Book Image

BBC Micro:bit in Practice

By : Ashwin Pajankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Saini
Book Image

BBC Micro:bit in Practice

By: Ashwin Pajankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Saini

Overview of this book

This book is a one-stop guide for learning BBC Micro:bit with MicroPython, exploring many hardware components and programming techniques to provide detailed insights into developing practical applications with the Micro:bit. It will also show you how hardware components can be manipulated using a combination of Micro:bit and MicroPython for developing practical projects. BBC Micro:bit in Practice will help you gain a holistic understanding of the BBC Micro:bit platform and MicroPython programming, guiding you through mini projects aimed at developing practical knowledge of circuit design and writing programs. You’ll learn how to write programs for working with built-in LEDs and buttons, interfacing external LEDs, buttons, motors, buzzers, and much more. You’ll also work with built-in radio, speakers, accelerometer, and a compass. You’ll dive into concepts related to the Micro:bit filesystem, interfacing external displays, and working with libraries in detail before exploring sewable circuits and wearable technology. After reading this Micro:bit book, you’ll understand how to apply principles in electronics and MicroPython to create interesting real-life projects from scratch.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Started with the BBC Micro:bit
6
Part 2: Programming Hardware with MicroPython
10
Part 3: Filesystems and Programming Analog I/O
13
Part 4: Advanced Hardware Interfacing and Applications

Working with Acceleration and Direction

In the previous chapter, we learned about the concepts of analog input and pulse-width modulation. We worked with analog devices such as potentiometers, photoresistors, and servo motors. We demonstrated their workings with the help of MicroPython examples in the previous chapter.

This chapter will explore the Micro:bit’s onboard components, such as an accelerometer and compass. We will design examples to understand the functioning of these onboard components. We will investigate the method of data storage in a local drive. We will also explore how to plot graphs for the data coming through an accelerometer. The methods involved in this chapter will be essential to handling complex hardware and data patterns. The following is the list of topics we will investigate and demonstrate in this chapter:

  • Accelerometers
  • Data logging and plotting
  • Compasses
  • Combining audio with a compass

Let’s explore them together...