Products for USB Sensing and Control
Accelerometers are the quintessential motion sensor, from robotics to motion capture. The Accelerometer Phidget measures up to ±8g (or 78.5 m/s²) in each axis, which is more than you'll ever produce in most ordinary applications. The MOT1100 connects to a port on a VINT Hub. See the Comaptible Products tab for a list of hubs.
The most common use for an accelerometer is to measure the movement of an object, such as a person or robotic vehicle. You can compare the acceleration values on each axis to determine the direction and strength of the acceleration, and in some situations, even estimate velocity and position. An accelerometer could also be used to detect vibration. For example, mounted to a walking surface, it could be used to record the footsteps of a person walking or running. Another common way to use an accelerometer is as a tilt sensor. When mounted on a stationary object, an accelerometer will measure ≈1g downward (due to the earth's gravity). If the object is tilted, the angle of this 1g acceleration will change and this change can be measured.
The Accelerometer Phidget works best in applications that care mostly about the direction and approximate strength of movement. If you need more precise measurements, have a look at the Other Accelerometers tab for more appropriate options.
This Phidget is a smart device that must be controlled by a VINT Hub. For more information about VINT, have a look at the VINT Primer. You can use a Phidget Cable to simply and easily connect the two devices. Here's a list of all of the different VINT Hubs currently available:
Use a Phidget cable to connect this device to the hub. You can solder multiple cables together in order to make even longer Phidget cables, but you should be aware of the effects of having long wires in your system.
In order to demonstrate the functionality of the MOT1100, the Phidget Control Panel running on a Windows machine will be used.
The Phidget Control Panel is available for use on both macOS and Windows machines.
To open the Phidget Control Panel on Windows, find the 
icon in the taskbar. If it is not there, open up the start menu and search for Phidget Control Panel
To open the Phidget Control Panel on macOS, open Finder and navigate to the Phidget Control Panel in the Applications list. Double click on the icon to bring up the Phidget Control Panel.
For more information, take a look at the getting started guide for your operating system:
Linux users can follow the getting started with Linux guide and continue reading here for more information about the MOT1100.
After plugging the MOT1100 into your computer and opening the Phidget Control Panel, you will see something like this:
The Phidget Control Panel will list all connected Phidgets and associated objects, as well as the following information:
The Phidget Control Panel can also be used to test your device. Double-clicking on an object will open an example.
Double-click on the Accelerometer object "Accelerometer Phidget" in order to run the example:
General information about the selected object will be displayed at the top of the window. You can also experiment with the following functionality:
For a general step-by-step guide on getting Phidgets running on Linux, see the Linux page.
We recommend testing your Phidget on a desktop OS before moving on to remote OS. Once you've tested your Phidget, you can go to the PhidgetSBC, or iOS pages to learn how to proceed.
The current consumption of this device depends on what the data interval is set to.
For more information on how to use an accelerometer, have a look at the Accelerometer Primer.
| Board Properties | |
|---|---|
| Controlled By | VINT |
| Accelerometer | |
| Acceleration Measurement Max | ± 8 g |
| Acceleration Measurement Resolution | 1 mg |
| Accelerometer Noise | ± 5 mg |
| Sampling Interval Min | 20 ms/sample |
| Sampling Interval Max | 60 s/sample |
| Electrical Properties | |
| Current Consumption Max | * 2.3 mA |
| Current Consumption Min | 319 μA |
| Physical Properties | |
| Operating Temperature Min | -40 °C |
| Operating Temperature Max | 85 °C |
* - Current consumption varies depending on selected data interval. See the technical section of the User Guide for details.
| Channel Name | API | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Axis Accelerometer | Accelerometer | 0 |
| API | Detail | Language | OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerometer | C | Multiple | Download | |
| Accelerometer | C# | Windows | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Java | Multiple | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Java | Android | Download | |
| Accelerometer | JavaScript | Nodejs | Download | |
| Accelerometer | JavaScript | Browser | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Objective-C | macOS | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Swift | macOS | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Swift | iOS | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Python | Multiple | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Visual Basic .NET | Windows | Download | |
| Accelerometer | Max/MSP | Multiple | Download |
| Date | Board Revision | Device Version | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2018 | 0 | 201 | Product Release |
| Product | Accelerometer | Gyroscope | Magnetometer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Part Number | Price | Acceleration Measurement Max | Acceleration Measurement Resolution | Gyroscope Speed Max | Gyroscope Resolution | Magnetometer Resolution | Magnetic Field Max |
 |
1041_0B | $40.00 | ± 8 g | 976.7 μg | — | — | — | — |
 |
1042_0B | $70.00 | ± 8 g | 976.7 μg | ± 2000°/s | 0.07°/s | 3 mG | 5.5 G |
 |
1043_0B | $80.00 | ± 2 g | 76.3 μg | — | — | — | — |
 |
1044_0B | $140.00 | ± 2 g | 76.3 μg | — | — | 3 mG | 5.5 G |
 |
MOT1100_0 | $20.00 | ± 8 g | 1 mg | — | — | — | — |
 |
MOT1101_0 | $30.00 | ± 8 g | 1 mg | ± 2000°/s | * 0.07°/s | 300 μG | ± 8 G |
