Build a City Heat Map with ESP32 — Urban Heat Island Mapper Kit

Every part needed, pre-tested for compatibility, with an AI build companion trained on this exact project. Shipped from Bengaluru in 3-5 days.

Imagine walking your neighbourhood with a device that captures surface temperatures at every step — asphalt roasting at 65°C while a shaded garden stays at 38°C. This kit lets you build exactly that, turning a casual city walk into a high-resolution heat map that reveals urban heat island hotspots.

What You'll Build

You’ll assemble a shoulder-strap-mountable logger that continuously records the infrared temperature of surfaces, ambient air temperature, and precise GPS coordinates onto a microSD card. At the end of your walk, plug the card into a computer, run the provided Python script, and generate a colour-coded heat map overlaid on a satellite view of your route — ready to share with city planners or your community.

What You'll Learn

• Interface an MLX90614 IR thermometer via I2C and calibrate it for consistent surface readings.
• Parse GPS NMEA sentences to tag every measurement with latitude, longitude, and UTC timestamp.
• Manage multi-sensor data logging with an RTC and microSD module, powered from rechargeable 18650 cells.
• Transform raw CSV logs into a geographical heat map using Python (sample script included).

Kit Contents

Why Buy This Kit Instead of Sourcing Parts Separately

Who This Kit Is For

Urban climate researchers and B.Tech Environmental Engineering students tackling Smart India Hackathon sustainability challenges. Graduate students at IITs, NITs, or VIT developing papers on urban microclimate. Citizen science groups mapping heat stress in Indian metros like Mumbai, Delhi, or Chennai. The kit assumes intermediate soldering skills and familiarity with Arduino IDE.

Built and Backed by Compoden

Every Compoden kit ships with an AI build companion trained on this exact project — accessible via a QR code on the box, with WhatsApp and email backup. We've spent 10 years building projects for makers, schools, and institutions across India. If a part fails because of a manufacturing defect, replace it free within 7 days.

Choose your assembly option:

• Soldering Kit — 25W soldering iron, 60/40 solder wire, flux, and small perfboard for permanent assembly.
• Breadboard Combo — 800-point full-size breadboard with 65-piece jumper wire pack for solderless prototyping.