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Building An Arduino Motion Detection Unit

The passive infrared sensor (PIR) is a sensory unit that detects infrared (heat) energy and can be configured to trigger events based upon it being active or inactive. We will be using the Elegoo micro-controller to manipulate its output, as well as learning some hardware information.

Required Materials:

Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR)       Male-Male Jumper Wires (x9)         Elegoo Micro Controller

RGB LED                                          100Ω Resistor (x2)

The PIR sensor is a cheap and easy to use unit that requires minimal effort on behalf of the user; with a few wires and taps of the keyboard you’ll be well on your way to implementing more complicated heat/ intrusion detection systems down the road.

Let’s first look at the PIR’s hardware and detail each of their functions:

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DS3231 Arduino Real Time Clock

The DS3231 is a real time clock utilized by the arduino micro-controller to remember and to trigger time based events. It features a CR2032 coin-cell backup battery pack, which will keep it powered for long periods of time when micro-controller power has failed by only powering the chip tasked with time keeping. During this power failure, the red LED which would normally be illuminated will be off during this time. Due to the various settings the module can be deployed it has a temperature-compensating chip that varies the oscillation cycle to adjust for high heat and cold. This unit retails on Amazon at 2 for $6.99 and is very easy to manipulate in the Arduino IDE.

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