterproof, making it ideal for usage in damp conditions.

There are other temperature sensors that may be used with your Raspberry Pi, but in this article, we will concentrate on the ds18b20.

The ds18b20 temperature sensor will come in helpful in a variety of scenarios, particularly when monitoring the temperatures of surfaces and liquids.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • DS18B20 Temperature Sensor
  • 4.7k ohm Resistor
  • GPIO breakout kit
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi

Hardware Setup of Temperature sensor

Step 1: Connect the Pi’s 3v3 pin to the positive rail and a ground pin to the ground rail on the breadboard first.

Step 2: Place the DS18B20 sensor on the breadboard now.

Step 3: Connect a 4.7k resistor between the sensor’s positive and output leads.

Step 4: Connect the positive lead to the positive 3v3 rail via a wire.

Step 5: Connect the output lead to Raspberry Pi pin #4 (or Pin #7 if using physical numbers).

Step 6: Connect the ground lead to the ground rail with a wire.

4) Raspberry Pi Light Sensor using a simple LDR

In this Raspberry Pi light sensor tutorial, we will demonstrate how to properly connect the photoresistor sensor to the GPIO pins.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Power Supply
  • Micro SD Card
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi
  • LDR Sensor (Light sensor)
  • 1uF Capacitor
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse
  • GPIO Breakout Kit
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire

Hardware Setup of Light Sensor

Step 1: First, connect breadboard pin #1 (3v3) to the positive rail.

Step 2: Next, connect pin #6 (ground) to the breadboard’s ground rail.

Step 3: Now, solder the LDR sensor to the board and connect one end to the positive rail.

Step 4: Connect a wire from the LDR sensor to the Raspberry Pi on the other side. Connect this to pin #7.

Step 5: Finally, connect the capacitor from the wire to the breadboard’s negative rail. Check that the capacitor’s negative pin is in the negative rail.

5) Raspberry Pi Motion Sensor using a PIR Sensor

In this article, we’ll create a Raspberry Pi motion sensor that uses a PIR sensor (Passive Infrared Sensor).

A PIR sensor is a basic yet effective gadget for sensing movement. These sensors were widely employed in older-style security systems.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • PIR Sensor
  • Piezo Speaker
  • 100 ohm resistor
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi
  • GPIO Breakout Kit
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire

6) Raspberry Pi Humidity Sensor using DHT22

The DHT22 is a multifunctional and low-cost humidity sensor that can also compute an area’s temperature.

This sensor has a reasonably long transmission distance, allowing it to communicate data up to 20m away from the Raspberry Pi via cables.

As an added bonus, the DHT22 is a digital sensor with an analog to digitalX converter built in. The converter makes connecting the sensor to the Raspberry Pi easier because no additional chips are required.

The main disadvantage of the DHT11 and DHT22 sensors is their slowness. They sample once per second for the DHT11 and twice every two seconds for the DHT22.

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Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • Humidity Sensor
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi
  • GPIO Breakout Kit
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire

7) Raspberry Pi RFID RC522 Chip

This is a fun circuit to experiment with because it allows you to create a wide range of projects, from utilising it as an attendance system to opening a lock.

Based on the MFRC522 microcontroller, the RFID RC522 is a low-cost RFID (Radio-frequency identification) reader and writer.

This microcontroller transmits data using the SPI protocol and communicates with RFID tags by generating a 13.56MHz electromagnetic field.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • Power Supply
  • RC522 RFID Reader
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi

Hardware Setup

Step1: First and foremost, if the header pins that came with the RC522 aren’t the correct size, snap them down so that you just have a single row of eight pins.

Step2: Insert the header pins into the RC522’s holes. One useful approach is to place the long side of the header pins on a breadboard before placing the circuit on top of the header pins. The breadboard will tightly grip the pins, making soldering them to the RFID RC522 circuit easier.

Step3: Now, solder each of the pins slowly with a hot soldering iron and some solder. Remember to briefly heat the joint before applying solder to it; this will ensure that the solder adheres more to the joint and reduces the possibility of forming a cold joint. We also advise being cautious with the amount of solder you use.

Step4: Now that the header pins have been attached to your RFID circuit, it is ready to use, and you can proceed with the instruction.

8) Raspberry Pi ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)

In this tutorial, I will walk you through the process of configuring a Raspberry Pi ADC (Analog to digital converter).

As you may be aware, the Raspberry Pi lacks analog GPIO pins. Because of the lack of analog pins, attaching analog sensors is a little more difficult.

There are numerous solutions to the lack of Analog pins, such as the one I demonstrated in the Raspberry Pi LDR guide, which required measuring the resistance of the LDR using a capacitor (Light Dependent Resistor).

An analog-digital converter would be a better answer to this problem (MCP3008).

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi
  • Power Supply
  • MCP3008 or similar
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse
  • GPIO Breakout Kit
  • LDR Sensor
  • 10k ohm Resistor

Hardware Setup

  • DGND (Pin 9) is the digital ground pin for the chip.
  • CS (Pin 10) is the chip selected.
  • DIN (Pin 11) is the data from the Raspberry Pi itself.
  • DOUT (pin 12) is the data out pin.
  • CLK (Pin 13) is the clock pin.
  • AGND (Pin 14) is the analog ground and obviously connects to the ground.
  • VREF (Pin 15) is the analog reference voltage.
  • VDD (Pin 16) is the positive power pin for the chip.

9) Raspberry Pi Pressure Pad (FSR)

A pressure pad can be used for a variety of purposes, including detecting when someone sits or applies pressure to a specific section of an object. It is an excellent sensor for use in IoT projects and other applications.

In this tutorial, we will go through how to connect the force-sensitive resistor so that you can determine whether or not enough pressure has been applied.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi
  • Power Supply
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire
  • Pressure Pad
  • 1m ohm Resistor
  • MCP3008 or similar
  • 1uf Capacitor
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse
  • GPIO Breakout Kit

Hardware Setup

  • VDD (Pin 16) wire this to 3.3V
  • VREF (Pin 15) wire this to 3.3V
  • AGND (Pin 14) wire this to ground
  • CLK (Pin 13) wire this to GPIO11 (Pin 23/SCLK)
  • DOUT (Pin 12) wire this to GPIO9 (Pin 21/MISO)
  • DIN (Pin 11) wire this to GPIO10 (Pin 19/MOSI)
  • CS (Pin 10) wire this to GPIO8 (Pin 24/CE0)
  • DGND (Pin 9) wire this to GROUND
  • Wire the pressure pad to 3v3
  • Wire a 1.0k Ohm resistor from GROUND to CH0
  • Also, wire CH0 to the pressure pad

10) Raspberry Pi Accelerometer using the ADXL345

The ADXL345 is a low-power, three-axis (X, Y, and Z) MEMS accelerometer that uses the I2C and SPI serial interfaces.

MEMS is an acronym that stands for Micro Electro Mechanical System. This indicates that the accelerometer has a tiny component that is used to calculate the current acceleration felt by the sensor.

The capability for both I2C and SPI serial protocols makes it exceedingly simple to utilize with our Raspberry Pi because we don’t need any additional hardware to interpret the accelerometer data.

Components Required

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Micro SD Card
  • Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi
  • Power Supply
  • Breadboard
  • Breadboard Wire
  • Accelerometer
  • Raspberry Pi Case
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse
  • GPIO Breakout Kit