Project

TerMITes

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TerMITes are a wireless environmental sensor platform that enables designers and researchers with the necessary tools to capture environmental data. 

MIT Environmental Sensors

In turn, this helps communities explore the questions that matter most to them. TerMITes directly log on to the Internet via low-power Wi-Fi for ease of connection and automatically upload to a centralized database. The sensor data is time-stamped and place-tagged but otherwise hardware agnostic. 

TerMITes bridge existing qualitative inquiry methods about our experiences in various planes to a quantitative recording based on sensor input.

Recent Examples:

2021  Andorra CO2

2022 SEI ZeroG Flights:  Flight 1 Data  + Flight 2 Data

Sensing

TerMITes support multi-modal sensor attachments using standard protocols. They can be attached to objects in the home, such as doors, windows, drawers, cabinets, tables, and chairs, to register object usage. TerMITes are capable of gathering the following data:

  • humidity
  • presence detection
  • proximity
  • ambient light       (RGB on TerMITes v2.0+)
  • 3-axis motion     (6-axis on TerMITes v2.0+)
  • temperature
  • pressure

Some sensing technologies are more costly than others and are therefor added only when needed.... For example:

  • CO₂  (NDIR)
  • TVOC

CO₂ TerMITes  

2020 - 2021

The intention of the most recent deployment of TerMITes, above and beyond measuring air quality in the built environment,  is to "help" and "empower" custodians of space with the  information they need to make better informed decisions. To make opaque the intangible impacts on health and wellbeing that arise from a dynamic between spatial configurations and the use of space.

It is well documented that high levels of carbon dioxide in poorly ventilated spaces such as classrooms are associated with low concentration levels and fatigue. There is also evidence to suggest that indicates poorly ventilated environments contribute to an increase in viral cases where the virus is airborne.

the Platform

Technology should be available for all to use. One of the primary goals of this platform is to make sensing intuitive and easy for all to use. The intention is to provide a complete platform from hardware to software and everything in between. This includes, firmware, backend servers, UX/UI etc.

Mobile Interfaces : TerMITes Dashboard

Data collection and verification is made available through an online mobile interface.

Software : TerMITes Connect

The TerMITes can also be programmed over USB. This can be essential for advanced users, or those wanting to access real-time data from the TerMITes for debugging purposes. 

This desktop software runs on Mac and Windows only. More information can be found by clicking the button below: 

Hardware

The hardware design makes use of many technologies found in mobile devices such as cell phones. The advantage being these components are readily available, low-cost, and low-power. Low-power components allow the TerMITes to run off portable power banks for short term deployments.

History

TerMITes are a continuation of a legacy project known as the MITes (MIT Environmental Sensors). Today the ubiquity  of  modern wireless networks allows for the deployment of sensors without the need of additional infrastructure. As a lab or urbanists and architects we believe sensing the analog world to be an integral part of design and that is why we maintain this platform.

The TerMITes continue to evolve incorporating new technologies that help give designers new insights into their environments.

Copyright

CS 2019

The MITes

The TerMITes are a reboot of a legacy project called the MITes. The MITes were used in various living lab projects such as the 'PlaceLab'.  https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/mites-portable-wireless-sensors-for-studying-behavior-in-natural-settings/overview/