MCCI Catena® 4430 Animal Activity Sensor
Monitor research animal activity in real time.
The MCCI Catena® 4430 Activity Sensor is a flexible open-source IoT sensor for monitoring animals in laboratories, animal hospitals, etc. It is a ready-to-use platform for wireless IoT applications using LoRaWAN® technology or the Sigfox network.
The heart of the Catena 4430 is a Panasonic passive infrared (PIR) sensor, which allows dynamic real-time detection of activity within the field of view, without the power overhead of an active infrared beam. To support laboratory and research applications, the Catena 4430 also includes a battery-backed real-time clock for tagging data, and a micro-SD card slot for local storage of collected data.
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Panasonic WL series PIR sensors (MCCI supplies EKMB1391112K with all variants except WING-ONLY). If you purchase a kit, the PIR sensor can be mounted on the front or the rear; MCCI-assembled variants have the PIR sensor mounted on the front of the board.
- NXP PCF8523 real-time clock (RTC) and calendar.
- Coin-cell battery for power backup for RTC.
- Micro-SD slot with required tri-state buffer for isolation, and power switch for completely removing power when not in use.
- Screw terminal (1x4) or JST-XH connector with power, ground, and two analog/digital I/Os for connecting to the field wiring or additional external sensors.
- Processor-controlled power switches for the Micro-SD enable and the external sensors.
- Three LEDs for additional indications (one each red, green, and blue).
- Additional headers with I2C and UART signals, for test and debug or to interface with external circuits.
The 4430 Complete! variants are our best-selling versions. These are complete sensors with or without a case; various 3D-printable case designs are available. All variants include an MCCI Catena 4610, a 2200 mAh LiPo battery, a clock battery, an 8 GB micro-SD card, and an antenna. These units come assembled and tested, with firmware loaded, and registered with a LoRaWAN network. These variants are regionalized, meaning that they come with an appropriate antenna for the selected region, and are loaded with software suitable for that region.
The SYS-4610 variants are nearly-complete systems including an MCCI Catena 4610 controller board with pressure, temperature, humidity and light sensors, assembled and tested. The customer must supply a suitable Li-Po battery. Any of the Li-Po or Lithium Ion batteries sold by Adafruit will be suitable. The SYS-4610 variants come without antenna; you must supply an antenna with a U.FL plug. You must also supply a suitable SD card (if you wish to store backup data), and a coin cell battery (if you want to use the on-board real-time clock).
The SYS-4618 variants are nearly-complete systems including an MCCI Catena 4618 controller board with temperature, humidity and light sensors, assembled and tested. The SYS-4618-UFL comes without antenna; you must supply an antenna with a U.FL plug. and a primary battery with a JST-PH-3 connector. (We offer a battery clip suitable for 2 AAA cells.) You must also supply a suitable SD card (if you wish to store backup data), and a coin cell battery (if you want to use the on-board real-time clock).
The BASIC variant is an unassembled kit. It includes the 4430 wing, the EKMB1391112K PIR sensor, one 4-position terminal block, and a set of female headers (12 pin and 16 pin). It does not include the CPU board, batteries, screw terminals or an SD card.
The WING-ONLY variant is the Catena 4430 Activity Sensor Wing only. It does not include the PIR sensor, CPU board, headers, batteries, or screw terminals. It is great for experimenters who want to breadboard more complex solutions.
The CASE-ONLY variant is a Nylon MJF case (only). It does not include any electronics. It has room for a 2200 mAH LiPo battery, the 4430 and a 4610 CPU board.
Software is available from GitHub at github.com/mcci-catena/mcci-catena-4430.
Volume discounts and custom variants are available. Contact MCCI via email (sales@mcci.com) for assistance.
LoRa is a registered trademark of Semtech Corporation. LoRaWAN is a registered trademark of the LoRa Alliance. MCCI and MCCI Catena are registered trademarks of MCCI Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.