Fly an iPhone on a Rocket and Collect Data

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I'm a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. I was an editor on the first 40 volumes of MAKE, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. In particular, covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

Contact me at snowgoli@gmail.com or via @snowgoli.

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November 8th, 2012September 1st, 2015 34

Data lovers, this week Make: Projects community member Mike Westerfield shared a pair of intriguing how-tos detailing how to fly a TI SensorTag and an iPhone on a model rocket to find acceleration, rotation, and pressure, then collect and analyze the data using a Bluetooth link to the iPhone and techBASIC. He includes plans for building the neat little balsa wood holder for the phone and sensor.

Love his intro:

It was a beautiful fall morning as I carefully packed the parachute, slid in the engine, and installed the igniter in my model rocket. I started the data collection program and slid the payload with a TI Bluetooth low energy SensorTag and an iPhone 4s into the payload bay.

Yes, an iPhone.

My wife’s iPhone.

Gulp.