Technology Resources

Introduction to the Circuit Playground

Circuit Playground ExpressThis post looks at a microcontroller called the Circuit Playground Express made by Adafruit.

What is it?

Like the micro:bit, the Circuit Playground Express is a programmable circuit board that gives you an easier way learn how to program. It can also be used to learn more about circuitry and robotics. It can be programmed with MakeCode, a block programming language that is great for beginners. You can also use Python or Arduino if you are looking for something more challenging.

What features does it have?

The Circuit Playground Express (CPX) is packed with features.  Here is a list of what is on it:

Connectors

These are things that allow you to connect other devices to the micro:bit. They are:

    • micro USB connector – This is used to connect it to your computer to download programs and to supply power to the CPX.
    • JST connector – The JST will let you attach a battery pack or a LiPo your CPX.
    • connection pads – There are 14 connection pads around the outer edge of the board. These are the holes you see. They have a conductive surface around them, and you can connect other devices with alligator clips.

Sensors

These are the things that read physical information and share it with the microcontroller. You can write computer code that instructs the CPX to do something based on input from one of the sensors. Here is a list of the sensors:

      • Motion sensor – This measures motion in three directions, so it can tell if you have dropped it, flipped it, or are moving it forward, backward or side to side.
      • Temperature sensor – This sensor gives you a number that you will have to do a math calculation to turn it into a temperature value.
      • Light sensor – The light sensor reads the amount of light near the sensor itself. Adafruit says it can also be used to sense color and pulses of light, but you need to write code to do these.
      • Sound sensor – There is a microphone on the CPX that you can use to determine the sound levels.
      • Touch sensors – Some of the connection pads also work as capacitive touch sensors.

LEDs

    • On/Off LED – There is a green LED next to the microUSB connector that is lit green when power is connected to the CPX.
    • red LED – This LED flashes when you are downloading software to your CPX.
    • 10 RGB LEDs – These LEDs are located in a circle just inside the connection pads. You can program them to be any color in the rainbow.

Switches and Buttons

Switches and buttons can all be programmed so that, when you do something like push or slide one of them, you can program some other behavior. Here is a list of all the switches and buttons:

  • Push buttons
    • Push buttons labeled ‘A’ and ‘B’
    • Reset button
  • Slide switch

Other Features

The Circuit Playground Express also has the following:

  • Speaker – You can play simple songs with this using tones. It has an amplifier with it.
  • Infrared send and receive capabilities – You can send a signal from your CPX to any household device (like your TV) that uses infrared for communication. You can also receive infrared signals on your CPX.

The Circuit Playground Express has a lot of capabilities in a small package. It can be a little intimidating to write programs for it so I will cover easy ways to get started in future posts.