SparkFun Environmental Sensor Breakout - BME68x (Qwiic) Hookup Guide

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Contributors: El Duderino, santaimpersonator
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Introduction

Important Note: In order to avoid contamination of its gas scanning capabilities, DO NOT touch the metallic casing of the BME688 sensor.

The SparkFun Environmental Sensor - BME680 (Qwiic) is a breakout for the 4-in-1 BME680 gas sensor from Bosch. The BME680 combines a gas sensor with temperature, humidity and barometric pressure sensing for a complete environmental sensor in a single package. The gas sensor on the BME680 can detect a wide variety of volatile organic compounds (or VOC for short) to monitor indoor air quality. Combine that with precise temperature, humidity and barometric pressure and the BME680 can work as a completely standalone environmental sensor all in a 1"x1" breakout! The BME680 communicates over either I2C or SPI. As you would expect from the name, the BME680's I2C pins are broken out to a Qwiic connector so integrating it into the SparkFun Qwiic System is a breeze. Simply plug it into a Qwiic-enabled microcontroller and you're well on your way to making your own weather station.

SparkFun Environmental Sensor Breakout - BME680 (Qwiic)

SparkFun Environmental Sensor Breakout - BME680 (Qwiic)

SEN-16466
$18.95
3
SparkFun Environmental Sensor - BME688 (Qwiic)

SparkFun Environmental Sensor - BME688 (Qwiic)

SEN-19096
$24.95

The Qwiic BME688 breakout board is an updated version of the BME680 environmental sensor from Bosch. With the same features of the original BME680, the new BME688 also includes an additional gas scanning functionality to detect the presence of VSCs (i.e. hydrogen sulfide (H2S) compounds). The gas scanner operation can be manually customized or trained with the BME AI-Studio tool to detect target samples.

Notes on AI Feature:
  • How is the BME688 different from the BME680?
    • The BME680 does not support AI features.
  • Can we test the AI software it with the current BME680?
    • No, this is not possible, as the BME680 does not have the necessary gas scan function.
  • While the BME688 Qwiic board can be used with the BME AI-Studio and BSEC2 Arduino library, for the AI functionality, it is recommended that users purchase the BME688 Evaluation Board (Coming Soon) for ease of use.

Required Materials

Note: To get started with the BME688, a RedBoard Qwiic is more than sufficient for the basic sensor functionality covered in this tutorial. However, the more advanced BSEC2 Arduino library, with support for the BME688 AI functionality, is only compatible with some of the ESP32 microcontrollers, like the ESP32 WROOM.

*For more details, check out the tested platforms section of the Arduino library and our Getting started with the BME AI-Studio guide (coming soon).

To follow along with this guide you will need a microcontroller to communicate with the BME68x. Below are a few options that come Qwiic-enabled out of the box:

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (Micro-B)

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (Micro-B)

WRL-15663
$22.50
13
SparkFun Qwiic Pro Micro - USB-C (ATmega32U4)

SparkFun Qwiic Pro Micro - USB-C (ATmega32U4)

DEV-15795
$21.50
10
SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic

SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic

DEV-15123
$21.50
19
SparkFun RedBoard Artemis

SparkFun RedBoard Artemis

DEV-15444
$21.50
10

If your chosen microcontroller is not already Qwiic-enabled, you can add that functionality with one or more of the following items:

SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit

SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit

KIT-15081
$8.95
20
SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino

SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino

DEV-14352
$7.50
9
SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino Nano

SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino Nano

DEV-16789
$4.95
SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Teensy

SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Teensy

DEV-17119
$4.25 $1.75
1

You will also want at least one Qwiic cable to connect your sensor to your microcontroller.

Qwiic Cable - 50mm

Qwiic Cable - 50mm

PRT-14426
$0.95
Qwiic Cable - 100mm

Qwiic Cable - 100mm

PRT-14427
$1.50

Qwiic Cable - 500mm

PRT-14429
1 Retired

Qwiic Cable - 200mm

PRT-14428
Retired

Suggested Reading

If you're unfamiliar with serial terminals, jumper pads, or I2C be sure to checkout some of these foundational tutorials.

Installing an Arduino Library

How do I install a custom Arduino library? It's easy! This tutorial will go over how to install an Arduino library using the Arduino Library Manager. For libraries not linked with the Arduino IDE, we will also go over manually installing an Arduino library.

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

Logic Levels

Learn the difference between 3.3V and 5V devices and logic levels.

I2C

An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.

Serial Terminal Basics

This tutorial will show you how to communicate with your serial devices using a variety of terminal emulator applications.

RedBoard Qwiic Hookup Guide

This tutorial covers the basic functionality of the RedBoard Qwiic. This tutorial also covers how to get started blinking an LED and using the Qwiic system.

Qwiic Connect System

The Qwiic BME68x utilizes the Qwiic connect system. We recommend familiarizing yourself with the Logic Levels and I2C tutorials (above) before using it. Click on the banner above to learn more about our Qwiic products.