Connect Raspberry Pi 3 to DHT11 Sensor and Upload Data to ThingsIo.ai Cloud

The goal of this tutorial is to guide you through capturing temperature and humidity data with a DHT11 sensor on a Raspberry Pi 3 and sending it to the ThingsIo.ai cloud platform for storage and visualization.

Overview

This step‑by‑step guide covers hardware setup, Raspberry Pi configuration, ThingsIo.ai account creation, code deployment, and data visualization. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional IoT developer, the instructions are clear, concise, and based on proven best practices.

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
• Micro‑SD card (8–16 GB)
• DHT11 temperature & humidity sensor
• HDMI cable, Ethernet cable (optional Wi‑Fi)
• Power supply (5 V 2.5 A)
• USB cable for remote access (optional)

Software and Tools

• Raspberry Pi OS (Raspbian Stretch with Desktop) – download link
• SD card formatter – guide
• Win32 Disk Imager (Windows)
• Advanced IP Scanner, Putty, VNC Viewer, XLaunch/Xming (Windows)
• Git, WiringPi (Raspberry Pi)

Part I: Raspberry Pi Setup

1. Format the SD card using the SD card formatter and flash the Raspbian image with Win32 Disk Imager.
2. Create an empty file named ssh (no extension) on the boot partition to enable SSH.
3. Create wpa_supplicant.conf with your Wi‑Fi credentials:

country=US
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

network={
    ssid="YOUR_SSID"
    psk="YOUR_PASSWORD"
}

4. Insert the SD card, power on the Pi, and locate its IP address using Advanced IP Scanner (168.0.1‑254 or 192.168.137.1‑254).
5. SSH into the Pi with Putty: username pi, password raspberry.
6. Enable SSH and install VNC:

sudo raspi-config
# Navigate to Interface Options → SSH → Enable
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install tightvncserver

7. Start the VNC server and connect via VNC Viewer from your Windows machine.

Part II: ThingsIo.ai Cloud Setup

1. Register at ThingsIo.ai and verify your email.
2. Log in to your dashboard and create a new project.
3. Within the project, add a new device to obtain a Device ID.
4. Navigate to Sample Device Code → Raspberry Pi to copy the provided Python script.
5. Upload the script to the Pi (e.g., device.py) and run it to send a trial data packet.

Part III: Wiring and Code Configuration

1. Install WiringPi on the Pi:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git-core
git clone git://git.drogon.net/wiringPi

2. Open the script in your preferred editor (Geany, Nano, etc.). Ensure the GPIO pin assignment matches your DHT11 connection.
3. Modify the code to reference your Device ID and ThingsIo.ai endpoint.
4. Run the script and confirm data appears in the ThingsIo.ai dashboard.

Part IV: Visualizing Data on ThingsIo.ai

• In the device dashboard, enable special parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity).
• Create graphs: select parameters, preview, and save.
• Configure device location if required.
• Use the real‑time chart to monitor sensor readings instantly.

With this setup, your Raspberry Pi continuously streams temperature and humidity data to the ThingsIo.ai cloud, where you can analyze trends, set alerts, and integrate with other services.

Further Resources

For deeper exploration, consult the official Raspberry Pi documentation, DHT11 datasheet, and ThingsIo.ai developer guides.