Sfera Labs bases multi-sensor module on RP2040 microcontroller
An edge computing module which integrates an Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller with temperature, humidity, air quality, light, motion and audio sensing has been added to the Exo Sense Raspberry Pi based family from Sfera Labs.
The Exo Sense RP is a small form factor, low power, edge computing, multi sensor module built around the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller.
For use in space-constrained, indoor environments, the Exo Sense RP module combines the RP2040 with an array of sensors in a wall mount enclosure measuring just 80 x 80mm. It can operate as a standalone, edge computing, multi-sensor module or, in series can be deployed as complementary satellite units for complex Exo Sense networks.
The standard Exo Sense RP module integrates temperature, humidity, air quality (VOC), light and motion sensors, a microphone for noise detection and audio processing. Additional peripheral and custom sensors can be connected through communication interfaces to extend sensing capabilities, for example for CO2 monitoring, seismic monitoring (earthquake detection) and vibration measurement.
The module incorporates general purpose I/Os (GPIOs) to monitor external signals and control actuators and an RS-485 and other digital interfaces for system integration and communication with other devices, such as Wiegand keypads and card readers. Alerts and status signals can be implemented via an embedded LED indicator and piezo electric buzzer.
It is CE- and FCC-compliant and is suitable for residential and commercial implementations including home / building automation, environmental monitoring, people counting, room management, alarm reporting and access control.
The RP2040 is the first high-performance microcontroller designed by Raspberry Pi, and was launched in 2021. It combines a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor, clocked at up to 133MHz, with 264kbyte of internal RAM and 16Mbyte of on-board flash.
The Exo Sense RP can be programmed in C/C++ and MicroPython and is supported by several IDEs (integrated development environments), including Visual Studio Code and the Arduino IDE. All coding resources, tools, examples and the vast community support available for the RP2040, as well as the open-source libraries and applications developed by Sfera Labs specifically for Exo Sense RP, can be leveraged to easily develop professional solutions.
The Exo Sense RP can be supplied with custom branding options.
