opendata_guide

#MakerLab Bảo Lộc Environmental Data

Live environmental data from the MakerLab station in Bảo Lộc, Lâm Đồng, Vietnam.

The station continuously records local environmental conditions and publishes the data through a public ThingSpeak API.

This dataset can be used for:

Creative coding
Generative visuals
Interactive websites
Data sonification
Environmental visualization
Physical installations
Research and experiments

#Dataset

The station currently provides eight environmental signals.

Field	Data	Unit
`field1`	Temperature	°C
`field2`	Humidity	% RH
`field3`	Light intensity	lux
`field4`	Wind speed	m/s
`field5`	Wind direction	degree
`field6`	PM2.5	µg/m³
`field7`	PM10	µg/m³
`field8`	Atmospheric pressure	kPa

Each observation also contains:

created_at — timestamp
entry_id — data entry number

#API

The dataset is publicly available through the ThingSpeak REST API.

Channel ID

TEXT

Base URL

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com

#Latest Observation

Use this endpoint to retrieve the newest environmental observation.

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/feeds/last.json

Example response:

JSON

{
  "created_at": "2026-09-03T00:51:43Z",
  "entry_id": 11905,
  "field1": "23.30",
  "field2": "83.70",
  "field3": "25888",
  "field4": "0.60",
  "field5": "218",
  "field6": "9",
  "field7": "19",
  "field8": "90.30"
}

This is the recommended endpoint for most interactive and creative projects.

#Historical Data

Retrieve the latest 20 observations:

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/feeds.json?results=20

Change the value of results to retrieve more entries.

For example:

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/feeds.json?results=100

This is useful for:

Charts
Time-series visualization
Data analysis
Generative systems using recent history

#Reading a Single Field

You can also request only one sensor.

#Temperature

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/1.json?results=100

#Humidity

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/2.json?results=100

#Light

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/3.json?results=100

#Wind Speed

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/4.json?results=100

#Wind Direction

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/5.json?results=100

#PM2.5

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/6.json?results=100

#PM10

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/7.json?results=100

#Pressure

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/8.json?results=100

#Latest Value Only

If you only need one numerical value, ThingSpeak can return plain text.

For example, latest temperature:

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/fields/1/last.txt

Response:

TEXT

23.3

This format can be useful for simple installations, microcontrollers, Processing, TouchDesigner, Max/MSP, or other systems that do not need the complete JSON response.

#JavaScript

JavaScript can access the data directly using fetch().

JAVASCRIPT

const url =
  "https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/feeds/last.json";

async function loadEnvironment() {

  const response = await fetch(url);
  const data = await response.json();

  const environment = {

    temperature: Number(data.field1),
    humidity: Number(data.field2),
    light: Number(data.field3),

    windSpeed: Number(data.field4),
    windDirection: Number(data.field5),

    pm25: Number(data.field6),
    pm10: Number(data.field7),

    pressure: Number(data.field8)

  };

  console.log(environment);
}

loadEnvironment();

The values can then be accessed using:

JAVASCRIPT

environment.temperature
environment.humidity
environment.light

environment.windSpeed
environment.windDirection

environment.pm25
environment.pm10

environment.pressure

#Updating the Data

For example, request new data every 20 seconds:

JAVASCRIPT

loadEnvironment();

setInterval(() => {
  loadEnvironment();
}, 20000);

#p5.js

p5.js is useful for generative graphics and interactive web-based artworks.

JAVASCRIPT

let environment;

function setup() {

  createCanvas(800, 600);

  loadEnvironment();

  setInterval(
    loadEnvironment,
    20000
  );
}

function draw() {

  background(20);

  if (!environment) return;

  const objectSize = map(
    environment.temperature,
    15,
    35,
    50,
    400
  );

  const angle =
    radians(
      environment.windDirection
    );

  push();

  translate(
    width / 2,
    height / 2
  );

  rotate(angle);

  ellipse(
    0,
    0,
    objectSize,
    objectSize
  );

  line(
    0,
    0,
    environment.windSpeed * 50,
    0
  );

  pop();
}

async function loadEnvironment() {

  const url =
    "https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/feeds/last.json";

  const response =
    await fetch(url);

  const data =
    await response.json();

  environment = {

    temperature:
      Number(data.field1),

    humidity:
      Number(data.field2),

    light:
      Number(data.field3),

    windSpeed:
      Number(data.field4),

    windDirection:
      Number(data.field5),

    pm25:
      Number(data.field6),

    pm10:
      Number(data.field7),

    pressure:
      Number(data.field8)

  };
}

In this example:

TEXT

Temperature → Object size

Wind direction → Rotation

Wind speed → Line length

#Python

Python can be used for data analysis, installations, Raspberry Pi systems, machine learning, or data logging.

Install the requests library if needed:

BASH

pip install requests

Read the latest observation:

PYTHON

import requests

url = (
    "https://api.thingspeak.com/"
    "channels/3448221/"
    "feeds/last.json"
)

response = requests.get(url)

data = response.json()

environment = {

    "temperature":
        float(data["field1"]),

    "humidity":
        float(data["field2"]),

    "light":
        float(data["field3"]),

    "wind_speed":
        float(data["field4"]),

    "wind_direction":
        float(data["field5"]),

    "pm25":
        float(data["field6"]),

    "pm10":
        float(data["field7"]),

    "pressure":
        float(data["field8"])
}

print(environment)

Example output:

TEXT

{
  'temperature': 23.3,
  'humidity': 83.7,
  'light': 25888,
  'wind_speed': 0.6,
  'wind_direction': 218,
  'pm25': 9,
  'pm10': 19,
  'pressure': 90.3
}

#Historical Data

PYTHON

import requests

url = (
    "https://api.thingspeak.com/"
    "channels/3448221/"
    "feeds.json?results=100"
)

data = requests.get(url).json()

for entry in data["feeds"]:

    print(
        entry["created_at"],
        entry["field1"]
    )

#Processing

Processing can use the JSON API directly.

JAVA

String url =
  "https://api.thingspeak.com/"
  + "channels/3448221/"
  + "feeds/last.json";

JSONObject data;

float temperature;
float windSpeed;
float windDirection;

void setup() {

  size(800, 600);

  loadEnvironment();
}

void draw() {

  background(20);

  float objectSize =
    map(
      temperature,
      15,
      35,
      50,
      400
    );

  pushMatrix();

  translate(
    width / 2,
    height / 2
  );

  rotate(
    radians(windDirection)
  );

  ellipse(
    0,
    0,
    objectSize,
    objectSize
  );

  line(
    0,
    0,
    windSpeed * 50,
    0
  );

  popMatrix();
}

void loadEnvironment() {

  data =
    loadJSONObject(url);

  temperature =
    data.getFloat("field1");

  windSpeed =
    data.getFloat("field4");

  windDirection =
    data.getFloat("field5");
}

#Creative Mapping

Environmental data does not need to be displayed as numbers.

It can become a changing parameter inside an artwork.

Signal	Possible Mapping
Temperature	Color, scale, animation speed
Humidity	Blur, opacity, density
Light	Brightness, exposure
Wind speed	Movement, turbulence, sound volume
Wind direction	Rotation, movement direction, spatial audio
PM2.5	Noise, grain, distortion
PM10	Particle density, visual complexity
Pressure	Vertical position, compression, pitch

For example:

TEXT

Environment in Bảo Lộc
        ↓
Weather Station
        ↓
ThingSpeak
        ↓
HTTP / JSON
        ↓
Creative Code
        ↓
Mapping
        ↓
Image / Sound / Light / Movement

The data does not need to recreate the environment literally. It can instead act as a changing signal that influences the behavior of an artwork.

#Dew Point

Dew point is not stored as a separate ThingSpeak field.

It can be calculated from:

TEXT

Temperature
+
Relative Humidity
↓
Dew Point

Example in JavaScript:

JAVASCRIPT

function dewPoint(
  temperature,
  humidity
) {

  const a = 17.27;
  const b = 237.7;

  const alpha =
    ((a * temperature)
      / (b + temperature))
    +
    Math.log(
      humidity / 100
    );

  return (
    b * alpha
  ) / (
    a - alpha
  );
}

#Wind Direction

Wind direction should normally be interpreted together with wind speed.

For example:

TEXT

Wind Speed = 0 m/s
Wind Direction = 0°

may simply indicate:

TEXT

CALM / NO MEASURABLE WIND

instead of wind coming from the north.

For creative coding:

JAVASCRIPT

if (environment.windSpeed <= 0) {

  // Treat wind direction as undefined

}

#Recommended Setup

For most creative projects, only one endpoint is necessary:

TEXT

https://api.thingspeak.com/channels/3448221/feeds/last.json

Convert the result into a simple object:

JAVASCRIPT

const environment = {

  temperature:
    Number(data.field1),

  humidity:
    Number(data.field2),

  light:
    Number(data.field3),

  windSpeed:
    Number(data.field4),

  windDirection:
    Number(data.field5),

  pm25:
    Number(data.field6),

  pm10:
    Number(data.field7),

  pressure:
    Number(data.field8)

};

The artwork can then work directly with:

TEXT

environment.temperature

environment.humidity

environment.light

environment.windSpeed

environment.windDirection

environment.pm25

environment.pm10

environment.pressure

The ThingSpeak system can remain hidden behind this layer.

TEXT

REMOTE ENVIRONMENT
        ↓
DATA
        ↓
CREATIVE SYSTEM
        ↓
ARTWORK

#Open Data

The environmental dataset can also be viewed through MakerLab's open data interface.

View MakerLab Open Data

View ThingSpeak Channel

#Notes

The dataset is public and intended for experimental, educational, artistic, and research use.

For most interactive artworks, retrieving the latest observation every 15–30 seconds is sufficient.