IOT104 · Sensors, Actuators and Data Collection

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About Course

Choose, connect and read real-world sensors, drive actuators safely and turn raw readings into clean, timestamped data you can analyze, using simulated ESP32 projects.

Build · 6 hours · 4 lessons, a lab, an assessed assignment and a portfolio piece

Who it is for

Learners who can write basic microcontroller sketches and now want to build devices that measure and act reliably.

Prerequisites

IOT103 (Arduino/ESP32 programming with non-blocking timing).

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret a sensor datasheet for range, accuracy, resolution and interface.
  • Connect sensors over analog, digital and I²C interfaces and read them in firmware.
  • Control relays, servos and motors through appropriate drivers with feedback and safe defaults.
  • Collect filtered, calibrated, timestamped readings as CSV and analyze them in a free notebook or spreadsheet.

Lessons

  • Lesson 1 · Choosing and reading sensors
  • Lesson 2 · Driving actuators safely
  • Lesson 3 · From raw readings to trustworthy data
  • Lesson 4 · Lab and assignment

Lab: A multi-sensor stockroom monitor with data logging

You build a simulated stockroom node with a DHT22 (temperature and humidity), a photoresistor (door-light detection), a PIR motion sensor and a servo that opens a ventilation flap. The firmware filters readings, applies a calibration offset and prints CSV lines that you analyze in a spreadsheet or Colab notebook.

Free tools: Wokwi ESP32 simulator, Google Sheets or Google Colab (free)

Assessed assignment

Submit your Wokwi project, the CSV log and a short analysis (spreadsheet or notebook). Include a sensor table with each part's range, accuracy, interface and sampling rate taken from its datasheet. Show one chart comparing raw and filtered readings and explain the effect of the moving average. Explain your hysteresis thresholds and what the actuator does if a sensor fails to respond.

Criterion Weight What excellent work looks like
Sensor integration 30% All four parts work, each on an appropriate schedule, with correct wiring and interfaces.
Data quality 25% Filtering, calibration and timestamps are implemented and their effect is shown with evidence.
Actuator logic and safety 25% Hysteresis avoids chattering and there is a defined safe state when sensor data is missing.
Analysis and documentation 20% The sensor table is accurate and the chart and explanation are clear and correct.

Portfolio piece

A multi-sensor firmware with CSV logging plus a chart-based data-quality analysis you can show as evidence of measurement skills.

Self-paced, 12-month access. Questions are answered in writing through the student panel. A completion record is issued when you finish the course.

Next step

Continue with IOT105 · IoT Networking and Protocols (MQTT, HTTP, LoRa) · 8 hours · $56.00

Continue to the next course

Prefer the whole program? Program in IoT & Smart Systems · $378.00 (10% less than buying the courses separately)

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What Will You Learn?

  • Interpret a sensor datasheet for range, accuracy, resolution and interface.
  • Connect sensors over analog, digital and I²C interfaces and read them in firmware.
  • Control relays, servos and motors through appropriate drivers with feedback and safe defaults.
  • Collect filtered, calibrated, timestamped readings as CSV and analyze them in a free notebook or spreadsheet.

Course Content

IOT104 · Sensors, Actuators and Data Collection (6 h)
Choose, connect and read real-world sensors, drive actuators safely and turn raw readings into clean, timestamped data you can analyze, using simulated ESP32 projects.

  • Lesson 1 · Choosing and reading sensors
  • Lesson 2 · Driving actuators safely
  • Lesson 3 · From raw readings to trustworthy data
  • Lesson 4 · Lab and assignment
  • IOT104 Assessment · Sensors, Actuators and Data Collection
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