Nordic Thingy:53 – Environmental sensors (temperature, pressure, light, humidity) not working in Edge Impulse

[Nik01]

Hello,

I am using the Nordic Thingy:53 and trying to collect sensor data using Edge Impulse.

I was able to successfully connect the Thingy:53 to Edge Impulse and stream IMU data (accelerometer/gyroscope). Movement data such as vertical motion and sudden jerks are being recorded correctly.

However, I am unable to access environmental sensor data, specifically:

• Temperature

• Pressure

• Humidity

• Light

These sensors do not appear in the data acquisition dropdown in Edge Impulse, and no readings are being generated for them.
Also I don't have the DK board that I can use for this process.

Setup details:

• Board: Nordic Thingy:53

• Connection method: Bluetooth

• Firmware: Edge Impulse firmware for Thingy:53 (downloaded from Edge Impulse Studio)

• nRF Connect Programmer used for flashing

What I have confirmed:

• IMU data streams correctly

• Device connects successfully in Edge Impulse

• No environmental sensors are visible as selectable data sources

My questions:

1. Does the Edge Impulse firmware for Thingy:53 support environmental sensors by default?

2. Do these sensors require additional configuration in firmware?

3. Is there a specific sample or configuration required to enable temperature, pressure, humidity, and light streaming?

Any guidance on enabling these sensors for data acquisition would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Samruddhi Jadhav]

Hi,

1) Yes, the edge impulse firmware for the Nordic Thingy:53 does support environmental sensors by default. This firmware makes the device collect motion, sound, and environmental sensor data which can be uploaded to Edge Impulse Studio with the use of nRF edge impulse mobile application. This app supports collection of temperature, pressure, humidity, air quality, and light from Thingy:53. 

2) Because they aren't enabled by default, you have to manually enable/configure them in the firmware if you want them to appear in the Edge Impulse Studio.

3) There isn't any additional sample which you need to flash. 

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Best Regards,

Samruddhi

[Nik01]

Hello,

Thank you for your clarification Samruddhi .

Since the environmental sensors are supported but need to be enabled manually, could you please provide the exact step-by-step procedure to enable them?

I would really appreciate it if the steps could be explained clearly, as I do not have:

• A DK board

• Access to VS Code / nRF Connect SDK build environment

I can only use:

• USB connection

• OTA (if supported)

• nRF Connect Programmer

• nRF Edge Impulse mobile app

Could you please clarify:

1. Is it possible to enable temperature, pressure, humidity, and light sensors without rebuilding firmware?

2. If firmware modification is required:

   • Which file needs to be modified? (e.g., prj.conf?)

   • Which specific configuration flags must be enabled?

3. After enabling them, how do I verify that they are active in Edge Impulse Studio?

4. Can this be done purely using a prebuilt firmware and USB flashing, without a DK board?

If possible, could you please provide the exact procedure in order, for example:

Step 1: Do this
Step 2: Flash this
Step 3: Enable this setting
Step 4: Verify here

I am an undergraduate student and still learning embedded systems. I do not have much experience with firmware configuration and would really appreciate a clear step-by-step explanation of how to enable these sensors.

That would be extremely helpful.

Thank you.

[Simon D-M]

Hi,

Sorry for the delay.

I just tried on my end to use Edge impulse, following this guide. And I had all the sensors enabled by default.

I used the firmware given here. I personally had to use another DK to program my Thingy53, but it was because my device have been tinkered with before. I believe that if you are already running a version of the edge impulse firmware, you should be able to program the "DFU" version without having to use another DK.

If you don't know how to update the firmware using DFU, you can do it with the "Programmer" application from nRF Connect for Desktop. Here is also a guide on how to program the Thingy53 using it.

I would recommend you following the guide I sent above too. It is quite a straight forward tutorial, so it's very easy to follow.

If you have any problem at any step, you can reach out on this post, and I can try to explain it to you. 

Best regards,

Simon D-M