Adafruit
Adafruit Triple-Axis Accelerometer - ±2/4/8g @ 14-bit - MMA8451
The Adafruit MMA8451 is a high-precision triple-axis accelerometer with a built-in 14-bit ADC, offering selectable measurement ranges of ±2g, ±4g, and ±8g. D...
The Adafruit MMA8451 is a high-precision triple-axis accelerometer with a built-in 14-bit ADC, offering selectable measurement ranges of ±2g, ±4g, and ±8g. Designed by Freescale (now NXP), this sensor detects motion, tilt, and basic orientation — it can even tell you whether your project is in landscape or portrait mode.
The breakout board includes a 3.3V low-dropout regulator and I2C level shifting, making it safe for use with both 3.3V and 5V microcontrollers. An address selection pin allows multiple accelerometers to share a single I2C bus.
Key Features
- 14-Bit ADC Resolution – The most precise member of the MMA845x family
- Selectable Range – ±2g, ±4g, or ±8g full-scale range
- 3-Axis Acceleration – Measures acceleration on X, Y, and Z axes
- Built-in Orientation Detection – Landscape/portrait mode and forward/back tilt detection
- I2C Interface – Shareable I2C bus with address selection pin (requires repeated-start I2C support)
- 3.3V and 5V Compatible – Onboard voltage regulator and level shifting
- Compact Breakout – Two 2.5mm mounting holes and 8-pin 0.1" header included
Ideal For
- Motion and tilt detection projects
- Orientation sensing (landscape/portrait)
- Wearable and portable electronics
- Vibration monitoring
- Learning about accelerometers and I2C
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit MMA8451 Triple-Axis Accelerometer Breakout (assembled and tested)
- 1× 8-pin 0.1" header strip
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- ADC
- An analogue-to-digital converter reads a changing voltage and turns it into a number the microcontroller can use. It matters when connecting analogue sensors such as light, sound, or variable-resistor sensors.
- breakout
- A breakout is a small circuit board that makes a tiny or hard-to-solder component easier to connect to with standard pins. It matters because this OLED module can be wired into a microcontroller project without needing to solder directly to the display’s fine contacts.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
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Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
