Electronics

Want to know what you'll learn in Level D? Level D takes all the electronics, coding, and Raspberry Pi skills learned in Levels A-C and teaches you to build a functional robot.

In this project, a capacitive touch input is wired into the Raspberry Pi to control whether an LED is on or off. For the sensor to function properly, we need to touch a conductive metal (in this case aluminum foil)—attaching the sensor to something like wood or plastic wouldn’t allow for proper conductivity.

In this project, we’ve set up the same basic monitoring system as we used for the phototransistor project (link): the analog-to-digital converter is keeping an eye on the voltage flowing through the potentiometer. The difference here though is that based on the voltage flowing, instead of just turning the LED on or off, we are using pulse width modulation to drive the LED. This allows us to control the brightness from fully off to fully on, to anywhere in between.

In this project, the phototransistor is connected to an analog-to-digital converter. The analog value of the sensor is being monitored using Python programming including the if/else statements you learned to use in Level A. When the analog value of the sensor goes above a set value, the LED turns on.

If your child isn't quite yet old enough to start our Intro to Robotics course, check out the great options available for teaching elementary students electronics and programming!

In Level B you learn to work with RFID which stands for radio frequency identification. 

The matrix-style keypad is taught in Intro to Robotics Level B. The keypad can be programmed to accept input that can be used to turn a program on or off. It can also be used to activate a component or trigger another action.

Learn how schematics are used, where you might encounter them, and how learning to read them can save time and money.

Troubleshooting is a valuable skill that can save time, money, and is looked for by STEM hiring managers.