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

Fall detector

Now, let us design another helpful device using the Micro:bit. Elderly people, children, and people with balancing issues are prone to falling while doing their daily activities. Such people require extra attention or a permanent attendee to monitor their movement. This person should monitor their movements and help them in case they fall. Due to a variety of reasons, the presence of an additional person might not be possible 24/7. We can design a fall detector using the Micro:bit that will generate a signal for the other person if the user has fallen. This device can also be used to detect accidents on bicycles or any other fall. In such cases, the device can call for help.

For this experiment, we need to check the range of accelerometer data from the Micro:bit for different movements. We will use the Mu editor and write a simple program to print and plot the accelerometer values for analysis purposes:

Figure 15.2 – Accelerometer data...