In this lesson, we will carry out an interesting experiment to change the displayed heart pattern when we shake the Micro:bit.
10.1 Components to be prepared
10.2 LED display
The front LED display of Micro:bit consists of 25 5x5 lattice LEDs.
25 LEDs arranged in a 5x5 grid make up the display for showing pictures, words and numbers.
10.3 Circuit
Connect micro:bit and PC with a Micro USB cable.
10.4 MakeCode programming
We will use an online MakeCode Editor to complete the experiment in this lesson, as shown below.
10.4.1 Start programming
(1) Log in to the website
1. You need to enter the URL in the address bar of Google Browser:
https://makecode.microbit.org/
2. After the website is successfully opened, the interface as shown below will appear:
(2) Import a project
1. In the HOME interface, click the "Import" button to import the external ".hex" file:
In the pop-up dialog box, select the "Import File", as shown in the following figure:
Click the "Choose File"
Find the code file for this lesson:
BBC_Microbit_Sensor\Code\Lesson_10\BlockCode
Select the file in ".hex" format and click the Open:
2. Notice whether the file has been loaded into the following window, and then click the "Go ahead!" button, as shown in the following figure:
3. Open the file successfully, as shown in the following figure:
10.4.2 Run the program
1. After the program is written, connect micro:bit and PC with a Micro USB cable.
2. After micro:bit is connected to the computer, you need to first "Pair device". Click the 
button on the right of 
in the lower left corner, and then click the 
option, as shown in the following figure:
Then click 
in the lower right corner
Then the following dialog box will pop up, select 
, and then click 
After the device is successfully paired, the 
button changes to 
3. Start to download the program to Micro:bit, and click the 
button. Generally, the program will be downloaded directly to the Micro:bit. After the download is completed, your Micro:bit will restart and run the program just downloaded.Observe the LED screen of the Micro:bit. If the program is successfully download, the LED screen will be not bright, as shown in the following figure:
4.You need to shake the Micro:bit and observe the change of the LED screen.
[Note]:
If Micro:bit doesn't respond after clicking the 
, you need to click the 
button on the right of the 
, and then click the 
, and observe the situation of the Micro:bit again, as shown in the following figure:
If you have problems, please send us an email: support@adeept.com
10.4.3 Learn the code program
In the program, we use the following instruction blocks, which are explained as follows:
Block | Function |
| This is an instruction block that can detect whether the Micro:bit is shaken. Besides, it also can be modified to the states such as detecting tilt. |
“shake”uses the accelerometer on the Micro:bit. More information about the use of the accelerometer is available in the following link:
https://microbit-micropython.readthedocs.io/en/v1.0.1/accelerometer.html
10.5 Python programming
10.5.1 Run the program
1.Connect micro:bit and PC with a Micro USB cable.
2. Open the Mu Editor installed on the computer, and click the button [Load] in the upper left corner to open the source code program of this lesson:
Find the code file for this lesson:
BBC_Microbit_Sensor\Code\Lesson_10\PythonCode
Select the file in ".py" format and click the Open:
3. Click the [Flash] button to download the program to Micro:bit, as shown in the following figure:
4.After the program is downloaded, you need to shake the Micro:bit and observe the change on the LED screen.
【Note】:
After you click the [Flash] button, if there is no change on the LED screen of Micro:bit, you need to restart the Micro:bit, and then click the [Flash] button again.
If you have problems, please send us an email: support@adeept.com
10.5.2 Learn the code program
The source codes are as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 | from microbit import * while True: if accelerometer.was_gesture('shake'): display.show(Image.HEART_SMALL) sleep(500) display.show(Image.HEART) |
(1)The method of the was_gesture('shake') can judge whether the Micro:bit is shaken.
3 4 5 6 | if accelerometer.was_gesture('shake'): display.show(Image.HEART_SMALL) sleep(500) display.show(Image.HEART) |
In the code program, we use the“accelerometer”library. More information about the use of the“accelerometer”library is available in the following link:
https://microbit-micropython.readthedocs.io/en/v1.0.1/accelerometer.html