LSM303 Triple-Axis Accelerometer/Magnetometer Module

LSM303 Module is a triple-axis accelerometer and magnetometer module integrated with LSM303 IC from STMicroelectronics. This module can be used to create various types of applications such as Tilt-compensated compasses, Position detection, Map rotation, Pedometers, etc.

 

LSM303 Module Pinout Configuration

Pin Name	Description
SCL	Signal interface I²C serial clock (SCL) with 10K pullup
SDA	Signal interface I²C serial data (SDA) with 10K pullup
I2	Inertial interrupt 2, out pin
I1	Inertial interrupt 1, out pin
DRDY	Data ready out pin
GND	Ground pin
Vin	Power In pin (3.3v ~ 5v)
3.3v	3.3v Power out pin for other peripherals.

 

The pinout can be easily seen in the Board Legend.

 

Features of the LSM303 Module 

• 3 magnetic field channels and 3 acceleration channels
• From ±1.3 to ±8.1 gauss magnetic field full scale
• ±2g/±4g/±8g/±16g linear acceleration full scale
• 16-bit data output
• I²C serial interface
• Analog supply voltage 2.16 V to 3.6 V
• Power-down mode / low-power mode
• 2 independent programmable interrupt generators for free-fall and motion detection
• Embedded temperature sensor
• Embedded FIFO
• 6D/4D-orientation detection

 

Note: Complete technical details can be found in the LSM303 Datasheet linked at the bottom of this page.

 

LSM303 Module - Overview

The main Triple-axis Accelerometer+Magnetometer (Compass) IC is LSM303DLHC.

 

The LSM303 Triple-axis Accelerometer+Magnetometer (Compass) Module is a cost-effective board, which is used to detect direction using Accelerometer & with the help of a Magnetometer, we can detect magnetic north.

 

This compact sensor uses I²C to communicate and it supports standard (100kHz) and fast (400kHz) mode. Although we can separately access one for the accelerometer core and one for the magnetometer core using this I²C interface.

 

Accelerometer: An accelerometer measures gravitational pull to determine the angle at which a device is tilted concerning the Earth. By sensing the amount of acceleration, users analyze how the device is moving. With the help of an accelerometer, you can determine if an object is moving uphill, whether it will fall over if it tilts any more, or whether it is flying horizontally or angling downward.

 

Magnetometer: A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetism- the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. The measurement of the magnetization of a magnetic material (like a ferromagnet) is an example. A compass is one such device, one that measures the direction of an ambient magnetic field, in this case, the Earth's magnetic field.

 

LSM303 Module Interfacing Diagram

LSM303 Triple-Axis Accelerometer module can be easily interfaced with any microcontroller unit. It requires one digital pin, two interrupt pins, and an I2C bus interface.

Follow the below image for the interfacing related information.

 

 

Applications

• Tilt-compensated compasses
• Map rotation
• Position detection
• Motion-activated functions
• Free-fall detection
• Click/double-click recognition
• Pedometers
• Intelligent power-saving for handheld devices
• Display orientation
• Gaming and virtual reality input devices
• Impact recognition and logging
• Vibration monitoring and compensation

 

2D Model

The dimensions of the LSM303 Module is shown below-