get () from DHT sensor at pin ()

We will use the Adafruit IO cloud service to send data from a humidity and temperature sensor to the cloud. Adafruit IO is a cloud service that allows you to send data from sensors and other devices to the cloud, where it can be stored and analyzed.

Adafruit IO Key

You can find the information about your account once you log in from here:

Note: Make sure you are login on Adafruit IO: https://io.adafruit.com/

DHT Sensor Connection to Quarky

DHT sensors have 3 pins: GND, VCC, and Signal. You have to connect the following 3 pins to the Quarky Expansion Board:

1. GND to Ground Pin of Quarky Expansion Board
2. VCC to 3.3V or VCC Pin of Quarky Expansion Board
3. Signal to the D3 (Digital Pin) of the Quarky Expansion Board

Script

The following feeds are created:

Creating Dashboard

Follow the steps:

1. Go to the dashboard and click on New Dashboard.
2. Add the Dashboard Name and Description and click on Create.
3. Open the New Dashboard. Click on the Setting icon in the top right corner and then click on Create New Block.
4. From the options, click on the line chart.
5. Select the Temperature Feed and click on Next Step.
6. Add the Block Title and the Y-Axis Minimum – Maximum value. Click on Create Block.
7. You will find the block added on the dashboard.
8. Add a Humidity block as well. Also, add two gauge elements showing the current temperature and humidity value.
9. Click on the Setting button and Edit Layout to align all the buttons.

In this example, we will send the humidity and temperature sensor data to the cloud on the ThingSpeak servers.

ThingSpeak Channel

Create a channel on ThingSpeak with 2 fields – Temperature and Humidity.

DHT Sensor Connection to Quarky

DHT sensors have 3 pins: GND, VCC, and Signal. You have to connect the following 3 pins to the Quarky Expansion Board:

1. GND to Ground Pin of Quarky Expansion Board
2. VCC to 3.3V or VCC Pin of Quarky Expansion Board
3. Signal to the D3 (Digital Pin) of the Quarky Expansion Board

Script

The following script reads the temperature and humidity reading from the DHT sensor and sends them to the ThingSpeak channel.

Output

In this example, we are going to learn how to program Quarky to detect the temperature (using DHT Sensor) and make the fan ON and OFF accordingly.

DHT Sensor Connection to Quarky

1. DHT sensors have 3 pins: GND, VCC, and Signal. You have to connect the following 3 pins to the Quarky Expansion Board:
   1. GND to Ground Pin of Quarky Expansion Board
   2. VCC to 3.3V or VCC Pin of Quarky Expansion Board
   3. Signal to the D3 (Digital Pin) of the Quarky Expansion Board
2. Fan Motor: Connect the Fan Motor to Motor 1 (M1) of the Quarky Expansion Board.

Getting Sensor Reading

The following script displays the real-time sensor reading.

Download Code: https://pictoblox.page.link/eHAFsRRW6CoEifmn9

Connect Quarky and you will start getting the readings.

Controlling Fan

The following makes the fan motor turn ON at 50% speed for 1 second, then turn OFF for 1 second, then turn ON at 100% speed for 1 second and finally turn OFF for 1 second. This will repeat in a loop.

Download Code: https://pictoblox.page.link/vWTfiWkgi2w8BhsNA

Automatic Fan Control

The following scripts, make the fan turn ON whenever the temperature is greater than 26 degrees.

Uploading Code

You can also make the automatic lighting work independent of PictoBlox using the Upload Mode. For that switch to upload mode and replace the when green flag clicked block with when Quarky starts up block.

Click on the Upload Code button.