Day 7: (Wed Sep 21, Week 4) Introduction to Sensors and Motors

Notes for 2022-09-21.

Assignments

1. Current assignment, due Monday: Exercise: Marble Fidget Toy.

2. Pending assignment: reading related to the Children’s School visit.

Administrative

1. Is everybody qualified for the laser cutter now?

2. Has anyone tried submitting a 3D printer part yet?

3. N.B. in one week we will be visiting the Children’s School during the class period.

Agenda

1. Quick check: please try opening Skylab to make sure your account works.

2. Sensor show and tell.

   • See Electronics Part Guide

   • See Exercise: Digital I/O with the Pico

   • See Exercise: Analog Sensing with the Pico

   • See Lite-On LTH-1550 Reflective Photointerrupter

   • See Exercise: Read Switch Input

   • See Exercise: Read Analog Accelerometer

3. Cookbook electronics: the voltage divider circuit.

   • mechanical switches

   • photoresistors

   • photointerrupers

   • resistive force sensors

4. Other sensor interfaces.

   • sonar

   • accelerometer

   • I2C and SPI

5. H-Bridges and DC Motors

   • See DC Motor Examples - Raspberry Pi Pico

6. Brief discussion of joinery (time permitting).

   • See Flat-Pack Joinery.

Supplemental Videos

• Electrical Theory Introduction: https://youtu.be/d5HxmQHCO48

• Kirchhoff’s Laws, Ohm’s Law: https://youtu.be/hnbD_D4ljOE

• Resistors and Voltage Dividers: https://youtu.be/j8rvBSPiiUI

• Resistive Circuits in Tinkercad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX5L67WcWec

• Ultrasonic Range Sensor: https://youtu.be/7lVgu4uskNw