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MIT 6.900 · Engineering for Impact
About this project

Mapping the local heat
experience at MIT.

A portable, low-cost temperature & humidity sensor designed and built from scratch by undergraduate students — clip it to your backpack, walk around campus, watch the data appear on the dashboard.

01 / About

What is the Hot Potato?

An MIT-built-from-scratch system testing new sensing technology against the established MITOS Onset/Hobo dashboard — built so students can learn-by-doing while the campus learns about itself.

/ 01
A portable sensor
A small device — the Hot Potato — that clips to a backpack and travels with you across campus.
/ 02
Temperature, humidity & light
Each device measures exterior air temperature, humidity, and sun exposure as the wearer moves.
/ 03
Real-time dashboard
Readings stream to this dashboard so anyone can explore the local heat experience across MIT in near real-time.

Why it matters. Stationary sensors only tell part of the story. The Hot Potato fills in the gaps between MITOS' fixed Heat Dashboard sites — capturing how heat actually feels as people move through the Infinite, the Stata, the Stud, and beyond.

Nodes

Nodes are high-traffic campus areas (Infinite Corridor, Stata, Student Center, etc.). Each node shows an aggregate of nearby device readings — quick to read, and privacy-preserving by design.

Key Requirements (Set by MITOS, Accomplished by the Hot Potato)

P1Accurately measure exterior air temperature and humidity while walking.
P1Small, portable, and easy to clip to a backpack.
P1Inexpensive — bill of materials under $20 USD.
P1Electronics fabricable and assemblable by JLCPCB.
P1Environmental data tied to the location it was captured.
P1Privacy-preserving by design.
P1Battery life: 3 months — or at least 24+ hours per charge.
P1Rugged enough for Boston summers (heat, rain, jostling).
P1Multiple devices usable simultaneously.
P1Live dashboard with raw-data download.
P2Report device faults (battery failure, mechanical damage, etc.).
P2Connect transit data to spot body-temperature measurements.
P3Measure sun exposure as the wearer moves.
P1 Critical P2 Important P3 Nice-to-have
02 / User Guide

For Hot Potato users

If you're carrying a Hot Potato, here's how to set it up, use it day-to-day, and view your data on the dashboard.

1
Clip it on
Attach the Hot Potato to the outside of your backpack so the sensors get clean exterior air. Avoid covering it with clothing.
2
Power on
The device powers on automatically when charged. A fresh charge lasts roughly 24+ hours of typical use.
3
Walk around campus
No app required — just go about your day. Readings upload automatically when the device is in range and online.
4
Look up your data
On the dashboard, find the Your Hot Potato panel and enter your 4-digit code from registration to see live temp, humidity, light, and battery level.
5
View your history
Scroll the date range below the lookup panel to chart your readings over a custom window — temperature, humidity, light, or any combination.
6
Recharge & report issues
When the battery is low, recharge with the supplied cable. If the device gets damaged or stops uploading, let the team know so they can swap it.
Privacy Your individual location trace is never shown publicly. The campus map only displays aggregated readings inside named nodes.
03 / Credits

The team

Built by MIT 6.900 Engineering for Impact Students (Team 1).

Min
PCB, Sensors, Firmware
Tina
PCB, Server, Sensors
Alison
Server, Comms, Firmware
Selinna
Firmware, PCB, Sensors
Willow
Firmware, Server, Power
Ben
Industrial Design, Server, Comms
Sera
Industrial Design, PCB, Firmware
Jose
Firmware, PCB, Power
Mark
Power, PCB, Sensors
Special thanks
Our TA Paige
Our cool professors Joel & Joe
MIT 6.900 · Hot Potato Dashboard ← Back to Dashboard