Intermediate
30 min

Breathe easier with ATmega328P

Say goodbye to air pollution

Air quality 3 Click with Arduino UNO Rev3

Published Feb 14, 2024

Click board™

Air quality 3 Click

Dev. board

Arduino UNO Rev3

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

ATmega328P

Our cutting-edge air quality monitor is vital in urban planning, equipping city officials with essential data to shape policies that prioritize citizen well-being

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Air Quality 3 Click is based on the CCS811, an advanced ultra-low power digital gas sensor for monitoring indoor air quality (IAQ) from ScioSense. This IC consists of an analog section consisting of a MOX gas sensor based on ScioSense unique micro-hotplate technology, which allows high reliability, fast cycle times, and low power consumption, and the digital section, which consists of an embedded microcontroller (MCU) and an analog to digital converter (ADC). The CCS811 sensor IC employs advanced algorithms to calculate the raw sensor data and output the equivalent CO2 and TVOC values. It utilizes the internal MCU for this purpose, reducing the payload on the host MCU. Because of the nature of the MOX sensors, the CCS811 sensitivity will change over time, especially in early-life use. The internal sensor resistance will change the most for the first 48 hours of operation. So, to achieve proper operation of this sensor, it has to be calibrated during several different phases of its lifecycle. Since this step is important for achieving accurate IAQ results, it is strongly advised to be

carefully studied from the CCS811 datasheet. The Click board™ communicates with the host MCU via the I2C bus. SCL and SDA pins of the CCS811 IC are routed to the corresponding mikroBUS™ pins, allowing an easy and secure connection with the development system. Yet another pin is used with the I2C communication that is not part of the standard I2C bus: the #WAKE pin has to be set to a LOW logic level before the communication is attempted. This pin is routed to the CS pin of the mikroBUS™. The I2C bus lines are equipped with pull-up resistors, so communication can be established as soon as the click board is installed on the mikroBUS™. The least significant bit of the I2C address is routed to the external pin of the CCS811 IC, and it can be set to either a HIGH or a LOW logic level. This can be done by an onboard SMD jumper labeled as ADDR. It is useful when multiple devices are used on the same I2C bus. The #RESET pin is used to reset the device and must be pulled to a LOW logic level for at least 20μs. It is pulled to a HIGH logic level by the onboard resistor and filtered by a capacitor

to prevent random reset of the device. The #RESET of the CCS811 sensor IC is routed to the mikroBUS RST pin. The #INT pin allows another powerful Air Quality 3 Click feature to be used - a programmable interrupt request. This pin can be driven to a LOW state when data is ready to be read via the I2C. It can also be programmed to be driven when the eCO2 measurement data exceeds the programmed threshold by the hysteresis value. This can be extremely useful for making an early CO2 warning system. Interrupts, in general, are useful to avoid constant polling by the MCU, saving resources and energy that way. The #INT of the CCS811 sensor IC is routed to the mikroBUS INT pin. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

Air quality 3 Click top side image
Air quality 3 Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

Arduino UNO is a versatile microcontroller board built around the ATmega328P chip. It offers extensive connectivity options for various projects, featuring 14 digital input/output pins, six of which are PWM-capable, along with six analog inputs. Its core components include a 16MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an

ICSP header, and a reset button, providing everything necessary to power and program the board. The Uno is ready to go, whether connected to a computer via USB or powered by an AC-to-DC adapter or battery. As the first USB Arduino board, it serves as the benchmark for the Arduino platform, with "Uno" symbolizing its status as the

first in a series. This name choice, meaning "one" in Italian, commemorates the launch of Arduino Software (IDE) 1.0. Initially introduced alongside version 1.0 of the Arduino Software (IDE), the Uno has since become the foundational model for subsequent Arduino releases, embodying the platform's evolution.

Arduino UNO Rev3 double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

AVR

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

28

RAM (Bytes)

2048

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Arduino UNO has two proprietary mikroBUS™ sockets, allowing all the Click board™ devices to be interfaced with the Arduino UNO board without effort. The Arduino Uno, a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P, provides an affordable and flexible way for users to try out new concepts and build prototypes with the ATmega328P microcontroller from various combinations of performance, power consumption, and features. The Arduino Uno has 14 digital input/output pins (of which six can be used as PWM outputs), six analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator (CSTCE16M0V53-R0), a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and reset button. Most of the ATmega328P microcontroller pins are brought to the IO pins on the left and right edge of the board, which are then connected to two existing mikroBUS™ sockets. This Click Shield also has several switches that perform functions such as selecting the logic levels of analog signals on mikroBUS™ sockets and selecting logic voltage levels of the mikroBUS™ sockets themselves. Besides, the user is offered the possibility of using any Click board™ with the help of existing bidirectional level-shifting voltage translators, regardless of whether the Click board™ operates at a 3.3V or 5V logic voltage level. Once you connect the Arduino UNO board with our Click Shield for Arduino UNO, you can access hundreds of Click boards™, working with 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels.

Click Shield for Arduino UNO accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Reset
PD2
RST
Wake up
PB2
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Interrupt
PC3
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PC5
SCL
I2C Data
PC4
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Air quality 3 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Arduino UNO front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Arduino UNO Rev3 as your development board.

Click Shield for Arduino UNO front image hardware assembly
Arduino UNO Rev3 front image hardware assembly
Barometer 13 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Arduino UNO Rev3 MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Arduino UNO MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Air Quality 3 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • airquality3_get_co2_and_tvoc - Get CO2 and TVOC data

  • airquality3_set_environment_data - Temperature and humidity data settings

  • airquality3_set_measurement_mode - Function for settings sensor drive mode and interrupts.

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief AirQuality3 Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * The demo application shows air quality measurement.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Configuring clicks and log objects.
 * Settings the click in the default configuration.
 * Call the procedure the wakeup function of the chip.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Reads CO2 and TVOC value in the air and logs this data on the USBUART.
 * 
 * \author Katarina Perendic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "airquality3.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static airquality3_t airquality3;
static log_t logger;

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    airquality3_cfg_t cfg;

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );

    //  Click initialization.

    airquality3_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    AIRQUALITY3_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    airquality3_init( &airquality3, &cfg );

    // Wake-up click procedure

    airquality3_set_power( &airquality3, AIRQUALITY3_POWER_STATE_ON );
    airquality3_hardware_reset( &airquality3 );
    airquality3_app_function( &airquality3, AIRQUALITY3_APP_START );

    airquality3_default_cfg( &airquality3 );

    Delay_ms( 500 );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Start measurement ----" );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    airquality3_air_data_t air_data;

    //  Task implementation.

    airquality3_get_co2_and_tvoc ( &airquality3, &air_data );
    log_printf( &logger, "\r\n---- AirQuality data ----\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, ">> CO2 data is %d ppm.\r\n", air_data.co2 );
    log_printf( &logger, ">> TVOC data is %d ppb.\r\n", air_data.tvoc );

    Delay_1sec( );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; )
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}


// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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