The MPU-6050 is a popular six axis accelerometer and gyroscope (gyro) that has all the info you need on how things are shakin’ and spinnin’ . With six axes of sensing and 16-bit measurements, you’ll have everything you need to give your robot friend a sense of balance, using the MPU-6050 as its inner ear.
This combination of gyroscopes and accelerometers is commonly referred to as an Inertial Measurement Unit or IMU. Not so long ago, IMUs were the size of a breadbox and cost upwards of $50,000! While you’re not going to be using it to guide your Mars rocket, the MPU-6050 is several orders of magnitude smaller and a bargain at a price three orders of magnitude less! Now you can add telemetry to your water rocket (with some waterproofing).
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
