Accelerometer (via Sparkfun)

Technical description: An accelerometer measures acceleration in 3 axes. Most people have used accelerometers in smartphones and video game consoles (Wii), where they are used for gesture control. They can be used to sense the movement of a device. In the context of environmental sensing, this could be used to measure wind or other kinetic movement of a device.

Limitations: The LSM303C cannot use more than ~4.8V of power.

Skill: Advanced. This requires one to learn the I2C protocol or SPI serial interfaces to read data from the sensor.

Sample Sensor: SparkFun 6 Degrees of Freedom Breakout – LSM303C

Sample Exercise: LSM303C 6DoF Hookup Guide