Sometimes you want to see things that you can't see - like a boiling hot cup or icy cold shower water as you step into the shower
This week (embedded programming week), I decided to test a tiny portion of the Heat Faxing project by making a simulation of a temperature sensing device that maps/outputs the temperature in different colors
For the group assignment, Architecture group made a complied list of the toolchains and development workflows based on our own interests/final project ideas.
Here is the link to the compiled document. Basing my requirements on the "heat faxer," I decided to use ESP32-C3, the micro controller that allows Wifi connection.
ESP32-C3
Looking through ESP32-C3 datasheet, I initially thought the microcontroller has a built in temperature sensor for the surrounding, but realized it is for checking internal temperature (still interesting!)
Moving onto the simulator, I decided to try Wokwi with ESP32-C3, using DHT22 (Temperature sensor) as an input and RGB LED as an output to show the temperature. After finding a code in the internet that prints input data from DHT22 (it was written in C, so I asked chat gpt to convert it to python), I decided to use the code as a base and add the LED output. 35+ degrees would be signaled Red, 20-35 degrees would be signaled green, and anything below would be signaled blue. The temperature data output worked, but the LED did not work.
While trying to figure out why the RGB LED didn't work, I stripped the code so it only has the DHT22
Tested a version that turns the light on when the temperature is above 20 degrees and made it work.
Made a "hot n cold" version that turns red led on when the temperature is above 35 degrees (danger zone for indoor temperature). The current state didn't solve the previous issue with the RGB LED, but it matches the initial idea of turning red or blue based on the temperature range.