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Detecting motion with an Arduino and two wires

Arduino TeamMay 24th, 2016

Connor Nishijima has come with a unique way to detect motion using an Arduino Uno. The active media developer is polling an ADC pin with a pair of wires twisted tightly together — one plugged into A3, another plugged into ground — and generating readings whenever a large living object (like his two cats) is nearby.

“The closest I have ever come to explaining this is capacitive coupling. So what it is is the antenna is leaching a little bit of electricity off you, and you are leaching a little bit of electricity from the antenna. The differential that happens when you move around is what the Arduino is picking up.”

He’s calling this effect “Capacitive Turbulence,” and so far he’s only got it work on the Arduino, no luck using other boards with ADCs. You can watch him explain this magical phenomenon in more detail below!

Boards:Uno
Categories:ArduinoFeatured

2 Responses to “Detecting motion with an Arduino and two wires”

  1. yo-lahola Says:

    have you done any test in another room without à carpet ?
    i’m thinking about static électricity !?!?
    Also can it be because of change in wifi field around ?!?!
    Anyway great work, I gonna try that ????

  2. teranion Says:

    I think the wire connected to the GND is the negative part and the wire connected to A3 is the positive part .
    The static electicity of things(like a cat) give electrons to the A3 wire and create a potential difference .
    so can you try with things like water and wood to check it ?

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