The Three Axis Acceleromter is reborn with a sweet new chip and great new price.

The 3-axis accelerometer module carries an MMA7361 chip from Freescale. The MMA7361 operates in 2 selectable sensitivity modes, +/- 1.5g, and 6g. It defaults to the 6g mode.

The 3-Axis Accelerometer sensor will operate between 2.2 and 6 volts. Because the MMA7361 chip only will deal with 3.6 vots maximum,  the sensor is equipped with a low-dropout regulator so the sensor will work, out of the box, with an Arduino or other 5 volt microcontroller.

The 3-axis accelerometer module comes as a kit with a 5-pin male headers, a two pin header, and a shunt for G selection. The sensor defaults to 1.5G so you don't have to install the two pin header if you are only using the more sensitive setting.

Note that  Sparkfun sells a 3.3V only breakout board with this chip on it for  around $19.

Applications

• Laptop PC: Freefall Detection
• Cell Phone: Image Stability, Text Scrolling, Motion Dialing, E-Compass
• Pedometer: Motion Sensing
• Portable Handheld: Text Scrolling
• Navigation and Dead Reckoning: E-Compass Tilt Compensation
• Gaming: Tilt and Motion Sensing, Event Recorder
• Robotics: Motion Sensing

Specifications

• Built-in 5V tolerance protection
• Selectable Sensitivity (1.5g/6g)
• Low Current Consumption: 500 μA
• Sleep Mode: 3 μA
• Low Voltage Operation: 2.2 V – 3.6 V
• High Sensitivity (800 mV/g @ 1.5g)

Resources

• MMA7361 Datasheet