Using sensors and data with ThingSpeak

Having some facility to hook up sensors is almost de rigueur when you talk about the Internet of Things. Furthermore, learning how to get your arms around the large datasets that typically pour out of these sensors has become a crucial piece of the IoT puzzle. In the next section, we will take a look at a recipe that introduces one method for managing this data.

We will be piggybacking on a recipe from Chapter 3, Physical Computing Recipes Using JavaScript, the BoneScript Library, and Python, and will use the TMP36 temperature sensor in particular. However, this time, you will learn how to use the data coming out of the sensor and display it in a more accessible IoT-style manner.

Getting ready

The following materials will be needed:

• BBB powered via 5V supply.

• Ethernet or Wi-Fi connectivity.

• Breadboard.

• 3x jumper wires.

• The TMP36 temperature sensor—this is the same sensor as the one we used in Chapter 3, Physical Computing Recipes Using JavaScript, the BoneScript...