Have you ever needed to monitor your yogurt in the community fridge because there's a yogurt thief loose at work? Or have you ever needed the lights to flick on when walking in a room because your hands were full of groceries? The Qwiic IR breakout is the solution to all your people-detecting needs.
This board utilizes Kemet Corporation's lensless passive infrared sensor, PL-N823. It uses the pyroelectric effect of ceramic by absorbing infrared rays emitted from the human body. This sensor has a 60 degree viewing angle, low power consumption, and low profile which makes it ideal for gathering visual requirements.
Though this is a lensless infrared sensor, placing the sensor behind a material like glass, acrylic, or polyethylene may amplify the distance at which it can detect. The detecting distance varies by what material is used, but Kemet claims the PL-N823 can detect up to 2 meters with a matching lens. This product does not include a lens so expect ranges closer to 10cm out-of-the-box.
We've written some example code using the ADS1015 library. The qwiic IR breakout board includes an ADC which quantifies the amplified source voltage of the IR sensor. There's also a rudimentary peak detection example that could notify the user when someone waves their hand across the sensor.
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