Adafruit Launches Soft Circuit LOOMIA Prototyping Pack, High-Accuracy I2C CO₂ Sensor
Compatible with most microcontrollers, the LEL-based LOOMIA aims to make soft circuit prototyping easy.
Adafruit has announced the launch of three new products, including a soft circuit prototyping pack and a new carbon dioxide (CO₂) sensor designed for the STEMMA QT and Qwiic ecosystems.
"Circuit boards power the world but are built for hard goods. LOOMIA makes a new form-factor of circuit — a soft circuit (e-textile) system—that can be used to power soft goods," Adafruit explains of its first launch, built on technology developed at Stanford's SNSF lab. "From automotive to apparel, our soft circuit systems can be used when standard PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) aren’t up to the task — bringing heating, lighting, and sensing to car seats, medical apparel, outdoor gear, and more."
The LOOMIA quick-start development kit includes a guide book, USB breakout, alligator clips, resistor set, NPN MOSFET, and four key LOOMIA parts: A highly-stretchable serpentine bus with 0.15in traces, a single backlit button, a 3x3 pressure-sensing sensor matrix, and a heater designed to run on 5-7.2V from off-the-shelf battery packs. A microcontroller isn't included, however, with Adafruit recommending an Arduino-compatible board purchased separately.
The SCD-30, meanwhile, is a non-dispersive infrared sensor (NDIR) for high-accuracy carbon dioxide monitoring in parts per million, offering a considerable upgrade from the VOC-estimation-based SGP30 the company had previously launched. Designed to measure over a 400-10,000 parts per million range with ±(30 ppm + 3%) accuracy, the calibrated sensor communicates with a host microcontroller over I2C with STEMMA QT/Qwiic connectors on-board.
The company's final launch is a handy accessory for all STEMMA QT/Qwiic projects: A multi-port adapter from SparkFun that allows multiple devices to be connected to a single bus, expanding the usability of the all-too-common devices supplied with only one connection header.
The SparkFun Qwiic Multiport is priced at $2.95, the SCD039 at $58.95, and the LOOMIA starter kit at $189, with more details available from the Adafruit website.