ATMOSCAN: Extremely Capable Environmental Quality Monitor

If you need a basic air quality monitor, it’s tough to beat something off-the-shelf for price and functionality. If, however, you want something that can tell you everything about your environment, whether temperature, humidity, CO and CO2 levels, VOC (volatile organic compounds), radiation, and even more, then you might consider building an ATMOSCAN.

This device integrates seven separate sensors to take in all this data, and as you might suspect, features a custom PCB to avoid a rat’s nest of wires inside. That’s important, because the structure of the unit is made out of a clear 10 x 10 x 10 cm cube, originally meant to house reptiles and the like. Not only does this provide a great way to gaze upon the glorious internals, but also offers good ventilation for its electronic inhabitants.

While creator Marc Finns originally tried to mock everything up with cardboard, the internal structure was 3D modeled to make a tight but organized arrangement inside.

AtmoScan is powered by an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, allowing it post data to ThingSpeak via MQTT and to take advantage of other web services as needed. User interface is provided by a gesture sensor and a generous 2.8" TFT display, while set of batteries enables it to run disconnected from power for at least 24 hours.

Check out the video below for a short visual glimpse into what this mighty cube can do!

[h/t: Adafruit]