Electronics and Physical Computing with Microbit
Age Range: 10 - 15
Interested in designing your own circuits and building interactive projects? You’ll begin by learning the fundamentals of circuit design and the science behind electricity. You’ll be introduced to the Microbit microcontroller and the MakeCode programming environment, and how this can be used to read and display data from various types of sensors to control motors, servos, displays. Students will then create a series of projects, such as infinity mirror art projects, radio-controlled robots, devices to automatically water plants, weather stations that connect to the Internet, smart houses, and AI-controlled systems that react to speech, text, and emotions.
https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/home
MakeCode https://makecode.microbit.org/
Day 1: Fundamentals of Electricity and Introduction to Microbit
· Concepts Covered: Basics of electricity, circuit design, and an introduction to the microcontroller..
o Start with hands-on circuit building by creating basic LED Circuits.
o Meet the Microbit: Introduce students to the Microbit microcontroller and the MakeCode programming environment-parts of the Microbit, uploading code
https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/lessons/1-meet-microbit
o Complete basic programming challenges, using the various built-in sensors and actuators
https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/lessons/2-basic-programming-challenges
Day 2: Sensors, Displays, and Interactive Art
· Concepts Covered: Controlling visual displays, using extensions, reading sensors
· Activities:
o Learn to control displays by programming the LED Matrix and utilizing the Neopixels Extension.
https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/lessons/3-neopixels-extension
o Explore input data by experimenting with different sensors, such as the Ultrasonic Sensor for detecting distance or capacitive sensing.
o Main Project: Combine circuit design and programming to build and code an interactive Infinity Mirror art project.
https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/projects/infinity-mirror
Day 3: Robotics, Motors
· Concepts Covered: Controlling physical systems, servos, and wireless communication.
· Activities:
o Introduce ServoMotors and how to control them
Introduce Motors and how to vary motor speed using analog write functions.
o Explore the Radio features in MakeCode to send numbers, strings, and values wirelessly between Microbits.
o Main Project: Build and program Robotic Cars. Students can enhance their robots by incorporating line sensors for line-following capabilities https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/lessons/5-robotic-car
Day 4: Robotic Cars- Day 2: Radio control
· Concepts Covered: Radio Control, sensors
· Activities: Experiment with control robotic cars with sensors, radio remote control of robotic vehicles, and create swarms of interacting vehicles
https://sites.google.com/aceraschool.org/mrjonathansengineering/projects/dancing-with-robots
Day 5: The Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Automation
· Concepts Covered: Connecting physical devices to the internet to automate tasks and log data.
· Activities:
o Discuss "What is the Internet of Things?" and introduce the ESP-01 Wifi Board and the Thingspeak IoT platform.
o Main Project (Option A): Build a Device to automatically water plants, utilizing soil moisture sensors to trigger a water pump.
o Main Project (Option B): Create an IoT Weather Station using a BME280 sensor to read temperature, pressure, and humidity, and program it to report this data directly to a website.
o Main Project (Option C): Begin designing automated systems for a Smart House.
Bonus Project: Artificial Intelligence and Emotion-Responsive Systems
· Concepts Covered: Machine learning, AI cameras, and responsive design.
· Activities:
o Get hands-on with AI and machine learning using tools like Teachable Machine, MindPlus Software, or Pictoblox.
o Experiment with an AI Voice Control Module using fixed command words to trigger physical actions.
o Main Project: Build AI-controlled systems utilizing the Huskylens AI Camera to react to visual cues or text. Alternatively, students can build systems that react to emotions, such as programming an Emotion Badge that expresses how the user is feeling.