Microcontrollers, like RP2040 at the heart of Raspberry Pi Pico, are computers stripped back to their base essentials. You don’t use monitors or keyboards, but program them to take their input from, and send their output to the input/output pins.
Using these programmable connections, you can light lights, make noises, send text to screens, and much more. In Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico, you will learn how to use the beginner-friendly language MicroPython to write programs and connect up hardware to make your Raspberry Pi Pico interact with the world around it. Using these skills, you can create your own electro-mechanical projects, whether for fun or to make your life easier.
The robotic future is here – you just have to build it yourself. We’ll show you how.
Contents:
Chapter 1: Get to know your Raspberry Pi Pico
Chapter 2: Programming with MicroPython
Chapter 3: Physical computing
Chapter 4: Physical computing with Raspberry Pi Pico
Chapter 5: Traffic light controller
Chapter 6: Reaction game
Chapter 7: Burglar alarm
Chapter 8: Temperature gauge
Chapter 9: Data logger
Chapter 10: Digital communication protocols: I2C and SPI
You might think of computers as things you stick on your desk and type on, and the Raspberry Pi Pico is certainly one type of computer, but it’s not the only type. In this fun but comprehensive book, you’ll learn all about microcontrollers – small processing units with a bit of memory that are good at controlling other hardware.
What’s a microcontroller?
You probably have lots of microcontrollers in your house already! There’s a good chance your washing machine is controlled by a microcontroller; maybe your watch is; you might find one in your coffee machine or microwave. Of course, all these microcontrollers already have their programs and the manufacturers make it hard to change the software running on them.
A Raspberry Pi Pico, on the other hand, can be easily reprogrammed over a USB connection. In this book, you’ll learn how to get started with this hardware, and how to work with other electronic components. By the end of the book, you’ll know how to create your own programmable electronic contraptions. What you do with them is up to you, your creativity and time are your only limits!
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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.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: New Thonny and Git Versions, Plenty of Projects and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
