What is a Phidget?

At Phidgets, our philosophy is that you don't have to be an electrical engineer in order to create sophisticated projects using motors, sensors and other electronics. You simply need to know how to code.

Phidgets are building-blocks for sensing and control using a computer, tablet, or phone. Phidgets enable your software application to interact with the physical world.

The advantage of using Phidgets is that all Phidgets can be plugged in and used in your project out of the box, without having to follow complex pinout diagrams or configure communication between the device and computer. With Phidgets, we deal with the details of getting the electronics behaving as they should, so you can focus on the programming and details of your final product.

Hardware Introduction

Phidgets connect via a USB port:

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Some Phidgets are a complete, self-contained sensing package. An example is the 1042 , which measures motion:

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Other Phidgets are a 'building block' to use other sensors. An example is the 1048 which allows the use of wire thermocouples:

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Finally, a Phidget may be a VINT Hub, made up of versatile ports that can be used as inputs or outputs, and also connect to smart VINT devices.

Programming

For the most part, using Phidgets requires writing software. The Phidgets API is available in many different programming languages:

Core Languages	Mobile Languages	Other Languages
C#	Objective C	LabVIEW
C/C++	Swift	Max/MSP
Python	Android Java
Java
Visual Basic .NET
JavaScript

The Phidget software libraries are supported on a number of operating systems:

Desktop OSes	Mobile/Wireless OSes
Windows	Phidget SBC
Linux	iOS
OS X	Android

Network Server

Using the Phidgets API, applications on remote computers, phones, and Single Board Computers can attach to Phidget devices over the network as if they were local. This includes WWW based applications using the Phidget JavaScript library.

Further Reading

With the combination of events, modular sensors, and network support, your system can range from simple to incredibly complex.

We encourage customers to not only build projects for themselves, but also to design and build real-world products using Phidgets. Our libraries can be distributed with your code to your customers.

Want to learn more? Check out our:

• Products on our main website
• Phidget Programming Basics
• Example Projects and Articles

Questions? Please contact us.