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

Advanced Features of the Micro:bit

We have explored a variety of applications of using the Micro:bit throughout this book. However, we have not explored the complete set of features available on the Micro:bit board. A variety of sensors are built into the board that can be used to perform interesting operations. In other microcontrollers, all such sensors are not inbuilt, so we must attach them separately. External sensor integration consumes a greater number of pins as well as power. Therefore, the Micro:bit has a huge advantage over other similar boards.

In this chapter, we will learn about the sensors built into the Micro:bit. Some of these features are present in both versions, while a few are only present in V2. We will learn how to access each sensor and control some output devices connected at different pins. We can also display useful information from these sensors on the LED matrix. We will discuss the following sensors of the Micro:bit:

  • Capacitive touch
  • Temperature...