Using our muscles to control things is the way that most of us are accustomed to doing it. We push buttons, pull levers, move joysticks ... but what if we could take the buttons, levers and joysticks out of the equation? This is the MyoWare Muscle Sensor Development Kit, an Arduino-powered, electromyography (EMG) sensor kit that provides you with a MyoWare Muscle Sensor, each shield developed here at SparkFun, and everything you need to connect them all together.
The MyoWare board, included in this kit, acts by measuring the filtered and rectified electrical activity of a muscle; outputting 0-Vs Volts depending on the amount of activity in the selected muscle, where Vs signifies the voltage of the power source. It's very simple to hook up this kit, attach shields to the muscle sensor, stick on a few included electrodes, read the voltage out and flex some muscles!
Also included in this kit is everything you need to set up the MyoWare Muscle Sensor: all associated shields (Power, Cable, LED, and Proto), biomedical sensor pads and cable, as well as headers that can be soldered onto each shield so they can be attached together. Make sure to take a look at our MyoWare Muscle Sensor Kit Guide below for tips, tricks and best practices for assembling your MyoWare boards.
To make stacking easier, the MyoWare Muscle Sensor Development Kit includes 3-pin stackable headers. Using these on all of the shields allows for easy stacking in more configurations.
Note: The Power Shield and the LED Shield both provide power, but at slightly different voltages. Don't use both of these shields at the same time.
Note: This item may take longer to process due to battery installed in the equipment and therefore does not qualify for same-day shipping policy. Additionally, these batteries can not be shipped via Ground or Economy methods to Alaska or Hawaii. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
If you are worried that something is not working on your project, verify these important checklist items:
1. Is the cable plug pushed all the way into the port?
2. Verify their power at the power pins is correct (eg +9V to +Vs, -9V to -Vs) - test with a multimeter.
3. Electrodes are not reusable.
This skill defines how difficult the soldering is on a particular product. It might be a couple simple solder joints, or require special reflow tools.
Skill Level: Rookie - The number of pins increases, and you will have to determine polarity of components and some of the components might be a bit trickier or close together. You might need solder wick or flux.
See all skill levels
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Rookie - You will need a better fundamental understand of what code is, and how it works. You will be using beginner-level software and development tools like Arduino. You will be dealing directly with code, but numerous examples and libraries are available. Sensors or shields will communicate with serial or TTL.
See all skill levels
If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
See all skill levels
We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.
No reviews yet.
FYI - The REM headers on the MyoWare Cable Shield shield don’t line up with the MyoWare sensor board. I contacted customer service and their response was “the board still worked”, which is true, but forget using stackable headers if you purchase this “stackable” breakout board. Perhaps they will fix this in the next revision.
Confirmed, they are off by 1 mm or so.