Summary of MEET THE ALL NEW TINY ACOUSTIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR $99.00
μMoth is a credit card–sized (25 x 36 mm, 4 g) open-source acoustic development board for wildlife recording that captures audible and ultrasonic sounds (up to 384 kHz sample rate). It uses a Silabs EFM32 Gecko (ARM Cortex-M3 up to 32 MHz) with up to 128 kB flash and 16 kB RAM, an analog MEMS microphone, onboard real-time clock, SD card WAV storage, and is battery powered via a 2-pin JST-PH Li-Ion connector; it shares software/firmware with AudioMoth.
Parts used in the μMoth:
- μMoth acoustic development board (25 x 36 mm, 4 g)
- Silabs EFM32 Gecko microcontroller (ARM Cortex-M3, up to 32 MHz)
- Analog MEMS microphone
- Onboard real-time clock
- Micro SD card for WAV file storage
- Li-Ion battery
- 2-pin JST-PH battery connector
When it comes to recording audio in wildlife or nature, you require something with a small form factor that does not harm the environment. There are several wildlife species that produce noise in ultrasonic frequencies like bats, moths, etc. Here comes the name for the credit card-sized open-source sound recording device “μMoth” – designed to listen to audible frequencies, as well as ultrasonic frequencies.
As mentioned, the size of the device is just 25 x 36mm and weighs only 4 grams making it best for remote applications that are located in wildlife forests. This full-spectrum acoustic development board is based on the Silabs’ EFM32 Gecko processorthat is an ARM Cortex-M3 core running up to the clock frequency of 32 MHz. The SOC is integrated with up to 128kB flash memory and up to 16kB of RAM is specially designed for battery-operated applications that require high performance and low power consumption.
The tiny acoustic development board, μMoth is capable of recording at sample rates up to 384kHz, which means you can record uncompressed audio directly to the SD card with a sampling rate of 8,000 to 384,000 per second. The files are stored in the Waveform Audio File format which is an accurate and lossless audio file format.
The μMoth audio recording device features an analog MEMS microphone which is typically used when the analog output is fed to the input of an amplifier for analog processing. One of the other reasons for choosing an analog MEMS microphone can be the power consumption, which is significantly lesser than the digital MEMS microphone. The device is also manufactured with an onboard real-time clock that keeps track of time in UTC.
If you have known the other devices manufactured by Open Acoustic Devices, then this μMoth shares the existing software and firmware as the AudioMoth. The hardware is powered by the Li-Ion battery that is connected through the standard 2-pin JST-PH connector. The manufacturer notes that the SparkFun battery is compatible with the development board.
Read more: MEET THE ALL NEW TINY ACOUSTIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR $99.00
- What frequencies can μMoth record?
It can record audible and ultrasonic frequencies with sample rates from 8,000 to 384,000 samples per second. - What is the physical size and weight of μMoth?
The device measures 25 x 36 mm and weighs 4 grams. - Which microcontroller does μMoth use?
It is based on the Silabs EFM32 Gecko processor, an ARM Cortex-M3 running up to 32 MHz. - What file format does μMoth use to store recordings?
Recordings are stored in Waveform Audio File format (WAV). - Does μMoth include a real-time clock?
Yes, it has an onboard real-time clock that keeps time in UTC. - What type of microphone is used on μMoth?
It uses an analog MEMS microphone. - What powers the μMoth board?
The hardware is powered by a Li-Ion battery connected via a standard 2-pin JST-PH connector. - Is μMoth compatible with existing AudioMoth software?
Yes, μMoth shares the existing software and firmware with AudioMoth. - Why choose an analog MEMS microphone for μMoth?
Because analog MEMS microphones typically have lower power consumption and feed analog output to an amplifier for analog processing. - What memory resources are available on the μMoth SOC?
The SoC integrates up to 128 kB of flash memory and up to 16 kB of RAM.
