iButtons are microchips housed in small, round, metal containers, and are similar to coin cell batteries in appearance. Among other things, they’re used for logging data in industrial contexts, particularly where it’s desirable to track parameters like temperature over time. [Geoffrey Wells] has worked with these sensors, and decided that the aging solutions for reading these devices are too cumbersome and out-of-date. Thus, he designed ChillPoint as a more modern solution.

As you might have guessed by the name, [Geoffrey] was inspired to build a rig specifically for inspecting iButton data loggers in cold chain logistics applications. It’s built around an ESP32-C6, which has a 1-Wire probe on the front for communicating with the target device. On contact, the reader dumps all the data, storing it on its own flash storage. The data can then further be accessed by connecting to the ChillPoint handheld device over its own WiFi access point, upon which it hosts a web UI for access. The handheld can be used for scanning iButtons single-handed, while a smartphone, tablet, or laptop can be used as a screen to monitor the results live.

The project is nearing completion, and [Geoffrey] says both the hardware and software will be open source once it’s all said and done. Anyone interested in adding a ChillPoint to their toolbox should keep an eye out for its upcoming CrowdSupply campaign.

If you find yourself working with these devices on the regular, this project may be appealing to you. We’ve looked at iButtons many times over the years.