Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Monitoring Ambient Laboratory Conditions With A Raspberry Pi, Joshua Boman

Physics Capstone Projects

Precise experimental devices and measurements can be sensitive to changing physical conditions in the lab. The purpose of this research was to develop a standardized computer automated package to monitor and record changes in laboratory conditions, including ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, light intensity, motion, and power outages. The computer-interfaced device was based around an inexpensive Raspberry Pi microcomputer and commercially available sensors. The Raspberry Pi uploads the sensor data to a file used by LabVIEW to further analyze, plot and display the calibrated sensor data in real time and trigger alarms. This capability allows the Material Physics Research …