by Bryan Bergeron, Editor by Bryan Bergeron, Editor
DEVELOPING
I’m often asked what the best way is to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education
with electronics. At the high school level, as soon as I start
talking about Arduino boards and sensors, teachers tend
to run away. It’s intimidating to set up an electronics
workshop from scratch. Think of all the necessary
infrastructure that needs to be constructed — from
multimeters and soldering irons to parts bins — and the
components to fill them.
An alternative to a “made from scratch” approach is
to use a kit or system that’s been preconfigured with
sensors and the tools to collect and display the data in
real time. I’ve used TechBasic ($15; ByteWorks.us) to turn
my iPhone into a data collection platform.
I’ve gone as far as taping my phone to the spokes of
my bike during an off-road excursion. The concern, of
course, was losing my phone. As I’ve discussed in
previous editorials, TechBasic enables you to access the
various sensors in the iPhone, display the data graphically,
and massage the data as you see fit — all using a variant of
the BASIC language. I’ve seen videos in which users tie
their cell phones to kites and even solid fuel model
rockets.
A way to get your hands on data without putting your
phone at risk is to use a wireless sensor such as the
PocketLab ($98; thepocketlab.com). The 2. 5” x 5/8” x 1-
1/8” device is a Blue Tooth-connected sensor cluster that
collects data on temperature, barometric pressure,
magnetic field, angular velocity position, and acceleration.
The PocketLab is based on the TI CC2541, which I’ve
used in the form of a fob-based evaluation kit available
from Texas Instruments (TI). I found the hardware
promising, but the software severely lacking. TechBasic
provides support for the TI fob if you’re into programming.
The folks at PocketLab also addressed the software
problem, adding in support for cloud storage/sharing —
the real advantage of this device over TechBasic. Not only
are data displayed in real time, but they automatically
move from the PocketLab to your Android or iOS device
to the cloud, where data can be downloaded to your
laptop for evaluation, manipulation, and analysis.
Also, while the TI fob is a bit clunky, the PocketLab’s
easy to handle plastic enclosure is mainly air, and the
largest heaviest component by far is the coin battery. As
an aside, PocketLab is one of those KickStarter success
stories, raising $100K in the time they had hoped for
$20K.
So, with environmental recorder in hand, what is one
supposed to do to get all of this exposure to science,
technology, engineering, and math? Well, as long as the
experiment can be contained within the range of a
Bluetooth device — say, in a classroom or on your person
if you’re outside — it’s up to your imagination.
I wish I had access to a sensor-packed cell phone or
an affordable wireless sensor package when I was
studying Physics. I can still remember writing down rows
of numbers from acceleration experiments. And forget
about graphing results. That took hours.
So, in theory at least, with all the drudgery gone from
doing science, everyone should be free to exercise their
creativity, instead of spending time filling notebooks full of
PERSPECTIVES
Easing Into STEM
6 January 2016
